Healing, and Hope for the Future

What impact does C. elegans research have on those currently affected by a neurodegenerative disease?

I've always been advised that understanding another person's situation necessitates putting myself in their shoes. Needless to say, anyone who has Alzheimer's Disease or any caretaker of a loved one, develops a unique sense of empathy. Not only for those in tumultuous circumstances, but especially for those enduring a similar type of tumult.

In February, Scientific American published an article titled "Measuring the Magic of Healing." When I first read the piece, the word that came to mind was Hope.

C. elegans research won't help anyone currently suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. But remember that acquired empathy? The knowledge that something is being done, can only do good in providing people hope. Alex might have a little more to say on this but I think the concept of hope, of morale, is a human necessity that we require to carry on throughout life. Of course, this is not to discount the necessity for urgency in disease research and the steps toward a physiological cure. Don't even get me started on FDA regulations for clinical trials. But I digress.

It's a sad and arduous balancing act that terminal illnesses bring each and every day, no doubt about that. But we must "measure" the components at hand. Physical healing may not be possible for patients in the here and now. But a source of hope, even if it comes from C. elegans research, is valuable nonetheless. (233)