Facts about Alzheimer's

• Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type (SDAT) is the most common form of dementia.
  
  
• It is incurable.
  
  
• Scientists don’t understand what causes AD.
  
  
• One of the great mysteries is why AD strikes older adults.
  
  
• There is no specific laboratory test to detect AD. It must be diagnosed by exclusion.
  
  
• Physically autopsying the brain after death is only way to accurately diagnose AD.
  
  
• It is degenerative so management of patients is essential.
  
  
• It places a great emotional and financial burden on caregivers.
  
  
• Average life expectancy for its victims is 8 to 10 years after diagnosis, but it can last as long as 20 years.
  
  
• Advancing age is the primary risk factor for AD—every five years after the age of 65, the risk of acquiring AD approximately doubles
  
  
• In developed countries AD is likely to become the most economically devastating disease to society by 2050. Current estimates in the US have topped $100 Billion each year.
  
  
  • The average annual cost for an assisted living facility is $36,372.
  • The average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home is $219, which calculates to $79,935 per year.
  • The yearly cost of caring for one Alzheimer's patient is estimated to be $76,000, including indirect costs and medical expenses.
  • The average cost for the illness from diagnosis to death is $174,000, the third most expensive disease in the U.S.
    
    
• An estimated 26.6 million people worldwide had Alzheimer's in 2006; this number may quadruple by 2050.
  
  
• There are approximately 5 million people with AD in the US.
  
  
• Approximately 4 million Americans are age 85 years or older, and this age group is one of the fastest growing segments of the population. It is also the group with the highest risk of Alzheimer’s disease. It is estimated that at least 19 million people will be age 85 and older by the year 2050.
  
  
• Half of those 85 years and older suffer from AD.
  
  
• AD is characterized by loss of neurons (brain cells) and synapses (the connections among brain cells).
  
  
• AD is a protein misfolding disease causing the accumulation of plaques or clumps that deposit outside neurons in dense formations. • Many AD sufferers develop some plaques and tangles as a consequence of ageing, the brains of AD patients have a greater number of them in specific brain regions such as the temporal lobe.
  
  
• It’s a horrible end—a reversal—the death of the mind before the body.