WELLNESS & WELL-BEING
Alzheimer’s
Awareness
is Critical
By Vi c k i Fr e n c h B e n n i n g t o n
L
isted as the sixth leading cause of death in the United
States, Alzheimer’s disease is more prevalent than you
might think.
An estimated 5.5 million Americans - of all ages - have
Alzheimer’s disease, of which about 5.3 million are age
65 and older, and approximately 200,000 are under age 65, with early-
onset Alzheimer’s. It is estimated that around 16.1 million Americans
provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias,
amounting to $232 billion worth of care. Caring for someone with any
disease, particularly Alzheimer’s or dementia, can be extremely hard on
the caregiver, as well, and can be all-consuming.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia in older people.
It is a medical condition that disrupts the way the brain works, but
according to the Alzheimer’s Association, it is not a normal part of the
aging process. Signs and symptoms include memory loss that disrupts
daily life, challenges in solving problems, difficulty with familiar tasks,
confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images
and spatial relationships, problems with words in speaking or writing,
misplacing things and unable to retrace steps, decreased judgment,
withdrawal from activities, and changes in mood and personality.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s can begin to show symptoms in people in
their 30s, 40s and 50s. Scientists have pinpointed several rare genes
that directly cause “familial Alzheimer’s disease,” when many family
members in multiple generations can be affected.
Some of the other risk factors link head injuries with future risk of
dementia. It’s important to wear helmets when participating in sports,
and to wear seat belts to protect your head from injury. Evidence also
ties heart health to brain health. Links have been shown to connect
dementia with heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and
high cholesterol. Overall healthy aging seems to suggest that eating a
healthy diet, staying active, avoiding tobacco and not drinking excessive
alcohol can also help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.
It was the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, who
designated November as National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness
Month in 1983, to inform people of all ages and circumstances that
Alzheimer’s can touch them, too. Reagan was later diagnosed with the
disease himself in 1994, and died in 2004. Doctors said it is possible that
a head injury from a fall from a horse in 1989, may have hastened the
onset of the disease. Model and talk show host B. Smith was diagnosed
with Alzheimer's in 2014, at age 64. Freedom leader Rosa Parks was
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and died in 2005. Glen Campbell of
“Rhinestone Cowboy” fame, died in August 2017, after a 2010 diagnosis.
Rita Hayworth, the beautiful redheaded actress from the 1940s, died
from Alzheimer's in 1987, at the age of 68. Hayworth became the “face of
Alzheimer’s disease,” and the Alzheimer’s Association recently held its
32nd Annual Rita Hayworth Gala, so named in her honor.
For more information on Alzheimer's, visit alz.org.
Model and talk show
host B. Smith was
diagnosed with
early-onset
Alzheimer's
disease in 2014,
at age 64.
• Washington University in St. Louis, Center for Advanced
Medicine, 4921 Parkview Place, St. Louis, MO 63110,
(314) 286-1967
• Mercy Clinic Neuropsychology – St. Louis, 625 S.
New Ballas Road, St. Louis, MO 63141, (314) 251-4683
• Missouri Dementia Care Resources and Facilities,
alzheimers.net
• St. Louis Area Agency on Aging, 1520 Market St.,
Room 4086, St. Louis, MO 63103, (314) 612-5918
• Memory Care Home Solutions, 4389 W. Pine Blvd.,
St. Louis, MO 63108, (314) 645-6247
• Alzheimer’s Association, Missouri Chapter,
9370 Olive Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132, (314) 432-3422
86
GAZELLE
A few of the available Alzheimer’s resources
in the greater St. Louis area: