A Guide to Alzheimer's Disease

• Description
• Table of Contents
• An excerpt from this report

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Are you having memory problems that seem to go beyond the ordinary, or do you see this happening to someone you love? Are there other difficulties, like struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word, getting confused in new places, or botching tasks that once came easily? Everyone has these experiences sometimes, but if they happen regularly, they may be early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

About 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, and it is bound to become more common as the vanguard of the baby boom generation turns 65, the age at which Alzheimer’s becomes a major risk.

The information in this guide includes help for family members and caregivers, as well as for the individuals with Alzheimer’s. Because the disease is progressive, coping with it requires foresight and careful advance planning. This includes getting financial and legal documents in order, investigating long-term care options, and determining what services are covered by health insurance and Medicare. People in the early stages often can be partners in that planning. 48 pages. (updated: 2007)

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Here's an Excerpt from this Alzheimer's Disease Special Health Report

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that results in memory loss, impaired thinking, difficulty finding the right word when speaking, and personality changes. Its course is marked by a continual loss of neurons (nerve cells) in areas of the brain that are crucial to memory and other mental functions. Levels of brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which carry complex messages back and forth among billions of nerve cells, are also diminished. After the symptoms first appear, people live anywhere from 2–20 years in an increasingly dependent state that exacts a staggering emotional, physical, and economic toll on families.

There is no cure or even a firm cause or proven means of prevention. But early diagnosis is important because new drugs are available that may temporarily stabilize or delay worsening of cognitive symptoms, and they work best in the early stages of the disease.

Nevertheless, there are reasons for hope. Promising results of broad-based brain research have made Alzheimer’s researchers optimistic about the prospects for improved treatment and prevention. Intense efforts over the past two decades have advanced scientists’ understanding of the chemical changes that take place inside the brain. Key discoveries have cleared the way for pharmaceutical companies to start developing compounds that might block the disease’s destructive course and cure the patient. There is also hope that scientists will someday create a vaccine to prevent and even treat Alzheimer’s disease.

These prospects are exciting, but they’re still a long way from providing relief for the estimated 24 million people worldwide who currently have Alzheimer’s disease. The good news is that science has given health care providers a new understanding of ways to improve the day-to-day lives of these people. And this growing awareness has produced an increasing number of support groups and community services around the country to alleviate families’ isolation and help ease the burden of caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease at home.

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