Medicine for Alzheimer ‘s disease

　I once cared for two Alzheimer’s disease patients, my mother and my great aunt. I had hard days at that time. Taking care of Alzheimer’s patients at home is difficult -- almost impossible. It hurts to remember those days, even now.

 One day, I saw to a big newspaper advertisement about a medicine. It said the medicine was effective for Alzheimer’s disease. At that time, there was just one Alzheimer’s medicine, Aricept, covered by the Japanese insurance system. My mother and my great aunt were taking Aricept, but the advertisement said this new medicine would be good for the disease.

 It cost 150 dollars per month. If I bought it for my mother and my great aunt, I’d have to pay 300 dollars every month. Expensive! But if that medicine helped our hard situation, it would be priceless.

 Before I decided to buy the medicine, I talked to our doctor about it. He didn’t know about the medicine. He said he was not sure if it was effective or not.

 I was suspicious, and we could not afford the medicine. I gave up on buying it.

 A few years later, I found a small article in the same newspaper. Scientists had discovered that the medicine had no effect on Alzheimer’s disease. It was a fake medicine!

 It was so close. I almost had paid for this fraud! If I had paid 300 dollars every month, it would be 3,600 dollars every year! The caregivers for Alzheimer’s disease patients are vulnerable. They are all struggling. A drowning man will clutch at a straw. The company took advantage of their weakness. I can’t forgive them.

 I also can’t forgive the newspaper company. They put the advertisement in the paper. Many people were fooled by the advertisement. Then, the newspaper company published only a very small article to explain that the medicine did not work. It was too late and too small.

 These days, false advertisement on social media is a hot topic. But even now, there may be false advertisement in the mass media. All media loves sponsors, because everyone loves money.

 Trust nobody!

Picture by Ammatar

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