An Alzheimer’s charity ad narrated by Olivia Colman is here to devastate you

Meh.

Love the ad. Dislike the message at the end. I'm not sure that a cure will ever be possible. The very biochemical processes that make our brains such a marvel are also likely the underlying cause of late life dementia. You can't have one without the other.

I can't stop crying. My heart goes out. Prayers.

Puking with pride as I forget why I'm crying.

[quote]I'm not sure that a cure will ever be possible. The very biochemical processes that make our brains such a marvel are also likely the underlying cause of late life dementia.

Not quite 10% of U.S. adults ages 65 and older have dementia, so it's a short-circuit in normal biochemical processes, not an inevitable result of them. I think we will unlock the secrets one day.

Yes, early onset is definitely a disease process... but late onset after age 80. I'm not so sure. It becomes universal if you live long enough.

[quote]It becomes universal if you live long enough.

"Epidemiological data show that dementia could be avoided even at extreme old ages (e.g., among centenarians or supercentenarians). This implies that people are able to reach very advanced ages without experiencing severe mental deterioration."

My husband died aged 73 of dementia. There will not be any "cure" in the lifetime of anyone extant, if ever.

I was fine until the end when they showed the real people. The Google ad about Alzheimer’s is far more moving to me. I’ll try to find it to link

This one. Kills me

My late partners elderly parents are both still alive in the Midwest and are both suffering from dementia.

It sounds really horrible and selfish, but at least I have been spared the possibility of seeing him go the same way

My dad passed at 71 from Alzheimer’s. I fear my end will be the same

Man, I'm sorry to those of you who lost loved ones to this in their (early) 70s.

That was a very touching commercial, R10. I lost my grandma this summer. She was 92, she was going strong until the last six months or so-- lived alone up to the end. I was so lucky. I miss her so much.

I don't understand the point of these ads. There's an enormous amount of public money going into Alzheimer's research and we're getting new breakthroughs every couple of months, which will all in the end amount to a cure and possibly even a preventative vaccine. This will get solved at the fastest clip medical science is capable of, so what exactly is hoped to be achieved with these ads? We're all fully aware Alzheimer's is a horrible thing already.

I feel like the Brits have this tradition of "awareness raising" campaigns that don't really do much aside from stroking the egos of those who are the faces of said campaigns.

R11 Its not selfish at all. It makes perfect since that you would not want to see the person you love the most go that way. My late husband suffered a cardiac arrest and spent 17 days in the ICU hooked up to every machine they had in the hospital. I never wanted him to die but I was relieved when his pain and fear were over.

that was devastating

R15 R16 - I agree, it is.

Not to drag this off topic, but I came home and found my partner dead on the couch. The one blessing I have is that he died in his sleep and there was no pain on his face. He went to sleep and never woke up.

We attended the bedsides of a couple of close friends over the years at the Royal Free ICU and both times we staggered out and affirmed that we wanted to die at home.

Well last June, my partner got his wish.