Ten Things You Should Know about Alzheimer’s Disease

Baby Boomers are now reaching the age of 65, and over the coming years about 76 million people in the United States may reach that age and beyond. (This situation has been called the Silver Tsunami.) How many of these boomers will develop the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease? Nobody knows for certain, of course, but unless a cure is soon developed, the results will be devastating and very expensive.

The following is a list of facts which pertain to the current state of research, diagnosis and treatment of this debilitating and often fatal disease of old age:

1. According to an article in Wikipedia, Alzheimer’s disease was first identified by
German psychologist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906. In 2006, there were more than 26 million sufferers worldwide. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people around the world by 2050.

2. According to the article “Alzheimer’s Unlocked” in the October 25, 2010 issue of Time magazine, more than 5 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a number that will grow to over 13 million by 2050.

3. Health experts estimate that a 65-year-old has a 10 per cent risk of developing Alzheimer’s and that Baby Boomers approaching the peak age for the disease – 60 to 80 – will add $627 billion in Alzheimer’s related health costs.

4. In the United States these days, $5.6 billion a year is spent on cancer studies, $1 billion on heart disease and just $500 million to study Alzheimer’s, says Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

5. Alzheimer’s is thought to be caused by a buildup of protein-based plaques in the brain. This plaque contains a protein called amyloid, though presence of amyloid – even lots of it - doesn’t mean the person has the disease.

6. Many experts are convinced that it’s crucial to treat Alzheimer’s patients as early as possible, perhaps even before signs of the disease are obvious, rather than attempt to reverse the damage already done to the brain. In April 2011, the National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association officially recognized mild cognitive impairment or MCI - first described more than a decade ago - as a precursor to the disease.

7. Only after a person is dead can the detection of Alzheimer’s be confirmed, primarily by verifying the presence of hallmark lesions in the brain.

8. Dr. Ronald Petersen says, “By the time a person is impaired to the point of dementia, there is probably sufficient damage done to the brain that we really can’t reverse it. It has gone too far.”

9. According to Dr. William Thies, medical director of the Alzheimer’s Association, combining screening tests with treatment could cut a 65-year-old’s lifetime risk of developing the disease in half.

10. This is no cure of Alzheimer’s disease. But, regardless of strategies for detection and treatment, most experts agree that maintaining a regimen of regular exercise and staying mentally and socially engaged delays the onset of symptoms.

According to an article on the website for Science Daily, insulin may be effective in the treatment of memory loss due to Alzheimer’s disease. Insulin is used to treat type two diabetes. The article states that the “Big A” may be caused by an undiscovered third kind of diabetes.

Final Words

It will be interesting to see how the world handles the problem of Alzheimer’s disease in the coming years. Let’s hope somebody develops a cure before thousands or even millions of people die from this terrible illness. The cost in dollars could be massive - even catastrophic - as well. Wish us luck!

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