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Alzheimer's Facts and Information

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For those of us who have been touched in some way by the realities of this horrible and deadly disease, finding a cure is an absolute necessity. Recent statistics from the Alzheimer’s Association reveal the crisis that Alzheimer’s is, and will be:

 

 

     *Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (for women, it’s the fifth leading cause of death), and the only disease in the top ten that is growing.

 

 

     *Deaths from Alzheimer’s have grown sixty-eight percent between 2000 and 2010. Breast and Prostate Cancer, Heart Disease, Stroke and Aids have all benefited from research, funding and treatment and have seen the number of deaths decline during this same time period.

 

 

     *Alzheimer’s is the only disease in the top ten leading cause of deaths that has no cure, no way to prevent it, and no way to slow its progression.

 

 

    * More than five million Americans, two-thirds of whom are women, suffer from Alzheimer’s and require assistance from more than fifteen million caregivers who give 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care to people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. By 2025, the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's is expected to grow by forty percent to over 7 million people. Without some kind of medical breakthrough, by 2050 this number is  estimated to grow to almost 16 million.

 

 

    * Another American develops Alzheimer’s disease every 67 seconds. In 2050, an American will develop the disease every 33 seconds.

 

 

     *The United States Government spends about $500 million annually on Alzheimer’s research. Experts suggest $2 billion is needed to adequately address this disease. By comparison, $6 billion dollars is spent on cancer, $4 to $5 billion on heart disease and $3 billion on aids.

 

 

    * Our government also spends $150 billion dollars a year via Medicare and Medicaid on Alzheimer’s care. Another $64 billion dollars outside of Medicare and Medicaid is spent annually by Americans for Alzheimer’s care. Without prevention or a cure by the year 2050, this cost is estimated to be $1.2 trillion dollars a year to treat 16 million Americans who will have the disease.

 

 

     *This level of spending on Medicaid and Medicare will increase by 500% by 2050 and could potentially bankrupt healthcare and affect all Americans.

 

     *Nearly one in every five dollars of Medicare spending is spent on people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

 

     *Women in their 60’s are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in their lifetime as they are to develop breast cancer.

 

     *At age 65, women without Alzheimer’s have more than a 1 in 6 chance of developing Alzheimer’s during the remainder of their lives. Men have a 1 in 11 chance

 

     *Of Americans aged 65 and older, 1 in 9 has Alzheimer’s.

 

     *In 2010, 83,400 Americans died from Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s played some role in the deaths of 500,000 more Americans.

 

     *In 2014, 700,000 people will die with the disease.

 

 

     *Women are far more likely to have caregiving responsibilities

 

              * 19% of women caregivers have had to quit work.

 

               *20% have gone from working full time to part time.

 

               *18% have taken a leave of absence from work.

 

               *10% have lost job benefits.

 

               *17% feel they have been penalized at work due to their caregiving duties.

 

 

Finding a cure is one way we can leave the US in better hands for our kids’ and grandchildren’s' generations. Finally, while the cost is and will be staggering, the impact on Alzheimer’s caregivers is also devastating to their financial and physical health, and the most undignified way to spend the last years of any life. With your help, we can find a cure!

 

-Mike Stanford

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