Many people think of Alzheimer’s as an “old person’s disease” and an inevitable part of aging. As my family knows too well, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Three years ago, my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 55. Soon after, he entered a clinical trial at the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix that recently ended due to its lack of efficacy.
Since then, I’ve gone from being the wife of a loving husband to a fulltime caregiver, watching in horror as this disease pulls my husband, and part of me, into the shadows forever.
Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only deadly disease with no modifying treatment or cure.
Still, Alzheimer’s research in the U.S. receives a paltry $450 million, or about $90 per person living with the disease. This is a travesty, and with November being National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, now is the perfect time to do something about it.
If left unchecked, millions of other families will experience the ravages of this disease, and the U.S. will spend $2 trillion over the next decade for care. We must call out political leaders to act now before it’s too late. Together we can be the generation to stop Alzheimer’s.
Dawn Revere
Glendale
Leon Ceniceros posted at 10:06 am on Wed, Nov 7, 2012.
Now that Obama has bought his way back into the White House for another four years (Michelle is looking at luxury vacation brochures as we speak)...he can stop giving the "baby killers" those hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars and give them to an "involuntary medical issue" like Alzheimer's Disease.
sockratties posted at 8:27 pm on Wed, Nov 7, 2012.
Trolleon – you lost… what you say doesn’t matter any more.[tongue]
sockratties posted at 8:52 pm on Wed, Nov 7, 2012.
Dawn – Alzheimer’s is indeed a devastating disease and more should be done to find a cure and prevention.
Politicians should champion this cause, but the government should not be involved. In addition, the celebrity rich, such as Donald Trump, Paris Hilton, multi-million dollar athletes, and wealthy sports leagues could direct some of their resources in that direction. Remember FDR and the “March of Dimes” when it was dedicated to a cure for polio? Such a focused effort speeded up finding an effective vaccine so there eventually was more than one option.
Research directed at a cure for one disease often results in multitudes of treatments for others, such as AIDS research provided treatments for so many immune system diseases such as arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and Lupus. Unfortunately research on diseases of the brain is still in an infantile stage and so much needs to be done.
Accuracy posted at 8:15 am on Thu, Nov 8, 2012.
Alzheimer's disease is a usually progressive condition marked by deteriorated cognitive functioning often with emotional apathy. An estimated 5.4 million people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to increase exponentially as baby boomer generation enters their golden years.
But for some people, coconut oil has proven to slow the progression of Alzheimer's and may have even prevented it. And doctors say they are hopeful new information can help them improve the lives of patients suffering from Alzheimer's.
Stop eating sugars, stop eating trans fats; Doctors say the next step is the understanding that reducing sugar can somehow help with the symptoms of Alzheimer's.
The idea that coconut oil might actually improve brain functioning in people with Alzheimer's disease really is a novel approach to treating the dementia associated with Alzheimer's.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 9:06 am on Thu, Nov 8, 2012.
IF ...........ALZHEIMERS.....WAS STRICTLY A....."WOMEN'S DISEASE.........IT WOULD HAVE .......BILLIONS AND BILLIONS IN FUNDING........[wink]
sockratties posted at 3:56 pm on Thu, Nov 8, 2012.
leon is a Troll.... don't feed the trolls