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Pratchett trials "light helmet" claimed to slow dementia

Tunny

Student
T
Joined
Feb 2, 2005
Messages
49
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...ry-light-helmet-promises-slow-Alzheimers.html

(or http://tinyurl.com/8laq43)

I would LOVE for something to be found that is effective in treating Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, for Sir Terry's sake and for thousands of others, but is there any reason to believe this is based on anything more solid than wishful thinking? I'd love to be pleasantly surprised, but it's hard to get very excited until proper trials are done.

Is "light therapy" recognized as effective in treating anything besides possibly stuff like jet lag, seasonal affective disorder, and maybe acne?

Tunny
 
I just told my wife, who's a huge Pratchett fan. We hadn't heard about his knighthood, or his Alzheimer's diagnosis. Pretty sad.

I've enjoyed listening to recorded versions of the Discworld books with my wife, which we'd pick up at the library after she'd read the original versions. The thought that Cohen the Barbarian, Rincewind, Death, and the Librarian of the Unseen University might find their adventures coming to an end is a bit much to take. I thought there was some unwritten rule that once you create a world, you are officially a Deity, (or at least a Demigod), and as such, are exempt from death.

I'm hoping this works for him.
 
How exactly does this thing work? I mean why does the near-IR and IR light retard the effects of Alzheimers Disease?

INRM
 
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Whilst its proponents obviously haven't yet provided clinical evidence of its effectiveness, I can't say I blame Pratchett for not waiting and trying it now even if there's only the slightest chance that it might help. I'd probably do the same if I had Alzheimer's.
 
Ive been thinking about dementia recently and I'm leaning towards considering it a fate worse than death, and would seriously consider suicide over slowly losing my mind. That way if there is life/consciousness beyond death I would be able to face it with greater mental acuity.

Sorry to hear about Pratchett though. Peter Falk too, hopefully medical science will become better at healing the brain in the near future.
 
In seeing someone suffer from dementia (my father-in-law) over the last few years I have come to understand what a terrible disease it is. One that affects not only him but his friends and family - he is getting to the stage where he no longer recognizes his children!
 
Pixel42 said:
Whilst its proponents obviously haven't yet provided clinical evidence of its effectiveness, I can't say I blame Pratchett for not waiting and trying it now even if there's only the slightest chance that it might help. I'd probably do the same if I had Alzheimer's.
Click to expand...


To quote Pratchett himself:
"Personally, I'd eat the arse out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance."
Click to expand...
 
sk3ptical said:
In seeing someone suffer from dementia (my father-in-law) over the last few years I have come to understand what a terrible disease it is. One that affects not only him but his friends and family - he is getting to the stage where he no longer recognizes his children!
Click to expand...

I had my father look at me and say I can't remember who you are.

Heartbreaking.

Dave
 
I remember transporting a patient who thought it was a strange coincidence that I had the same last name as him(I didn't). It seems he did not recognise his son, and then when I became the person near him he did not realize the person he was talking to had changed.
 
I don't blame him for trying it but I'd have rather he just be a high profiled member of a clinical trial.

ETA: And I don't see why the next stage isn't a test with a placebo control? Is it usual to go informal trials > non-placebo/non-blinded trial > blinded/placebo trial for these types of treatment?
 
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Thanks

Thanks for linking to my blog above, I decided to join the forums since it looks like I have some readers here :)

I just want to be clear that I totally agree with Sir Terry's decision to go ahead with trying the helmet - certainly he has nothing to lose, so it's a rational choice.

What infuriates me is this "science by press release". It's totally irresponsible, and in a sense very cruel, to offer false hope to patients before you have any actual evidence that it works. What makes it worse is that they made their claims in the papers in January 2008, then again in July, and now for a third time last week, so that's three times over the course of a whole year that they've felt the need to go to the press to start mouthing off about possible cures, without even conducting the most basic controlled trials.

It's not impossible that the helmet works - certainly NIR can penetrate the skull at his has been shown to have effects on some tissue - but they have no evidence, and until they do they should stfu and work on producing some, rather than spending their energy gaining celebrity endorsements for a PR campaign.
 
MartinR said:
I just want to be clear that I totally agree with Sir Terry's decision to go ahead with trying the helmet - certainly he has nothing to lose, so it's a rational choice.

What infuriates me is this "science by press release". It's totally irresponsible, and in a sense very cruel, to offer false hope to patients before you have any actual evidence that it works.
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly, in both cases.

Tunny
 
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