We Know How To Curb Epidemics. Can Alzheimer's Be Next?

I travel a lot, which means I spend much of my time in airports waiting to catch a flight. I use most of that time to work or catch up on email, but sometimes, when it’s really early in the morning or really late at night, I just sit at the gate and watch the people go by. And not too long ago I saw something that broke my heart. It was a couple my age, maybe a few years older. They were making their way to the gate. They were ordinary-looking folks, but as I looked at them closely I noticed that something wasn’t quite right. The man seemed confused, disoriented, distressed. The woman seemed stricken, sad. She was holding his hand, leading him to a chair. He was asking her questions, softly at first and then more and more loudly. She was speaking softly, begging him to calm down. She kept telling him again and again where they were going and why. Little of it seemed to make sense to the man, though, and eventually he gave up, sat down, and closed his eyes. The woman sat down next to him. Tears were rolling down her eyes. As a physician who has seen many similar cases, it wasn’t too hard for me to figure out what was going on. It was most likely Alzheimer’s, robbing this relatively young man of his memory, his mind, and his life. And it was taking a great toll on his wife, who was no longer just partner and spouse but caregiver as well. According to the Alzheimer Association, an American develops the disease every 66 seconds, which means that while we h...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news