World Alzheimer's Day: Alzheimer's, Dementia, and the Brain

MIAMI - Sept. 21, 2021 - PRLog -- Today is World Alzheimer's Day. It's a day to celebrate to create awareness about the disease and to reduce the stigmatization and lack of information surrounding dementia.

Most people often think Alzheimer's disease (https://www.fcneurology.net/health-topics/alzheimers-disease/) is a normal part of aging. A majority of Alzheimer's patients are 65 years or older, but it doesn't classify the disease as an elderly disease. There are many people under 65 who are suffering from Alzheimer's. This is known as young-onset dementia.

There has been a lot of talk about Alzheimer's and Biogen's new drug Aduhelm that was FDA approved on June 7, 2021. In fact, Biogen is providing Aduhelm free (https://www.fcneurology.net/biogen-offering-free-alzheimers-drug-aduhelm-to-patients/) to some patients because of slow reviews by Medicare. The accelerated FDA approval was granted based on data from clinical trials. The trials showed Aduhelm reducing amyloid-beta plaques in patients.

In March, Eli Lilly reported that their clinical trial of the experimental drug donanemab appears to have successfully slowed cognitive decline in patients with the early symptoms of Alzheimer's.

What is Alzheimer's Disease?

Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease. It is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory loss and cognitive abilities. Researchers believe that Alzheimer's disease begins 20 years or more before you notice symptoms. Symptoms occur because nerve cells (neurons) in parts of the brain have been damaged or destroyed. Symptoms usually develop slowly and worsen over time, interfering with an individual's ability to perform everyday activities.

In the early stages, memory loss is mild, and the individual is said to have dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, or Alzheimer's dementia. In the late stages of Alzheimer's, neurons in parts of the brain that enable a person to carry out basic bodily functions are affected. Individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation, walk, or swallow. The cause may include a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.

Every 65 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer's disease. Currently, 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. Medical experts believe the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's will quadruple to 16 million by 2050.

Read more about Alzheimer's at https://www.fcneurology.net/world-alzheimers-day-alzheime...