Lack of awareness and education are major contributors to the burgeoning Alzheimer’s problem today.  And while the benefits of awareness may not be obvious, they are very real.

For example, do you know what you can do today to reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s later in life?  Do you know how we can immediately improve the efficacy of those drugs currently approved for Alzheimer’s?  How clear is your grasp of the relationship between a healthy heart and a healthy brain?  For many of us, investing a few minutes to improve our understanding of that relationship could yield long-lasting health benefits.

The answers to these questions along with other important perspectives are summarized in a short article on the Brain Today blog by Dennis Fortier, President of Medical Care Corporation.  The full article can be read in about five minutes and is worth the read.

Financial capacity has emerged as a key activity of daily living in understanding functional impairment and decline in patients with MCI and dementia. A new research study conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Alzheimer’s Disease Center has linked the decline in this activity as a possible indicator of impending Alzheimer’s disease. Read about it here.

Diabetes slows down memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease! Researchers conducted a 4-year study on 608 subjects with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease, out of which 63 people also had diabetes. Their memory and thinking skills were tested regularly. Those with diabetes turned out to have a slower rate of memory decline than those who “only” suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. The reason for this is not completely clear yet. It could, however, be the result of the cardiovascular medication elderly diabetics are taking, which studies have shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well as the rate of cognitive decline. Read more about it here.

A new study suggests that the ability to perceive relationships between objects (visual spatial skills) may decline up to 3 years before a person is formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  Read more in this Health Day article

Nobel Prize winner for physics Charles Kao Kuen said he finds communication hard because of Alzheimer’s disease. In an interview with KTSF 26, a Chinese-language TV station serving Northern California, Kao, 75, said he sometimes finds it difficult to talk…… more

Yesterday the New York Times reported on a study commissioned by the National Football League. The findings were a big concern for NFL players.  It seems Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases appear to have been diagnosed in the league’s former players vastly more often than in the national population — including a rate of 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49! Read more here…..

In addition to good nutrition and regular exercise, researchers recommend that seniors also keep their minds active. According to a National Institute on Aging four year study, keeping the brain actively stimulated across a variety of areas reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Read more here….

Scientific American posted an interesting article that proposed to put a predictive time line on the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Read about it here.

Whether it’s decision making, judgment, basic math, memory loss  or other brain function, it is increasingly important to stimulate all these cognitive capabilities on a regular basis. One is rarely used in isolation. Cognitive cross training programs can help at the early stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease or in advance of cognitive decline.

Alzheimer’s disease is the elephant in the room that is not effectively being planned for or dealt with by the Government or the Health Care industry. Consider just a few stats - By 2050, 115M people will be afflicted with the disease primarily due to the simple fact of living longer than earlier generations.  The cost to Medicare and Medicaid is expected to be approx. $30 Trillion (yes that’s a T folks), which makes the current economic crisis and health care reform topics pale by comparative scale.  Further, the availability of research funds for the study of Alzheimer’s disease, related treatment, and preventative therapies is significantly smaller than the funds that are channeled towards cancer and heart disease today.

One glimmer of sunshine may be the recent Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act that doubles the available funds for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health. This is expected to save $61B of annual cost for Medicare and Medicaid within five years of a breakthrough. You can easily do the math and realize it’s a drop in the bucket on the expected financial toll the disease will take on us all.

Read about some of awareness that has been raised at this week’s World Alzheimer’s Day. Join the fight!

Today - World Alzheimer’s Day, September 21, is a day when the Alzheimer’s Association and other organizations around the globe unite  efforts to raise awareness about the disease and its impact on our families, communities and nations. World Alzheimer’s Day was first launched on September 21, 1994 by ADI.  The fact that 35M people today are living with Alzheimer’s Disease (a 10% increase in just the last 4 years!) should be cause for alarm and, more importantly, cause for action on the part of our health care and health insurance industry leadership, our government elected officials and all of us as individuals. You can read more about Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures and how you can get involved to make a difference in the fight here

The Alzheimer’s Association organizes  Memory Walks across the country to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research and education. It a great way to join others, get exercise,  and walk for the cause. Learn more  Here.