What to know about Alzheimer’s
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which generally refers to a variety of brain disorders that cause different dementias. While that number is significant, by the year 2050 it’s projected that as many as 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that eventually destroys brain cells, leading to memory loss and changes in thinking and other brain functions. In an effort to boost knowledge about the condition and early diagnosis, check out these numbers to know:
$100 million
While there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, neuroscientists are working to develop effective treatments and ways to prevent the disease. Recently Microsoft founder Bill Gates committed $100 million to speed new trials and experimental approaches.
Every 66 seconds
Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, and an American is diagnosed with it every 66 seconds.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are currently five FDA-approved drugs that treat symptoms of the disease. All temporarily help memory and other cognitive issues, but none treats the cause or causes.
New drugs in development aim to modify the disease process by impacting one or more of the many wide-ranging brain changes Alzheimer’s causes. By targeting these changes, researchers hope these pharmaceuticals may slow or stop disease progression.
$259 billion
In 2017, Alzheimer’s and other dementias cost the nation $259 billion, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. By 2050, those costs could rise as high as $1.1 trillion.
89 percent
There was an 89 percent increase in deaths due to Alzheimer’s between 2000 and 2014, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Deaths from Alzheimer’s have nearly doubled during this time period while those from heart disease — the leading cause of death — have declined.
15 million
More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
SHIELD to reduce your risk
Many experts use the acronym “SHIELD” to remember the lifestyle factors that may help reduce the odds of developing Alzheimer’s. SHIELD was coined and developed by Dr. Rudy Tanzi, former director at Harvard Medical School. The letters stand for:
• Sleep: Get eight hours a night
• Handle stress: Meditate for one minute every day
• Interact with others: Be social
• Exercise: Do some form of aerobic activity at least 30 minutes a day
• Learn new things
• Diet: Eat a Mediterranean-style diet, full of fruits, vegetables and whole grains
Lower your risk
There’s still much to learn about the central nervous system and Alzheimer’s disease, said Santanu Maitra, associate professor of chemistry at California State University, Fresno.
“In the future, if our research succeeds and we develop a drug/medicine for Alzheimer’s disease, it might be specific to humans with particular genotypes,” Maitra said.
Discovered in 1993, Apolipoprotein E-e4, or APOE, is the first gene variation found that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s. Maitra believes that the Apoe protein, which the APOE gene helps produce in the body, should be reduced in the brain to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Like many other conditions, Alzheimer’s likely develops as a result of complex interactions among factors such as age, genetics, environment, lifestyle and coexisting medical conditions, Maitra said. Keeping LDL cholesterol low and HDL cholesterol high might also offer some protection against Alzheimer’s, Maitra said. Some experts also believe that keeping inflammation low can help keep Alzheimer’s at bay, though this has not been proven, he said.
While there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, neuroscientists are working to develop effective treatments and ways to prevent the disease. Recently Microsoft founder Bill Gates committed $100 million to speed new trials and experimental approaches.