Alzheimer's drug hope: BBC News Review

Could Alzheimer's soon be treated as easily as asthma?

This is News Review from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Beth. Make sure you watch

to the end to learn vocabulary to talk about this story.

Don't forget to subscribe to our channel, like this video

and try the quiz on our website.

Now, the story.

New drugs could completely change the way Alzheimer's

is treated. The medication slows down memory loss

and confusion,

according to recent scientific trials.

This means people with the disease could still do everyday tasks

like shopping, cooking and cleaning.

Scientists hope that Alzheimer's will be managed as easily as asthma

and diabetes.

You've been looking at the headlines, Beth.

What's the vocabulary?

We have turning point, beginning of the end

and to remember. This is News Review from

BBC Learning English.

Let's have a look at our first headline.

This is from The Guardian.

Experts urge health regulators to approve 'turning point'

dementia drugs.

So, this headline describes these drugs as a turning point. 'turning point'

is the expression that we're looking at and if you literally turn,

it's because you have made a decision.

So, for example, you're walking down the road.

You decide that you need to go into a shop to buy something,

you turn, literally.

Yes. That's literal and it helps with understanding the metaphorical meaning

because 'turning point' or 'a turning point' is a big change.

It's going from one idea to another

or maybe something positive to something negative,

or something negative to something positive.

Yes. So this headline is describing these drugs as a turning point.

It could mean a really big change for people with Alzheimer's.

Yes, that's right.

And this expression is very often used when we're talking

about a change for the positive,

just like in this headline.

Another example, could be when you have children –

it's a turning point in your life.

Yes, that's a big change for people.

Also, if you get a new job,

we could call that a turning point.

Let's look at that again.

Let's look at our next headline.

This is from Sky News.

New Alzheimer's drugs could spell 'beginning of the end' for disease.

Yes. So these drugs could be

the 'beginning of the end'.

That means the start of events that lead to something finishing.

It sounds a little bit confusing. Can you explain more, Beth?

Yes. So 'the beginning of the end' is used in the headline

because these drugs are now being tested and they might become available soon.

So, that means we're at the start of the disease becoming easier to manage

which could then, kind of, be the end for Alzheimer's as we know it today.

Yeah. So this expression is usually used for quite big things

like a cure for a disease.

So, for example, when the Covid vaccines became available,

it was the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

That's right.

And it's much more common nowadays to type on a phone or a computer.

So, what do you think, Neil? Could it be the beginning of the end

for the pen and pencil? It could be, yes.

Let's look at that again.

Let's have our next headline.

This is from The Times.

The Times view on Alzheimer's drug treatment: Breakthrough to Remember.

So, this headline calls these drugs

a 'breakthrough to remember'. 'A breakthrough' is an

important discovery or development.

We're looking at 'to remember'.

Now, 'remember', we all know that.  

We do. But this is 'to remember'.

So, we use after a noun and we mean that something is so important

that it will be remembered by a lot of people, maybe even far into the future.

Yes. So the headline is saying that this breakthrough,

these drugs, are very important to the world of science.

It's a memorable event and they use 'to remember' to mean that.

Exactly. We can also use this with personal situations.

Maybe you have a birthday party with all your family and friends and you say

Wow, it was a night to remember.

You're not going to forget it because it was so great.

Or maybe your wedding day was a day to remember.

Yeah. Now, it's important to point out that

this is a clever headline.

It has got a double meaning, as we often see in headlines.

It uses 'to remember', this expression. And of course

one of the main symptoms of Alzheimer's is not being able to remember things.

Let's look at that again.

We've had: turning point – a big change,

usually for the better.  

beginning of the end – the start of something bad stopping.

  And 'to remember' – unforgettable.

Now, if you have enjoyed this episode, we recently spoke about

how having a nap can reduce the risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer's.

Click here to watch that episode .

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Thanks for joining us. Bye.