Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia that causes a decline in memory and other cognitive abilities. As our aging population booms, the Alzheimer’s epidemic will increasingly become a critical issue, not just for the elderly and their families, but also for society at large. BigThinks four-week series focuses on the latest research and thinking about Alzheimer’s, including cutting-edge advances in detection, prevention, and treatment.
While much remains unknown about the deadly disease, advances in research have shed new light on its mechanisms, and on how dementia affects the aging brain. Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable—and ultimately deadly—form of dementia that causes loss of memory and other cognitive abilities. A degenerative disorder, the disease unravels the fundamental functions of the brain over time, taking with it many components of personality and identity. An estimated 5.3 million people in the U.S. currently have Alzheimer’s, and each year the disease ranks as the nation’s sixth or seventh leading cause of death. In 2007 alone, over 74,000 Americans died from Alzheimer’s.Curious? Continue reading
Source: BigThink
