With estimates of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease rising as high as 5.1 million, it’s clear that more attention needs to be paid to this disease. As the population ages, an increased number of cases are coming to light. Alzheimer’s disease, or AD, is a condition caused by changes in the brain, markedly affecting memory and other mental abilities. As the individual’s mental capacity decreases, it offers an increasing number of challenges both to the one with the disease and the loved ones who assume caretaking duties.

Alzheimer’s Statistics

Worldwide, an estimated 44 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Another 47.5 million have dementia. As age rises, Alzheimer’s becomes more common: at the age of 65, approximately 1 in 9 individuals will have Alzheimer’s disease. This isn’t a cheap disease: it’s estimated that dementia costs between $159 billion and $215 billion each year. To give some perspective, this is a greater cost than either heart disease or cancer.

The greatest risk factors for Alzheimer’s include age, genetics, and family history. Individuals over the age of 85, for example, have a 1 in 3 chance of developing symptoms of Alzheimer’s. It’s also estimated that Latinos and African Americans have higher chances of developing the disease than other Americans. Most of the risk factors of Alzheimer’s can’t be controlled; however, avoiding head trauma and increased cardiovascular health can help decrease the odds that the disease will manifest itself.

What Alzheimer’s Means for Those Affected

Alzheimer’s is not a part of the normal aging process. While many of the early symptoms, including forgetfulness and deceasing ability to handle everyday tasks, may be seen as normal signs of aging, Alzheimer’s patients find that it goes further than that. Typical signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s include:

• Memory loss that is disruptive to daily life
• Planning and/or problem-solving challenges
• Inability to complete familiar tasks properly
• Confusion about current location or the current season, month, or even year
• Trouble reading, judging distance, or determining color or contrast as visual discrimination decreases
• Unfamiliar problems with speaking or writing
• Misplacing things without the ability to retrace steps and find the item
• Judgment challenges
• Social withdrawal
• Dramatic shifts in mood or personality

Alzheimer’s disease is progressive, which means that it grows worse over time. Some medications can slow the progression of symptoms and give individuals more time, but there is currently no cure. There are seven stages of Alzheimer’s disease ranging from no impairment early in the individual’s life, little impairment when a few signs may begin emerging, and a mild decline when friends and family start to notice issues to severe and very severe decline, when individuals with Alzheimer’s struggle to relate to their environments.

Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t come with a simple diagnosis. Instead, it begins with taking a thorough medical history. Patients will then undergo a physical and mental examination to rule out other potential causes of dementia-like symptoms. The exam may include blood tests and brain imaging.

Once Alzheimer’s disease has been diagnosed, treatment can begin. In many cases, medication can slow or temporarily halt the progression of symptoms. Once symptoms begin to worsen, mental function can be maintained through brain games and other exercises in order to extend normal cognitive ability as much as possible. Behavioral challenges are managed by keeping the individual in familiar surroundings and decreasing the stimulus in the environment to help avoid jarring or discomfort.

People don’t die as a direct result of Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, they die as a result of related complications. Multi-organ failure is a common cause of death in Alzheimer’s patients. Other potential causes include heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and lung infections.

What Alzheimer’s Means for Caregivers

Once a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the learning process begins. Caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s require a great deal of emotional support as they become the primary support for their loved one. Family roles often shift as a result of the diagnosis, with children and other relatives becoming the primary caretakers.

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis also means a shift in financial and legal responsibilities. It’s important to create a living will and designate power of attorney as early in the process as possible. Financial matters will need to be overseen or handled entirely by a competent individual to ensure that the elderly loved one will be cared for as well as possible.

The Alzheimer’s diagnosis doesn’t mean that there aren’t still times of joy ahead. The disease’s relatively slow progression offers plenty of opportunity for shared laughter, intimacy, and social experiences. Both the individual with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones will have opportunities to adjust to everything that the diagnosis means before the disease takes over.