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My attention was caught by a news report today, about Scottish scientists who claim to have stopped Alzheimer's from killing brain cells in laboratory tests. About three weeks ago, the `Herald Sun' reported, ``Melbourne scientists have discovered a drug compound that radically improves memory, and they hope to transform it into an anti-dementia and memory loss drug.''
All I could do was think back ....My life and the lives of all my blood relatives was touched by Alzheimer's, but we didn't know it at the time. When I was still in primary school, Mum would lose her keys and her glasses several times a day. They were the earliest signs that she was in the grip of a condition that would gradually erode her memory, her power of speech, her grasp of Latin and French, and her vivacious personality.
Yet, as she lived until the age of 88, it was a seemingly capricious condition. Occasionally, it seemed, the mists would clear to allow moments of clarity.
On one occasion, our eldest daughter was doing her homework and she needed to name a fruit or vegetable that began with the letter Q. I turned to Mum, who by this stage couldn't remember whether she had eaten breakfast or not. She nodded. ``Quince,'' she said, without missing a beat.
On another occasion, my brother Mike, who was based in Paris at the time, flew to Melbourne to visit Mum for a few days. That morning, he mentioned that the French were blessed with a stirring national anthem. Mum responded by singing the first verse of La Marseillaise - in French.
When she embraced my brother that day, he asked her gently if she knew who he was. Her eyes clouded over and she stumbled slightly over her agonised reply.
``I don't know your name,'' she admitted, ``but I know I love you very much.''
