Reaching for the Sun

[Light guitar music plays]

00:01

[A montage of "human moments" plays in a collage-like style showing kids playing on a playground, kid riding bike, and a wedding]

00:09

[A couple hold each other at their wedding as Dr Sabbagh's words animate onscreen]

Dr. Sabbagh: The thing that we don’t want to lose in our lives…

00:13

[A grandma playing with her grandkid]

Dr. Sabbagh: … is our brain our mind.

00:16

[Kids sledding down a snowy slope]

00:25

[A family is lying in the grass with their dog as Dr Sabbagh's words animate onscreen]

Dr. Sabbagh: Imagine the totality of your life experience...

00:30

[A home video shows kids in a school play]

Dr. Sabbagh: ...is erased.

00:32

[Collage fades away and the music stops]

Dr. Sabbagh: That is what Alzheimer's disease is doing.

00:38

[Hopeful music starts playing]

00:42

[Words animate onscreen: "Alzheimer's takes what we hold dear but we’re not giving up so easy"]

00:53

[Title of the documentary appears: Reaching For The Sun]

00:55

[Blur and text fade away to reveal predawn Edinburgh, Scotland]

01:00

[Cut to predawn Tokyo, Japan]

01:05

[Cut to predawn Scottsdale, Arizona, USA]

01:09

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh breathing in deep, closing his eyes in front of his computer]

01:14

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh interview footage]

Dr Sabbagh: I am Marwan Sabbagh. I’m a medical doctor, professor of neurology at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

01:20

[Cut to close-up of Dr. Sabbagh working on his computer]

Dr. Sabbagh: My father's a heart surgeon...

01:24

Dr. Sabbagh: He used to take me on rounds…

01:26

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh interview footage]

Dr. Sabbagh: …to the hospital with him from when I was 7, 8, 9 years old.

01:30

[Cut to notes on desk in Dr. Sabbagh's office]

01:33

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh on his computer]

Dr. Sabbagh: I started doing Alzheimer's research very early on because I was realizing…

01:36

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh on his computer]

Dr. Sabbagh: ...what we didn’t know, not what we did know, but what we didn’t know.

01:41

[Close up of Dr. Sabbagh typing, as the word "curiosity" animates on screen]

Dr. Sabbagh: And that curiosity is what drove me into the field.

01:44

[Match cut to Dr. Iwatsubo’s hands on his computer]

01:48

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo's lab interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: My name is Takeshi Iwatsubo. I am a professor in the field of neuropathology at the Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Tokyo.

02:02

Dr. Iwatsubo: I think it has been almost three decades since I started working mainly on Alzheimer's disease.

02:07

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo working on his computer, as the word "Authority" animates on screen]

Dr. Iwatsubo: I started studying Alzheimer's disease because my mentor happened to be an authority in this field.

02:16

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo's wife preparing a bento box]

Dr. Iwatsubo: The most substantial risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is aging…

02:23

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo's childhood photo]

Dr. Iwatsubo: ...but we cannot turn the clock backward.

02:27

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo's wedding photo]

Dr. Iwatsubo: We cannot prevent ourselves from getting old.

02:32

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo drinking his coffee]

02:38

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie on his bed]

02:43

[Cut to close-up of Dr. Ritchie clasping his hands]

Dr. Ritchie: Treating patients with AD is at the same time...

02:47

[Cut to close-up of Dr. Ritchie]

Dr. Ritchie: ...both really gratifying but also, especially over the last few years, frustrating.

02:53

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie leaving his bedroom and walking downstairs to the living area]

Dr. Ritchie: I can’t accept that where we are now is the best we can do.

02:58

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie’s interview footage]

Dr. Ritchie: My name’s Craig Ritchie, and I’m CEO and founder of Scottish Brain Sciences, and

I’m honorary professor of Psychiatry of Aging at the University of Edinburgh.

03:08

[Cut to his family photo, as the word "responsibility" animates on screen]

Dr Ritchie: I feel I've got a commitment and a responsibility to not let people down.

03:14

[A blur fades to reveal dawn shot of Arizona]

03:19

[Match cut to dawn shot of Edinburgh]

03:24

[Match cut to dawn shot of Tokyo]

03:29

[Cut to subway stairs in Tokyo]

Dr. Iwatsubo: Patients with serious diseases such as cancer...

03:33

[Shot of people walking in Tokyo]

Dr. Iwatsubo: …are increasingly open about it and undergo treatments.

03:40

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo at lab interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: However, with dementia, patients are still hesitant to come out publicly.

03:49

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo putting on his sweater]

03:52

[Cut to a news clip]

News Anchor 1: Thank you so much for joining us. We begin tonight with an in-depth look at a disease that too many of you are familiar with.

News Anchor 2: Yeah, we’re talking about Alzheimer's, rising cases across the country…

04:00

[Cut to another news clip]

News Anchor 3: ...in the UK is forecast to rise by 75% by 2050, to almost 1.6 million.

04:05

[Wide shot of Arizona landscape]

04:10

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh’s interview]

Dr. Sabbagh: This is the disease that has captured the national consciousness. That's why you see it in the news every single week, because people are terrified of this disease more than any other disease.

04:19

[Cut to Thelma looking at camera]

Thelma: My father had dementia. He passed away with dementia.

04:24

[Cut to family photo]

Thelma: He was very smart. Every day he would read the papers.

04:29

[Camera footage, panning across old newspapers]

Thelma: And I thought if I brought him his paper every single day…

04:33

[Cut to family photo]

Thelma: …he'd keep on doing it and then he'll snap out of his dementia.

[Super animates on screen: Thelma, Experiencing Memory Issues (Not Diagnosed)]

04:38

[Thelma’s interview shot, as the words "no time to get sick" animate]

Thelma: But it doesn’t work that way. In our culture, there's no time to get sick.

04:44

[Thelma slowly opening her eyes]

04:47

[Thelma interview footage]

Thelma: Being the matriarch in the family is full-on responsibility. You have the burden of being the glue.

04:56

[Cut to family photo]

05:00

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo at lab interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: The truth is, anyone can get dementia as they age.

05:04

[Dr. Ritchie’s interview shot]

Dr. Ritchie: If I said "Alzheimer's disease" in a room of 100 people, they'd all think old people about to go into a nursing home.

05:11

Dr. Ritchie: The D word always comes out. Dementia, dementia, dementia. And we're trying to move away from dementia to the earlier stages of disease.

05:19

Dr. Ritchie: We talk about brain health, we talk about stage one disease, etc. But every time we use that word "dementia" in the lay press or news or what have you, you’re doubling down on the legacy issue of the 20th century.

05:30

Dr. Ritchie: And we now know that Alzheimer's disease is a disease of midlife, 50- and 60-year-olds.

05:35

Dr. Ritchie: That's when it starts as the infancy of the illness.

05:39

[Text comes onto screen: "Our understanding of the disease is shifting"]

05:44

[Dr. Iwatsubo interview footage]

Dr. Iwatsubo: The pathological changes take place long before the symptoms appear.

05:53

[Cut to shot of technician in a lab]

Dr. Sabbagh: Beta amyloid is the protein that accumulates before the onset of symptoms.

05:58

[Dr. Iwatsubo interview footage]

Dr. Iwatsubo: So, even if the symptoms are mild, that is just the tip of the iceberg.

06:04

[Cut to shot of test tubes in a lab]

06:08

[Dr. Iwatsubo interview footage]

Dr. Iwatsubo: In fact, forgetfulness, which is a sign of illness or even a symptom of severe disease, is far too often overlooked because people consider it normal for older people.

06:23

[Cut to Thelma's interview footage]

Thelma: "Forgetful Thelma" will forget an appointment that she had written down in the morning for an appointment in the evening…not being able to show up, seeming irresponsible, having to get out of it by lying.

06:42

[Camera pans Thelma's old magazine cover on wall]

Thelma: It’s always been "Thelma in Charge."

06:45

[Camera pans Thelma’s family photos on wall]

Thelma: People relied on me and I never let them down. And now I let people down. They just won’t say it.

06:53

[Camera pans Thelma's interview footage]

Thelma: Forgetful Thelma may not be the version my family is ready to accept.

07:10

[Dr. Sabbagh Interview footage]

Dr. Sabbagh: I don’t stop being a son when I'm a doctor. I don’t stop being a doctor when I'm a son.

07:15

[Cut to photo frame of Dr. Sabbagh's family]

07:20

[Close-up of Dr. Sabbagh at computer]

Dr. Sabbagh: I feel helpless a lot.

07:23

[Close-up of him on his computer]

Dr. Sabbagh: Most people don’t realize that doctors are people, too.

07:26

[Dr. Sabbagh interview footage]

Dr. Sabbagh: And now they can’t imagine that a doctor turns around to be a caregiver. Right

07:31

[Camera panning his family photos on his shelf]

Dr. Sabbagh: I'm living the caregiving experience right now. I see the suffering of my father

07:36

[Camera panning his family photos on his shelf]

Dr. Sabbagh: …and I see the struggle of my mother. My dad does not have dementia, he has another degenerative disease.

07:42

[Dr. Sabbagh crying momentarily]

Dr. Sabbagh: It's fresh, sorry. Like, I want to do the best I can, but sometimes I don’t have a good solution for them because of that helplessness. I know where it’s going to go. I know what’s going to happen next. I know how this is going to end.

08:11

[Dr. Ritchie walking pre-dawn]

Dr. Ritchie: When somebody goes to see a doctor or makes that appointment, they are expressing a wish to know "what’s wrong with me?"

08:26

[The words "move heaven and earth" appear]

Dr. Ritchie: If somebody is asking you that question, you should move heaven and earth to be able to answer it for them.

08:33

[Dr. Sabbagh in study]

Dr. Sabbagh: And that's why I go to great lengths to make sure that I send a message that is hopeful and supportive of my patients.

8:45

[A horizon comes into picture and the words "Sunrise over Edinburgh, Scotland" appear ]

8:50

[Cuts to a sunrise in Tokyo and the words "Sunrise over Tokyo, Japan" appear]

8:54

[Cuts to a sunrise in Arizona and the words "Sunrise over Arizona, USA" sppear]

8:59

[Dr. Sabbagh hiking pre-dawn]

Dr. Sabbagh: I realized very early on that I wanted to do something that allowed me to intersect medicine and science in a way that impacts patients lives positively.

9:10

[Sun is peaking over the mountain]

9:14

[Dr. Sabbagh speaks to the camera while the sun is rising]

Dr. Sabbagh: That future is happening now.

9:25

[Dr Sabbagh speaking to the camera while sun is rising]

Dr. Sabbagh: I'm seeing it coming from the horizon into our lives. It's a great time in medicine.

9:32

[Cut to cacti in Arizona]

9:35

[Cut to Calton Hill in Scotland]

9:37

[Text animates onto screen that says "Testing for amyloid can help bring answers"]

9:43

[Pan across tubes and vials at a lab in Tokyo. Collage of graphics animate in]

Dr. Iwatsubo: We can now detect and assess the state of the brain.

9:49

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: We have PET scan, a very promising imaging method.

9:56

[Dr. Iwatsubo talks to camera]

Dr. Iwatsubo: A PET scan is an imaging method to see…

10:00

[Cut to a person getting a PET scan]

Dr. Iwatsubo: …if there is more than a certain level of amyloid in the brain.

10:06

[Dr. Iwatsubo talks to camera]

Dr. Iwatsubo: If it’s above a level, we can accurately see where and how much amyloid has accumulated.

10:13

[Cut to camera panning across pipettes and tubes in lab]

Dr. Iwatsubo: Examination of cerebrospinal fluid is another method.

10:16

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: Recently, we have been able to find amyloid and other changes in the brain with a blood test. So, we’ve seen a significant advance.

10:27

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie walking through a sun-filled street]

Dr. Ritchie: We’ve got all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle…

10:30

[Cut to car driving down the street in Scotland]

Dr. Ritchie: …we've just got to bring them together. We’re going to be able to detect much earlier.

10:35

[Show Dr. Sabbagh’s car on the road]

Dr. Sabbagh: The idea is, is that one day very near, in the future, you might be a little forgetful.

10:41

[Cut to close-up of Dr. Sabbagh driving his car]

Dr. Sabbagh: You'll go to the doctor, you’ll get a blood test, it’ll be positive- abnormal for amyloid.

10:47

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh driving his car on the road]

Dr. Sabbagh: And that is not far off in the future, or dreaming, or science fiction, that's actually happening now…

10:54

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh's hands on the steering wheel]

Dr. Sabbagh: …and we actually have blood test, available now, but we could see multiple versions of it coming up.

11:01

[Dr. Iwatsubo lab interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: We want to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease in society and want it to be solved.

11:06

[Cut to footage of Thelma and Jay and the words Jay, Thelma's husband appear]

11:08

[Cut to Jay looking lovingly at Thelma]

11:14

[Cut to close-up of Thelma and Jay holding hands]

Jay: We are blessed to be together.

11:16

[Cut to Jay hugging Thelma]

Jay: You help other people and you help me, help everybody, help our kids. And that's why I love you.

11:23

[Cut to camera panning around to Thelma hugging Jay]

11:25

[Cut to Jay pouring tea for himself and Thelma]

Thelma: So I know there are a few things that can maybe help slow down my loss of memory. One of that is eating healthier.

11:34

[Camera pans around to Thelma enjoying her tea]

Thelma: These are the things that I read about now: getting enough sleep, doing puzzles, playing Mahjong, anything just to get this mind going.

11:48

[Blur fades to reveal morning shot of Arizona and the words "Day Arizona USA" appear]

11:52

[Cut to morning shot of Tokyo and the words "Day Tokyo USA" appear]

11:57

[Cut to morning shot of Edinburgh and the words "Day Edinburgh Scotland" appear]

12:02

[Dr. Iwatsubo at lab interview]

Dr. Iwatsubo: Finally, things are starting to move forward. I realize this with joy now.

12:08

[Cut to tree with sun flare]

Dr. Iwatsubo: I believe that stigma or prejudice should be removed from here on.

12:14

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie on the rocks in Scotland]

Dr. Ritchie: I've said over the last few weeks to people, that this time in our lives now is as great as it was in 1906, 1907-when Alzheimer discovered Alzheimer's disease. This is the next big moment in the treatment of Alzheimer's.

12:26

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh hiking at dawn in Arizona with the words "symptomatic treatments" animating on screen]

Dr. Sabbagh: We have had what we call symptomatic treatments. That means these drugs improve the symptoms of patients…

12:34

[Dr. Sabbagh hiking]

Dr. Sabbagh: …but doesn't change the outcome. Right?

12:36

Dr. Sabbagh: So imagine you had a fever and you took acetaminophen for your fever.

12:41

Dr. Sabbagh: That takes away the fever, but it doesn’t take away the cause of the fever.

12:45

[Dr. Sabbagh hiking as he looks outward]

Dr. Sabbagh: The symptomatic treatments are the quote-unquote, they're the acetaminophen. They're helping the symptom, but they don’t take away the disease.

12:53

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh in his office]

Dr. Sabbagh: Now, we’re in the process of seeing new treatments coming available. It's a very, very exciting development.

13:00

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo walking through the park]

Dr. Iwatsubo: I think it’s fair to say that my happiest memory in the recent years is that the medication for Alzheimer's disease, which I have been working on for a long time, became known as productive and meaningful.

13:19

[Cut to Ueno Park pond with will tree in Tokyo while the words "Treatments that address the underlying disease are becoming available" appear]

13:22

[Dr. Ritchie walking through gates in Scotland]

Dr. Ritchie: The world is changing. I think people are now beginning to listen because of all the successes we’ve seen scientifically.

13:28

[Cut to newspaper headline that reads "Finally, a promising new class of drugs is making its way to Alzheimer’s patients"]

Dr. Sabbagh: There are new treatments. They're exciting.

13:32

[A new headline transitions on screen that reads "A breakthrough on Alzheimer’s is closer than ever"]

Dr. Sabbagh: Amyloid-directed therapies find amyloid.

13:35

[A new headline transitions on screen that reads: "Drug Slows Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer's Patients, Study Reveals"]

Dr. Sabbagh: They have engineered proteins called monoclonal antibodies.

13:38

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh interview]

Dr. Sabbagh: We’ve been at it for 20 years. Finally, we’re seeing good results from these treatments.

13:42

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie interview]

Dr. Ritchie: It’s knowing that amyloid-targeting therapies are on the horizon for me is proof…

13:49

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie running on the beach and the words "what we can achieve" appear]

Dr. Ritchie…of the possible of what we can do…what we can achieve through science.

13:57

[Dr. Ritchie standing on the beach]

14:02

[Pans to lab and researchers]

Dr. Iwatsubo: New healthcare professionals are coming onto the scene…so we need them to bring their full strength to make the treatment of Alzheimer's a reality.

14:13

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie on the beach]

Dr. Ritchie: It might not change as quickly as we would all like. But for my daughter, who’s 20, 21 years old, she's going to be practicing.

14:20

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie talking with his daughter]

Dr. Ritchie: In 30 years time, in 2055…for her, I think that if we get this right, Alzheimer's dementia is going to be a very, very rare condition.

14:30

[Cut to Circus Lane in Edinburgh]

14:31

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh, Ida, and Bowie on a walk]

Dr. Sabbagh: The field is full of people who are thoughtful, scientifically driven, scientifically oriented.

14:39

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie at the beach]

Dr. Ritchie: This isn’t just something that’s happening in…

14:41

[Cut to flags from around the world]

Dr. Ritchie: …the USA, or Scotland, or Japan. This is happening all over the world.

14:45

[Cut to sunny streets in Scotland]

14:48

[Cut to the roads in Arizona]

Dr. Sabbagh: I went to college in the eighties.

14:50

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh driving]

Dr. Sabbagh: I remember if you got HIV, you were dead. Like, 100%. You got AIDS, you’re going to die.

14:55

[Cut to mountain landscape in Arizona]

Dr. Sabbagh: I remember being in medical school.

14:57

[Cut to field of grazing horses]

Dr. Sabbagh: If you were diabetic, you were for sure going to be amputated, blind, and on dialysis.

15:02

[Cut to field of cacti]

Dr. Sabbagh: Now people live normal lives with diabetes.

15:06

[Dr. Sabbagh driving]

Dr. Sabbagh: My point is, is that we can; we have the capability at transforming terminal diseases to chronic diseases.

15:13

[Cut to mountains in Arizona while text appears: "Hope is on the horizon for Alzheimer's disease"]

15:22

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh, Ida, and Bowie on a walk]

Dr. Sabbagh: The reason we want to diagnose early is these new treatments are going to be for people…

15:26

[Dr. Sabbagh begins petting Bowie]

Dr. Sabbagh: …at the beginning of their journey, not the end of their journey.

15:32

[Dr. Ritchie speaks to camera on the beach]

Dr. Ritchie: They’re going to continue to engage with their families. They’re going to still be able to do the things they want to do…

15:36

[Cut to Thelma and Jay giggling and hugging]

Dr. Ritchie: They're going to be able to continue to have those memories. They're going to participate. That’s the goal.

15:50

[Cut to Thelma speaking to camera while the word "purposeful" appears on screen]

Thelma: I look forward to continuing to be purposeful. I want to be useful. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone.

16:01

[Cut to Thelma reaching for flowers]

Thelma: I look forward to keeping the essence of Thelma in spite of forgetfulness.

16:10

[Thelma sitting on her couch]

Thelma: I am a very lucky person. I have a husband who will take any version of me…life is good.

16:17

[Cut to Dr. Iwatsubo speaking on the roof deck]

Dr. Iwatsubo: If we work together, we can push forward.

16:23

[Cut to Dr. Sabbagh on a hike]

Dr. Sabbagh: I’m hopeful that I get to be a participant…because I've been waiting and we have been waiting for a long, long time.

16:30

[Cut to Dr. Ritchie at the beach]

Dr. Ritchie: The time has come.

16:34

[Cut to cacti in desert with sunrise. Collage starts]

16:38

[Collage shots from the documentary build and the line "At the end of the day…what are we?" appears]

Dr. Sabbagh: At the end of the day…what are we?

16:47

[Collage continues while the line "We are the totality of our lived experiences" appears]

Dr. Sabbagh: We are the totality of our lived experiences.

16:55

[Collage continues and text appears on the screen that says "I know that our pasts are our memories, and our futures, our hope. But all we have is the present. All we have is now."] Dr. Sabbagh: I know that our pasts are our memories, and our futures, our hope. But all we have is the present. All we have is now.

17:13

[Credits roll]

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