Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Ironic - advances save lives so Alzheimer's can take them
This is ironic. Alzheimer's in now the sixth leading cause of death, because people are living longer because of advances in other causes.
Alzheimer's disease doesn't just steal memories. It takes lives.
The disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and figures released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association show that deaths from the disease increased by 68 percent between 2000 and 2010.
"It's an epidemic, it's on the rise, and currently [there is] no way to delay it, prevent it or cure it," says Maria Carrillo, a neuroscientist with the Alzheimer's Association. More than 5 million people in the U.S. have the disease, she says, and that number could reach nearly 14 million by 2050.
One reason Alzheimer's deaths are going up is that deaths from other causes, like heart disease and prostate cancer, are going down, Carrillo says. "We're living longer," she says, "and unfortunately age is still the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease."
