June 6, 2019
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The fate of the most promising Alzheimer’s drug in decades was sealed with a text message.
It was sent to Al Sandrock, one of the most celebrated drug developers of his generation. He and his employer, Biogen, the pioneering biotech firm, had spent a dozen years and hundreds of millions of dollars developing the drug. It was the talk of neuroscience; it had been featured on the cover of Fortune — a sign of hope for the entire field.
The text message said his team needed to see him urgently. He didn’t know why. He didn’t know that Biogen’s head of research was getting the same message, and would be calling into the meeting on a secure line from an international trip.
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I am so sorry to hear this disappointing news. So very sorry for the families with people suffering along with their loved ones who have dementia / Alzheimer’s. After studying about statin drugs, how they work on the HMG-CoA Reductase Enzyme in the mevalonate pathway of the liver, I can not understand why science continues to encourage the use of statins. The brain needs cholesterol! The neuron’s need cholesterol for the myelin sheath that protects the axon and enables the neurons to send their electrical signals to one another without interruption. The synapse between neurons relies on cholesterol to function. YET, statin drugs diminish or eliminate the liver’s ability to make cholesterol! If someone you know is having any type of dementia, check their meds list to see if they are taking a statin. Dr. Mark Hyman, Director of Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic believes no woman over 69 should ever be on a statin. People need to understand the importance of cholesterol – without it we could not live! We need to understand the new cholesterol testing that every person should insist on getting when the doctor wants to check their cholesterol. That test is the Particle Test.