EDITOR'S NOTE: Alzheimer's Awareness Month is celebrated in November.
Worldwide an estimated 50 million people have dementia. This is expected to grow to 152 million by 2015.
Current estimates are that 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s dementia (AD). With the aging of the Baby Boomers in the U.S., the number is expected to grow to 13.8 million by 2050. There are indications that dementia on an age-adjusted basis has decreased over time, possibly due to improvements in smoking cessation and treatment of hypertension and vascular diseases. However, those improvements appear to have plateaued.
The greatest risk factor for developing dementia is older age. Therefore, the aging populations of developed countries are predicted to result in an absolute increase in AD in the population. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, cerebrovascular disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, and sedentary behaviour have also been identified as risk factors for AD.
The exact pathogenesis of AD may be multifactorial, but the accumulation of extracellular amyloid beta plaques is characteristic of the disease. There are also intracellular neurofibrillary tangles consisting of tau protein that can build up and destroy brain cells. Some experts in the field think that these findings are late stage and increasingly direct their research toward identifying the molecular events that contribute to plaque and tangle formation.
Meanwhile drugs that reduce inflammation and others that reduce amyloid or tau are undergoing clinical trials. Efforts are also underway to spread knowledge regarding the best diet and exercise practices to reduce future risk for AD.
As research slowly progresses, many million are currently dealing with AD. Societal changes in housing, memory care, and relief for family members who care for AD patients are urgently needed. The improvement in psychosocial adaptation and intervention is vital in today’s AD treatment and deserves continued research. Progress is being made, but much remains to be done.
