Chinese-developed drug treatment holds promise of cure for Alzheimer's

ON SATURDAY, the National Medical Products Administration approved a new medicine co-developed by several Chinese teams, which will provide new treatment options for Alzheimer's disease patients. Tu Ewen and Zhou Jian, two senior doctors on brain science at the Brain Hospital of Hunan province, comment:

Previously, Alzheimer's disease used to be called senile dementia but that practice has been given up. One of the main reasons for that is to avoid insulting the patients, while another is that senile dementia is far from enough to properly describe and cover all the people suffering from the disease.

In the early stages of Alzheimer's, the patient may simply seem to be forgetful. He/she might forget to close the door, or forget to switch off the gas after cooking. But as the disease progresses, he or she even forgets where his/her home is after walking in the park, and some patients even gradually lose the ability to speak, with his/her character being altered and mental state turning abnormal.