Editorial — Bennett donation renews hope for Alzheimer’s cure

SATURDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — The news this week that former B.C. Premier Bill Bennett suffers from Alzheimer’s brings home once again the awful injustice of this disease — it  robs us of so many of our best minds, takes away the famous as well as everyday people.

Bennett was a controversial premier but he was arguably one of the most decisive leaders this province has had. Many other leaders in many walks of life have been similarly stricken by Alzheimers or other forms of dementia —  U.S. President Ronald Reagan, boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, actor Charles Bronson, singer Etta James, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, artist Norman Rockwell, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein are on a staggering list.

Charles Fipke, a Canadian diamond miner, has pledged $9.1 million for Alzheimer’s research in the name of Bill Bennett. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but the future may hold one. Scientists are finding more clues as to what might cause it, and from that may be able to find ways to help prevent it. Diagnosis is becoming more effective. And they think it might be possible to reverse loss of memory.

The research made possible by Fipke’s donation, prompted by the ill health of Bill Bennett, may help lead us further down the path to resolving the Alzheimer’s riddle.