Nov

2

Alzheimers Patch

Posted by cameron

November 2, 2007 |

I started this post intending to write just about the patch. During my research I stumbled upon a program that I suspect not many know about. I guess forgetfulness is inherent in the aging process and everyone experiences it to some degree but how do you know when it might be something more serious? Nobody knows why this happens and the diagnostic process leaves a lot to be desired. The diagnostics appear to work by a process of elimination of all else. I guess when there is nothing left it must be Alzheimers. This seems to be somewhat dissatisfying to me. How can we diagnose mad cow disease in the lab and yet still not know how to diagnose this scourge? But I digress. I found a little test at Novartis which involves answering ten questions. If you want to take the test go here.  If you are honest I suspect that anyone older than 60 will get a couple of shaky answers in the test.

While at the site (the company’s purpose after all) I was reading about their drug “Exelon”, which has been around for a while now. It seems to have “significant stomach-related side effects”, their words not mine. This, of course, is why they invented the patch. It is now on the market in the U.S. and, according to the company, minimizes the gastro-intestinal problems of the pill. This makes sense since you don’t digest it. Exelon’s role is to slow down the disease progression while in it’s early to mid stages.

What I didn’t know was that buried in the bowels of the Novartis website is a program for those with no health coverage to get access to the drugs. It’s called the “Patients Assistance Program” or P.A.P. for short. There is an enrollment process for the pill or patch which you can find here. You can learn about the process here. It seems that if you qualify you can get up to a years supply of the drugs. So, if you don’t have insurance, and probably have to prove low income, then why not check it out. Exelon is not the only drug they offer in this way it’s just how I stumbled on this program. Isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing!


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. wedding supplies on November 2, 2007 7:38 pm

    pretty scary stuff. Have you heard of any recent breakthroughs or current research that looks promising?

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