Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Boston Legal goes to Supreme Court over Alzheimer's sufferer's rights

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I am a fan of the show Boston Legal.

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

For years the show has alluded to the mild cognitive impairment of Denny Crane (William Shatner) by referring to it as "mad cow". Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transition stage between the cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious problems caused by Alzheimer's disease. The show is going to address the issue of Alzheimer's directly. This week Denny was diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Boston Legal is about a "whacky" group of attorney's that often take on real life social issues when clients walk into their office ready to sue. In this case, Denny wants to get the experimental Alzheimer's drug Dimebon. Dimebon is an orally-available, small molecule that has been shown to inhibit brain cell death in preclinical models relevant to Alzheimer’s disease. Dimebon is currently in a Phase 3 clinical trial. It is not legal to buy it for Alzheimer's disease because it is not approved by the FDA for this purpose. The show ended the week with Alan Shore (James Spader) gleefully announcing that the United States Supreme Court had decided to hear Denny's case. The issue--he wants to buy the drug, why can't he?


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Dimebon, an available Russian antihistamine, has been on the market for 25 years. A research study found that Dimebon improved memory, thinking, and other cognitive measures over placebo in as little as 12 weeks, and the differences were maintained over six months to a year.

Boston Legal is confronting an issue that is on the minds of many families facing the devastating effects of Alzheimer's. If the drug works in clinical trials why shouldn't you be allowed to purchase the drug? Right now, the United States government will not allow this. Denny facing certain Alzheimer's wants to buy the drug to help stave off Alzheimer's. It will be interesting to see how this plays out on the television show.

I want to congratulate Boston Legal, its writers, and actors for taking on the issue of Alzheimer's disease. An underlying message in the show is that no one is immune to Alzheimer's disease. Denny Crane is a wealthy, upper class, partner at a successful law firm. Alzheimer's knows no social or economic boundaries. In his role as Denny, Wiiliam Shatner, shows that a person suffering from mild cognitive impairment or an early stage of Alzheimer's can function effectively. There is an important message here: Alzheimer's attacks long before the person shows obvious signs of losing their memory. Subtle behavioral changes often are the first signs of Alzheimer's and dementia.  A person can work, drive, and perform many tasks while suffering from an early stage of Alzheimer's. Denny wants Dimebon to slow the progression of the disease. In this sense he is fortunate because early detection is critical to any effecive treatment of the disease. There is no cure for Alzheimer's.

It never occured to me to try and get Dimebon for my mother. The show made me think about this issue. I now ask myself, why can't we purchase the drug if we desire to do so? Alzheimer's is certain brain death so what are the risks? What are the potential benefits? If we decided that the potential benefits of taking a drug outweigh the risks, why shouldn't we be allowed to decide for ourselves? The show will frame these issues. I am looking forward to see how they approach and define the issue before the Supreme Court.

The show airs on Monday at 9 PM on the east coast and is a two hour series finale.




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Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The blog contains more than 3,101 articles with more than 452,100 links on the Internet. Bob lives in Delray Beach, FL.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room
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