Dr. Donald Weaver's goal in life is to never have to give bad news to an Alzheimer's patient and their family again.
Over the 30 years he's been a neurologist and Alzheimer's disease (AD) researcher, Dr. Weaver has grown accustomed to informing patients and their families about AD's grim prognosis.
"Last week I met yet another family that I really felt badly for," says Dr. Weaver, sitting in his office at the Krembil Research Institute, where he's director.
"This family brought in a loved one who is 53 years old, well-advanced in AD. They had seen their general practitioner, who told them, 'Go see a neurologist, now.' So the family comes in, and they ask, 'Do you have a pill that's going to make this all better?' And you have to say, 'No, I don't.' I tell them what they have and I tell them what the prognosis is. And the room is filled with tears," says Dr. Weaver.
"I've been doing this for decades, and I'm tired of doing it. Someone needs to come up with a drug."
The Krembil Research Institute and the Globe and Mail have teamed up for a special content project designed to highlight the tremendous accomplishments of our scientists and research programs at Krembil. The first of three of magazine in this series focuses on the success stories within the brain and spine program and is now available online.
