Dr. Allan Reading worked for more than a year. Dr. Reading is a long laboring scientific researcher determined to slow the progressiveness of dementia. Holding a vial containing a shimmering amber liquid up to the florescent light, he hoped it held an answer would be the answer to stopping, or at least slowing, the mentally deteriorating disease. Dementia results when once-healthy neurons in the brain stop working, lose connections with other brain cells, and die. Project Restoration, as he named the endeavor, aimed to slow nerve cell aging and perhaps inspire fresh growth and restore the connections with other brain cells. He set up a double-blind study. Twenty volunteers suffering from the early onset of dementia. Ten in the experimental group and ten in the control group. The participants, aged 40 to 60, willingly submitted to the protocol and were to be paid $1000.00 at the end of the study.  

The volunteers displayed memory problems, struggling with remembering recent events, recalling factual information, increasing confusion, and reduced ability to concentrate on specific tasks.

Eve, who was a triathlon athlete, had a flickering dream of competing in the Ironman competition in Hawaii. She had an inkling that she was losing focus both at her job as an accountant and in her athletic practice sessions. When she heard of the experiment being conducted at the state university, she eagerly volunteered thinking the money would help defray expenses when she felt ready for the Hawaii event. She didn't look her 45 years. Eve stood five feet, seven inches with long legs. She had a pretty face with blue, alert eyes, a small button nose, perky cheeks, and pouty, full lips. A person would never guess, she had a job as an accountant with a prestigious firm.

A few days after receiving the drug, Eve felt a surge of energy and improving ability to concentrate and physically achieve practice goals. She improved her times both on the swimming leg, which was her best leg, but also on the biking leg, which was her weakest of the triathlon events. She also noticed she was more nimble at work, solving problems and finishing tasks.

Days turned into weeks, and the creaks in her knees and her brain seemed to have vanished. Work and practice became more effortless. With a flickering flame of her old self, hope roared back into her life.

However, others in the experimental group didn’t seem to feel the same positive effects. John, who worked as a carpenter and was a giant of a man, standing six foot four and weighing 280 pounds. He complained of experiencing insomnia and tremors after his dose, making his job more difficult to perform. John said he hammered his fingers, which he had never done in the twenty years he had been in construction, and he had dropped his drywall taping tools on two occasions. He said he often felt light-headed and told Eve he was withdrawing, fearing the side effects, and thinking something worse could happen to him.

Barbara, a 50-year-old beautician, reported she experienced dexterity problems when fixing hair, plus nightmares, leading her to share John's concern about the drug's harmful side effects.

Dr. Reading was concerned. He was sure Project Restoration held promise based upon his animal trials, but the line between rejuvenation and unforeseen consequences in humans was a great worry. Eve, meanwhile, basked in her newfound vitality, but she was concerned about those who were not improving, but she was happy she was feeling better. However, she and another woman in her early forties were the only two of the experimental group that showed improvement.

Dr. Reading adjusted his glasses, peering at the results. He was upset and concerned. A pall of despair invaded his being. He thought, What is going on? Why so little success?The restoration drug showed some negligible improvement in only a couple of people, but none or negative side effects in others. Disappointment gnawed at him. Months of work seemed to be in vain. Then a realization struck him. The results from the control group were, as expected, little change.

 He called in a lady friend of his wife’s, who participated in the experiment. “Anne,” he said, “did you experience any changes in memory after taking the restoration drug?”

Anne tilted her head, not wanting to disappoint her friend’s husband. Dr. Reading notice her anxiousness and said, “Please, I need to know the truth.”

“Actually, no,” Anne said. “I hope its, okay.”

“Yes, my dear, yes, I need the truth. Thank you.”

A thought occurred to Dr. Reading. Perhaps the experiment itself was flawed. His original design did not account for the mind skewing the results of a subject in the experimental group.

Oh, what was I thinking. I must redesign the study to account of the placebo effect. He redesigned the experiment, incorporating methods to minimize the placebo effect. This time, the results were apparent. He needed to continue his research. Dr. Reading re-learned a valuable lesson: the mind itself can be a powerful variable. As in the case of John, who worried himself into a poor outcome and in the case of Eve, who willed herself to do better.

Dr. Reading resolved to continue his research, hoping to develop a drug that would delay or even eradicate dementia forever.