Word: dementia
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...only her relatively young age that makes Marie's case unusual: she's one of 170,000 Australians with dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common type. The incidence of dementia is set to soar in wealthy countries as their populations age. The number of Australians 65 and over is projected to more than double, to 5.7 million, by 2041. Within 20 years, over-85s - of whom roughly a quarter have dementia - are expected to comprise 2% of the population, twice the present figure. But the problem isn't simply that there'll be more oldies. A recent...
...Australian authorities are counterattacking. A team of health experts, assembled by the national advocacy group Alzheimer's Australia and spearheaded by American dementia expert Zaven Khachaturian, will on Sept. 20 in Sydney present a "Vision Statement" that argues "there is no time to lose" and outlines a four-point plan for delaying the onset of dementia. If that goal sounds modest, there's cause to hope for more. "This is the best of times for Alzheimer's research," says group member Colin Masters, professor of pathology at the University of Melbourne, who says drugs that could stop or reverse...
Aging Okinawans also have a much lower incidence of dementia--Alzheimer's or other forms of senility--than their U.S. and European counterparts do. Part of that may also owe to diet; it's high in vitamin E, which seems to protect the brain. But perhaps just as important is a sense of belonging and purpose that provides a strong foundation for staying mentally alert well into old age. Okinawans maintain a sense of community, ensuring that every member, from youngest to oldest, is paid proper respect and feels equally valued. Elderly women, for example, are considered the sacred keepers...
...patients who already have Alzheimer's. In a trial conducted by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, nearly 800 patients were randomly assigned Aricept, a placebo or vitamin E for three years. In checkups after six, 12 and 18 months, people in the group taking Aricept showed fewer signs of dementia than the people taking placebos or vitamin E, although by the end of the three years, the Aricept group had caught...
...answer may come soon. The U.S. spends more than $1 billion a year on dementia drugs, and new ones are being developed every day. Researchers at Eli Lilly reported progress in Philadelphia on a compound that targets the sticky plaques in the brain that are the root cause of Alzheimer's. Other people, like Nancy Reagan, are pinning their hopes for a cure on stem cells--although experts are worried that in the wake of Ronald Reagan's death from Alzheimer's, those prospects may have been oversold. There are no miracle cures on the horizon, but there is reason...