Thinking Outside The Box Dept.

     Great God in heaven, what a morning this is proving to be! First the Wall Street Journal tells us that “avocadoes are violent,” and now we have this:

     After decades of effort and untold millions invested in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, the disease remains unchecked and rampant. Most recently, the New York Times reported that researchers declared defeat after the failure of yet another experimental drug designed to fight the formation of the disease’s signature amyloid plaque in the brain.

     But according to Shlomi Raz, CEO and founder of biomedical startup, Eleusis, the problem with conventional, single-target approaches to Alzheimer’s is that they don’t take into account the multiple dysregulated processes in the disease’s complex pathobiology.

     And Raz’s company’s approach to the disease is anything but conventional.

     Eleusis is investigating the anti-inflammatory potential of psychedelics as medicines, specifically the application of sub-perceptual doses of LSD in halting the progression of Alzheimer’s disease at its earliest detectable stage.

     “Forbes: Capitalist Tool!” indeed.

     I assume a “sub-perceptual” dose would not trigger the hallucinations and fantasies characteristic of an acid trip...but it’s just an assumption. The brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers could react in a completely different fashion. But considering the disorientation and terror that Alzheimer’s patients are known to experience, the trip might prove salutary anyway. Only one way to find out, as they say.