Is the Alzheimer’s Puzzle Like an Agatha Christie Whodunnit?

Vern Scott
9 min readAug 17, 2024

Several are suspected…the boozy, smokey, overweight Colonel Sloth has a history of bad diet, exercise, and lifestyle, Pierre Lymfotique gets little sleep (while doing a poor job of cleaning up after himself), while Ms. Microbe has been known to harbor infectious disease. The overblown, self-aggrandizing Dr. N. Flamacion overreacts to everything, while Countess Amy Lloyd tries to cover up for everyone, to the point where she becomes part of the problem…each has motive, opportunity, and weapon to kill poor Al Z. Heimer, but which one is the guilty party? And is Detective Pharm A. Ceutical helping or hurting the investigation?

Can the brilliant Mssr. Poirot discover who is responsible for the demise of poor Al Z. Heimer (among five suspects Col. Sloth, Pierre Lymphotique, Ms Microbe, Dr. N Flammacion, and Countess Amy Lloyd)? Or will the bumbling, Inspector Clouseau-like, Detective Pharm A. Ceutical take over the investigation?

Colonel Sloth: It is a given that a bad diet, exercise, and lifestyle contribute to perhaps 50% of any malady, and so Colonel Sloth is the prime suspect in the slow mental deterioration of patient Al Z. Heimer. But there are so many other suspects in this case, a conviction of Col. Sloth may be difficult. It is more likely that Col. Sloth was an accessory to the crime, and there was another suspect (or suspects) who pulled the trigger.

Pierre Lymfotique: Lately, it has been popular to say that a lack of sleep was involved in Al Z. Heimer’s demise, since that gave the nefarious Pierre Lymfotique a chance to scramble Al’s brain with too many worries and germs, without a chance to “reboot”. Pierre…

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Vern Scott

Scott lives in the SF Bay Area and writes confidently about Engineering, History, Politics, and Health