Science Friday: What can moments of lucidity teach us about Alzheimer’s?

dancsfo · August 22

I found this to be an interesting interview. No solutions presented, but presents what is being researched.

Podcast description:

Watching a loved one with Alzheimer’s or dementia slowly lose their cognitive abilities can be heartbreaking. While the person you once knew seems to be slipping away, sometimes people with Alzheimer’s briefly seem like their old selves again. They may remember a long-forgotten name or suddenly regain the ability to have a fluid conversation. What do these moments of lucidity really mean for the progression of the disease? And what implications do they have for those living with the disease, and their caretakers?

Guest: Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi

Dr. Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi is an associate professor of emergency medicine, and co-director of the Lucidity in Alzheimer’s and Dementia (LEAD) Network at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Audio and transcript on Science Friday:

https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/moments-of-lucidity-alzheimers-dementia/

SusanB-dil · August 23

A dear friend compared 'this' to a fluorescent light fixture. Most of the time the electrical connection usually flickers. Sometimes it seems the connection is just barely there, especially in later stages. But then all of a sudden, you might get that unexpected connection and that fluorescent light just might blink on again. Briefly. A tease. And then it just flickers along again.

I thought that was a rather profound and logical analogy

Thanks for posting that info. I read the transcript

dancsfo · August 26

@SusanB-dil The fluorescent analogy is very good. We often refer to a PWD's 'broken brain', but moments of lucidity seems to indicate that it's not irreversibly & completely broken, and it may flicker on briefly. Of course, we don't know what that connection is that restores it, or what causes it to degrade again. It's a puzzle we deal with.

Science Friday: What can moments of lucidity teach us about Alzheimer’s?

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