11.30.04
Alzheimer’s Disease

About 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia. And that number is expected to increase to 13 million by year 2050.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease of the brain that often affects family members as well as the patient. It is first noticed in the early stages by the loss of short-term memory. Ron Zec, associate professor of neurology and psychiatry and the Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, explains how the disease affects patients.

SOUND BITE: “The earliest symptom is memory problems, difficulty with new learning and memory, forgetfulness which can overlap with normal aging, but that forgetfulness becomes progressively worse gradually over time until there is severe impairment in one’s ability to learn and remember new information.”

Zec says the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is age. Studies show that nearly half of the people over age 85 have the disease. There also are some other risk factors such as family history and other health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension and diabetes. He offers this advice for families.

SOUND BITE: “An early diagnosis is helpful even though we don’t have a treatment that cures the disease. There are treatments that can help. There is also the education of the patient and the family of what there is to expect . . . how to communicate with their loved one, especially with the different stages of the disease, as the disease changes over time and becomes progressively worse.”

If someone you know is suffering from serious memory problems and needs help, contact your family physician or call the Alzheimer’s Center at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield at 1-800-342-5748. That’s 1-800-342-5748.