Report: Alzheimer's To Hit 1 In 8 Boomers

Ten Million In All, Estimate Says; Burdens On Caregivers Rising; Treatments May Be On Horizon

(CBS)  New numbers illustrate the mounting toll of Alzheimer's disease.

In its second annual statistical report, the Alzheimer's Association projects that 10 million baby boomers will suffer from the disease.

That's one person out of every eight born from 1946 to 1964, The Early Show medical contributor Dr. Emily Senay pointed out Tuesday.

It is, she observes, actually the flip side of a very positive medical development: Fewer people are dying from heart disease, stroke and conditions such as breast and prostate cancer. If you avoid those illnesses, or beat them through successful treatment, you still have to die eventually of something. And the older people get, the greater the chance they'll develop, and possibly die from, Alzheimer's.

One aspect of the report says that, if they live to age 55, women are nearly twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's as men. The report's authors say that's also age-related. When researchers measure the risk of developing Alzheimer's at any particular age, men and women show no real difference, Senay notes. But to the extent that they outlive men, women are considered more likely to develop the Alzheimer's.

The report talks not only about people who suffer from Alzheimer's, but those who care for them.

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To see the report itself, click here.

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Unfortunately, says Senay, the numbers show what a terrible burden caring for a friend or loved one with Alzheimer's can be. The report cites a study that says about a-third of caregivers say their services have been needed for five years or more. A-third see developing symptoms of depression in themselves. And of those who are employed when the process of care-giving begins, two thirds say they need show up for work late, leave early, or take time off because of the care-giving. One-person-in-12 says it forced him or her to turn down a promotion.

Both the emotional strain and the financial sacrifice of caring for an Alzheimer's patient can be staggering, Senay says, and that impact, too, will rise as the number of Alzheimer's cases continues to.

On a potentially brighter note, the Alzheimer's Association says we may start getting real answers over the next few months about whether there are any significant treatments coming.

The most promising working theory on the origins of Alzheimer's involves the formation of a plaque called beta amyloid in people's brains. Several medications intended to attack beta amyloid or prevent it from forming in the first place are now the focus of advanced clinical trials.

If those drugs have a meaningful effect on the mental functioning of patients, the association says it will be the first time we can actually change the course of the disease itself, rather than just treating symptoms. One day, someone found to be at high risk of developing Alzheimer's might be able to start using these drugs long before any symptoms occur.

Of course, if the results of those trials are disappointing, the theory that beta amyloid actually causes Alzheimer's could collapse. It might mean that the plaque is actually a by-product of Alzheimer's, as opposed to a cause. And that would be a significant setback in the hunt for effective treatments.

[grammawhamma]

"you still have to die eventually of something. And the older people get, the greater the chance they''ll develop, and possibly die from, Alzheimer''s."

Finially, a common sense statement included in a study!! I blame this on all the do-gooder health fanatics that are trying to force everyone to live to be 100 years old.

I think there should be a cut off age (say 75 for example) where you no longer would receive CPR or be kept alive by "extra ordinary" measures. This does not mean no needed treatment, surgeries or medication. It does mean no ventilators, no feeding tubes, and no aggresive treatments of terminal illnesses.

[drscareme]

WAKE UP PEOPLE. Am I the only one who sees a connection between younger folks getting "alzheimers" and all of these "wonder drugs" we are all popping now?
Lipitor and other statins cause amnesia and memory loss...so you don''t think it can degrade to alzheimers.
Then we have everyone on anti-depressants that are messing with the brain too! Hmmm, add in the ADHD retilin folks---more brain messing....the other class of "head-meds" for paranoia and such.
We are on a collision course for disaster with our brains thanks to our Drs. and BIG PHARMA.
When we someone do a study to see the LONG TERM (TRUE long term, not BIG PHARMA slanted report) effect of all these meds.
When our nursing homes are full of 55+ folks, who will pay??? the government? BIG PHARMA??? The FDA??
ALL of these drugs that do stuff to the brain are causing long term damage. Sure there are some legitimate cases of Alzheimers out there, but I think many are the result of meds and we need to do a study NOW!

[louklou51]

These are projections just like political polls, take them with a grain of salt, no one really knows what causes the illness so how can they predict 1 in 8 boomers will get it? Get a grip!

[beehive21-2009]

LSD ,maybe, that why all the baby boomers took it ,time for a barrel of orange sunshine, LSD or als ? think i''d take, pot,,coke,speed(NO not speed ),LSD anything but ALS.

[bobnjersey]

[One day, someone found to be at high risk of developing Alzheimer''s might be able to start using these drugs long before any symptoms occur.]

i''m just guessing that this will be a daily pill for around $150/month ... for the rest of your life.

[ruthpearsons]

The report on alzheimer''s states that more people are getting the disease because people are living longer. Then the family interviewed has a father with alzheimer''s and he probably isn''t over 50 years old! The article says people living over 55 have a much greater chance of getting the disease. As a 57-year old, I don''t see that as an evidence of your first assertion. To me, this is sloppy reporting and an example of shallow investigative reporting.

Ruth

[brianp55]

We see the same thing with various forms of cancer. The longer you live, the more mutations you accumulate and the greater the probablility of developing some form of cancer.

[naucoming4u]

So the jist of this story is that Americans are living longer, but more and more are going to die from Alzheimers.

My Grandpa is currently in the last stages of Alzheimers. He has had it for the past five years. He is expected to live at least another two to four years more based on the rate of the advancement of his disease.

Wonderful... people may be living longer... but are living in hell for the last decade or more of their lives suffering from a debilitating mental disease!

Thanks, but I''ll opt to check out somewhere around 65 to 70 with a heart attack. Life just aint worth living when you can''t remember where or how to take a ****.

[brianp55]

Relax, Sony:

There is so much money in this that I can assure you that the drug companies, national labs and university labs are all working feverishly on this.

[sonytechrep]

This is no joking matter...We need to all wake up!

It is not just the terrible diease that is affecting families.
Its the vultures that are hovering just waiting to liquidate your assests, being Elder law attorneys and their judge friends...see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MicXLU1X3EE and indianaprobatenightmares.net
Hopefully soon it will happen to enough people that someone will finally realize that something is wrong...right now its just another diease so no one is willing to dig and see what is really going on....

It will be you and me next that loses everything we have worked for because we all too busy to care!
But when it does maybe your eyes will be open too!