| Alzheimer's: The Cost of Growing Old |
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*Correction: Namenda or Memantine was not the first Alzheimer's Disease drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); it was the most recent drug to be approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer's Disease.
Family Caregivers Play Big Role in Alzheimer’s DiseaseOne in eight families in The Effect of Alzheimer’s on the Brain Alzheimer’s disease was first diagnosed more than 100 years ago by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer. He followed the case of Auguste D, a 50 year-old woman with dementia. Dr. Alzheimer would ask her to write her name. Auguste would forget and repeat, "I have lost myself." Back then, Alzheimer's was believed to be a disease of the middle-aged. Today, it's considered a form of dementia - one associated with increasing age. Alzheimer’s Increasing Rapidly, Expected to Overwhelm Health Care System According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the fastest growing segment of the population is over 85 years old. In the past 30 years, the number of Americans over 85 has tripled. And the number of people who are 100 has doubled in the past decade. This longevity comes with a price. At age 85, you have nearly a 50 per cent chance of developing Alzheimer's. |
