THE ANNOUNCEMENT came the day before Thanksgiving, but there was nothing in it to be thankful for: An experimental Alzheimer’s drug many thought would slow the disease’s steady cognitive decline had failed to make a signii cant dif erence in a massive trial of people with early signs of the illness.
Marty Reiswig took the news hard. “I was just sad,” he says. “I was really hopeful that it would be life-changing for us.” Reiswig doesn’t have Alzheimer’s disease—he’s a 38-year-old real estate agent in good health. But he is part of a large extended family that’s been al icted by Alzheimer’s for generations. His Uncle Roy died of the disease. So did Grandpa Ralph. Eleven great-aunts and great-uncles. Dozens of cousins. And now, Reiswig says, “I’ve got a 64-yearold father who’s almost dead of Alzheimer’s.”