ClickCease
+1-915-850-0900 spinedoctors@gmail.com
Select Page

Alzheimer’s disease claims nearly twice as many American lives annually as it did just 15 years ago, a new report shows.

“And that’s frankly alarming,” said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, which produced the report. “Now, a lot of people will think it’s because we’re living longer,” he added. “And there is some truth to that. But there’s also an assumption that we should just expect to get Alzheimer’s disease as we get older. And that’s not true.

“Most people do not get Alzheimer’s, even if they live into their 80s or 90s. It’s not normal. It’s not something that we should accept. We’ve definitely got to do something about it,” Fargo said.

The Cost of Alzheimer’s Disease

The report also found that more than 5 million American seniors aged 65 and older now live with the memory-robbing disease. That represents approximately 10 percent of all the nation’s seniors, and that number is projected to jump to nearly 14 million by 2050. In fact, nearly half a million seniors are expected to develop the disease in 2017 alone.

Another 200,000 Americans under the age of 65 also struggle with the disease, the report found. And those statistics come with a hefty price tag: It costs $259 billion a year for Alzheimer’s care. That amount is expected to reach $$1.1 trillion by 2050, the report estimated.

Dr. Anton Porsteinsson is director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, N.Y. He said the rising numbers likely reflect a number of different factors in play.

“Partly, it is due to increasing numbers of older individuals, partly due to success in treating other leading causes of death, and partly due to increasing awareness that AD [Alzheimer’s] is a lethal disease,” Porsteinsson said.

Among the report’s additional findings: Alzheimer’s is now the fifth leading cause of death among seniors; the sixth leading cause of fatalities among all Americans; and the only disease among the nation’s top 10 biggest killers for which there is no prevention, no way to slow progression and no cure.

“And the costs are now completely out of control,” added Fargo, with the total annual cost for Alzheimer’s and dementia care in excess of a quarter trillion dollars.

Another highlighted concern: the “especially burdensome” ordeal Alzheimer’s caregivers experience while attending to the needs of loved ones as the patient suffers across-the-board mental and physical decline.

In 2016, more than 15 million Alzheimer’s caregivers provided just over 18 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at $230 billion.

Alzheimer’s Disease: Mental and Physical Decline

And those caregivers suffer their own health consequences: More than a third (35 percent) report their health has worsened since assuming caregiver duties, compared with 19 percent of caregivers for older people without dementia. Depression and anxiety also plague dementia caregivers more often, the report found. Still, the report was not entirely bleak, spotlighting growing efforts to identify telltale signs of developing disease.

The goal is to hone in on neurological signs — including changes in brain size, shifts in spinal fluid content, and/or the growth of nerve plaques in the brain — that could allow rapid detection of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s.

“It’s a window into the future,” Fargo said. “If you ask where Alzheimer’s disease research is headed, that’s where it’s headed.” “We believe that in the coming years we’ll have tests that you can do in the doctor’s office that will let you know your risk for Alzheimer’s,” he noted. And that, he suggested, “could open the door for prevention.”

Fargo noted that, even in the absence of effective treatments or a cure, early diagnosis would be a boon for research and would give patients a head start on planning for their future. Yet, Porsteinsson suggested that the future of these telltale signs, known as biomarkers, remains unclear.

“Biomarkers are particularly important when it comes to research and development of future potential treatments,” he said.

On the other hand, he stressed that “the utility of biomarkers in current care is intensely debated.

“The biomarkers are expensive,” Porsteinsson noted. “And it is a question how much a positive or negative finding will change approach to care. “Having said that,” he added, “it often matters greatly to patients and their families to know exactly what they have and what to expect.”

SOURCES: Keith Fargo, Ph.D., director, scientific programs and outreach, Alzheimer’s Association, New York City; Anton Porsteinsson, M.D., professor, psychiatry, and director, Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y.; March 7, 2017, 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900

Additional Topics: Understanding Mild Brain Injury

Brain injuries are common complications in our modern world. Approximately 2 million individuals experience a head injury in the United States alone each year. Although most brain or head injuries are not considered life threatening, they could sum up to billions of dollars in annual revenue. Brain injuries are often categorized according to patient response. Only 1 out of 4 reported brain injuries are considered moderate or severe.

 

blog picture of cartoon paperboy big news

 

TRENDING TOPIC: EXTRA EXTRA: New PUSH 24/7�? Fitness Center

 

 

Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on "Alzheimer's Disease Annual Death Toll Nearly Doubles" is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

We are here to help you and your family.

Blessings

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN*) in Florida
Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
Compact Status: Multi-State License: Authorized to Practice in 40 States*

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
My Digital Business Card