If someone in your family has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, you know how ruthless it can be.

And how important it is to detect the degenerative brain disease as early as possible.

Former Buffalo Bills star Steve Tasker can relate. That’s in part why he’s coming to Toronto on Wednesday to help publicize a new clinical trial, to be run by a Toronto health centre that specializes in Alzheimer’s research and treatment.

“I got involved because of my mother-in-law’s condition,” Tasker said. “We started noticing symptoms. She’s had a few episodes … The first incident that got everybody’s attention was actually at the Grey Cup, two years ago. It wasn’t life-threatening or anything like that, but we knew something was up.”

His mother-in-law has been diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s symptoms, Tasker said.

The disease usually attacks only the elderly, to different degrees, at varying rates.

Tasker, 54, played in the NFL for 13 years with the Houston Oilers (1985-86) and the Bills (1986-97). He’s remembered as one of the standout special-team performers in league history, primarily as a fierce tackler. He was an all-pro seven times in that capacity.

He’s now a game analyst on CBS telecasts of NFL games.

Tasker, his son Luke (a wide receiver with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Dr. Sharon Cohen (director of the Toronto Memory Program) are to speak and take questions at a Davisville restaurant on Wednesday night -- to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s, to take sign-ups for a free Alzheimer’s screening, and to recruit patients for the Toronto Memory Program’s new clinical research study.

“They need actual patients for that study,” Tasker said. “There has not been a new, approved Alzheimer’s treatment in over 10 years. The study is for a drug that would work in conjunction with medications already on the market, to heighten patients’ (day-to-day) effectiveness and improve the quality of life in patients. They’ve gotten very good results in the pre-studies.”

The event goes from 7 to 8:30 p.m. EDT at Celestin Restaurant, 623 Mount Pleasant Rd.

To RSVP, go to www.HuddleUpToronto.eventbrite.com, or call 416-386-9606.

In addition to seeking potential Alzheimer’s sufferers, the event invites all who attend to sign up to take a memory baseline test.

“If you have future issues down the road,” Tasker said, “you would have a baseline to compare against, and maybe start treatment quicker than if you didn’t have the baseline.”