Alzheimer’s Awareness Month has begun and is slated to run for all of November.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s “2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures,” more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and 10 million more Americans are affected by or care for family members who are afflicted with the disease.
If you or someone you know is a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient, take the time to get informed. Here are a few misconceptions that you may have:
MYTH: Alzheimer’s only afflicts the elderly.
FACT: Alzheimer’s can affect people in their 30s and 40s, a condition called younger-onset Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 200,000 Americans who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
MYTH: Alzheimer’s in the elderly is natural.
FACT: Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder and is neither natural nor healthy. While memory loss is inevitable in old age, healthy seniors who don’t have Alzheimer’s do not experience the steep decline in cognitive ability compared to those who have Alzheimer’s.
MYTH: Alzheimer’s can be treated.
FACT: There is no current cure for Alzheimer’s, nor are there any drugs that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s for a majority of patients. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, drugs approved by the FDA delay symptoms for only several months and work for only half of all Alzheimer’s patients.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s “2010 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures,” more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s and 10 million more Americans are affected by or care for family members who are afflicted with the disease.
If you or someone you know is a caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient, take the time to get informed. Here are a few misconceptions that you may have:
MYTH: Alzheimer’s only afflicts the elderly.
FACT: Alzheimer’s can affect people in their 30s and 40s, a condition called younger-onset Alzheimer’s. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, there are 200,000 Americans who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.
MYTH: Alzheimer’s in the elderly is natural.
FACT: Alzheimer’s is a brain disorder and is neither natural nor healthy. While memory loss is inevitable in old age, healthy seniors who don’t have Alzheimer’s do not experience the steep decline in cognitive ability compared to those who have Alzheimer’s.
MYTH: Alzheimer’s can be treated.
FACT: There is no current cure for Alzheimer’s, nor are there any drugs that slow the progression of Alzheimer’s for a majority of patients. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, drugs approved by the FDA delay symptoms for only several months and work for only half of all Alzheimer’s patients.
Certain health factors are linked to Alzheimer’s, such as head injury, heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and blood pressure, according to Caring.com.
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