Can science really cure Alzheimer’s disease?
Watching brain surgery raises a profound question: is Alzheimer’s disease an unsolvable puzzle, or can science eventually defeat it? At the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, cutting-edge dementia research begins inside an operating theatre. A patient lies sedated as surgeons prepare to remove a brain tumour that spread from colon cancer. On large screens, MRI images reveal the mass deep within the brain, far from the surface. To reach it, neurosurgeons must pass through the cortex, the brain’s outer layer responsible for memory, language and thought. Using extreme precision, Professor Paul Brennan drills a small opening in the skull and carefully removes a tiny section of cortex. In most hospitals, this tissue would be discarded. Here, with the patient’s consent, it becomes a valuable resource for Alzheimer’s research. That small piece of living brain tissue is placed immediately into ice-cold artificial cerebrospinal […]