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Valley of forgetting : Alzheimer's families and the search for a cure / Jennie Erin Smith.

Summary:

"The riveting account of a community from the remote mountains of Colombia whose rare and fatal genetic mutation is unlocking the secrets of Alzheimer's disease. In the 1980s, a neurologist named Francisco Lopera traveled on horseback into the mountains seeking families with symptoms of dementia. For centuries, residents of certain villages near Medellín had suffered memory loss as they reached middle age, going on to die in their fifties. Lopera discovered that a unique genetic mutation was causing their rare hereditary form of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Over the next forty years of working with the "paisa mutation" kindred, he went on to build a world-class research program in a region beset by violence and poverty. In Valley of Forgetting, Jennie Erin Smith brings readers into the clinic, the laboratories, and the Medellín trial center where Lopera's patients receive an experimental drug to see if Alzheimer's can be averted. She chronicles the lives of people who care for sick parents, spouses,and siblings, all while struggling to keep their own dreams afloat. These Colombian families have donated hundreds of their loved ones' brains to science and subjected themselves to invasive testing to help uncover how Alzheimer's develops and whether it can be stopped. Findings from this unprecedented effort could hold the key to understanding and treating the disease, though it is unclear what, if anything, the families will receive in return. Smith's immersive storytelling brings this complex drama to life, inviting readers on a scientific journey that is as deeply moving as it is engrossing"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780525536079
  • ISBN: 0525536078
  • Physical Description: 376 pages ; 24 cm
  • Publisher: New York : Riverhead Books, [2025]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 355-366) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Curious Doctors -- Las Familias -- Resilience.
Subject: Restrepo Lopera, Francisco, 1951-2024.
Alzheimer's disease.

Available copies

  • 13 of 19 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Carteret County Public Library.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 19 total copies.
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Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Down East 362.196 SMITH (Text) 34208900246314 Adult New Nonfiction Available -

LDR 02782cam a2200313 i 4500
00114771746
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010 . ‡a 2024044615
035 . ‡a(OCoLC)1456541024
020 . ‡a9780525536079 ‡q(hardcover)
020 . ‡a0525536078 ‡q(hardcover)
040 . ‡aDNLM/DLC ‡beng ‡erda ‡cDLC ‡dIG# ‡dOCLCO ‡dBRL
08200. ‡a362.1968/311 ‡223/eng/20241115
1001 . ‡aSmith, Jennie Erin, ‡d1973- ‡eauthor ‡0(CARDINAL)500560
24510. ‡aValley of forgetting : ‡bAlzheimer's families and the search for a cure / ‡cJennie Erin Smith.
264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bRiverhead Books, ‡c[2025]
264 4. ‡c©2025
300 . ‡a376 pages ; ‡c24 cm
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 355-366) and index.
5050 . ‡aCurious Doctors -- Las Familias -- Resilience.
520 . ‡a"The riveting account of a community from the remote mountains of Colombia whose rare and fatal genetic mutation is unlocking the secrets of Alzheimer's disease. In the 1980s, a neurologist named Francisco Lopera traveled on horseback into the mountains seeking families with symptoms of dementia. For centuries, residents of certain villages near Medellín had suffered memory loss as they reached middle age, going on to die in their fifties. Lopera discovered that a unique genetic mutation was causing their rare hereditary form of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Over the next forty years of working with the "paisa mutation" kindred, he went on to build a world-class research program in a region beset by violence and poverty. In Valley of Forgetting, Jennie Erin Smith brings readers into the clinic, the laboratories, and the Medellín trial center where Lopera's patients receive an experimental drug to see if Alzheimer's can be averted. She chronicles the lives of people who care for sick parents, spouses,and siblings, all while struggling to keep their own dreams afloat. These Colombian families have donated hundreds of their loved ones' brains to science and subjected themselves to invasive testing to help uncover how Alzheimer's develops and whether it can be stopped. Findings from this unprecedented effort could hold the key to understanding and treating the disease, though it is unclear what, if anything, the families will receive in return. Smith's immersive storytelling brings this complex drama to life, inviting readers on a scientific journey that is as deeply moving as it is engrossing"-- ‡cProvided by publisher.
60010. ‡aRestrepo Lopera, Francisco, ‡d1951-2024.
650 0. ‡aAlzheimer's disease. ‡0(CARDINAL)229317
901 . ‡a14771746 ‡bAUTOGEN ‡c14771746 ‡tbiblio ‡soclc