Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Help for Alzheimers and Autism?

A coworker shared this news story with me today and it looks very promising, at least for Alzheimer's. It says it also should help with many other disorders including Autism. My coworker brought some coconut oil in for us to try today and it looks like the fat calories would create another health problem while curing the first ailment. The news-clip indicates a solution has been found but it costs too much to develop...Is this legit? If so, it seems shocking/unbelievable to me that the cure can't be produced for lack of funding. Surely the collective costs of caring for people with Alzheimer's alone would more than offset the cost of producing the stuff? If it also helps with Autism, surely there would be funding for production somewhere?

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/mp4/LJO190v1_WS

Nik, I'm skeptical of anything that claims to cure many disorders, especially those as different as Alzheimer's and autism. Why would we think that disorders with different causes would be cured by one product? And indeed, as you noticed, wouldn't there be funding for something that "costs too much to develop" if it would really help that many people? Looks like snake oil to me.

I like this link on distinguishing science from pseudoscience. http://doublexscience.blogspot.com/2011/12/real-science-vs-fake-science-how-can.html . (See point 7 in particular, though several of the warning signs are present here.)

How's your DD, Nik?

DeeDee

I am usually very skeptical of stuff like this but the explanation made sense, and Oxford University lends some level of credence.

Thanks for asking about my DD: she is VERY happy and has friends, she is loving her college, and she is finally being academically challenged - what more could I ask for? I know she is EXTREMELY motivated to do whatever it takes to stay there, so I just hope and pray she can find a way to get her writing assignments done. Either way, the amount of personal growth and maturity that I have observed over the past 8 months is pretty miraculous :-).

That's lovely news! I'm so glad she's happy.

DeeDee