[ExI] Jaw-dropping CWRU Alzheimer's breakthrough?

[BillK]

On Sun, Feb 19, 2012 at 8:37 PM, spike  wrote:
> Ja that is only one mechanism of self-selection.  The kind of skin cancer
> that Targretin treats is non-lethal, at least in the near term.  So
> Alzheimer's patients are perhaps passed over for this expensive medication.
> After I thought that through, I realized there was probably not much
> information content in the finding that there are no Alzheimer's patients
> receiving this treatment.  It is by itself not necessarily an indication
> that Targretin was having any beneficial effect on skin cancer patients.
>
>

I intended to say that although Targretin has been prescribed for many
years as a skin cancer treatment, almost all of these patients
probably presented at an age before any significant dementia symptoms
were apparent. So it would not be surprising that a helpful effect on
dementia (if present) went completely unnoticed. So looking at past
patients data would not be helpful.

As you are saying, what is now required is a new study on patients
with significant dementia symptoms.

BillK