Alzheimer's breakthrough from basic research

[montyy0]

Researchers have found a correlate to Alzheimer's in embryonic development ( link.) In addition to the promise this may have for finding cures and treatments, it offers a chance for me to get on a soapbox

Comments

the ways in which human biology is different are important

[jon0001]

as someone trying to make their way in the world of translational research, it is vital to appreciate how different the human is from any other organism. most of my work is in the mouse, but I occasionally do an observational clinical study. most of the models in the mouse are complete crap with regard to figuring out something that may work in people. yeah, we learn a lot of neat biology about the mouse, worm and fish. but precious little of it helps. there are a lot of reasons for this, especially because of genetic heterogeneity and the complex spectrum of environmental exposures, lifestyle choices and the diversity of comorbid conditions that impinge on healthcare (not to mention the fact that we are constrained by the model organism regarding how well the disease model actually recapitulates the human disease).

the problem isn't so much that funding goes to NIH vs. NSF. NIH does in fact spend a huge amount of money on basic science. the problem is that most people don't want to make hard choices about their lifestyles or be accountable for the decisions that they do make. It is the same problem that is plaguing our financial system now, only manifest in another realm. our cultural context supports this sense of entitlement and of shirking responsibility for our own actions and as a population we have been infantilized and shielded from the realities of the world. in the end this costs us a lot more money than if we had a culture of accountability.

recently the ICU faculty here published a study showing if you administer routine oral hygiene (brush teeth, irrigate with mouthwash) to patients on ventilators they will have significantly fewer incidences of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). preventative healthcare is much simpler and cheaper than interventional healthcare. a round of oral hygiene takes a trained nurse about 3-5 minutes per patient * 10 beds (in a 24 bed ICU with patients on ventilators) = 1 hour per day * 365 days = 1/6 of a clinical nurse * $65,000/yr salary = ~$16,000/yr. a single episode of VAP increases ventilator days by >2, ICU days by >4, has a 15-30% mortality rate and increases hospital costs by $20,000+.

* - of course this is a back of the envelope calculation and it is based on data from 2005 or earlier.