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As baby boomers approach the age during which Alzheimer's disease generally strikes, hopeful new research and a possible cure may be awaiting them.

Studies show that getting Alzheimer's is one of the greatest fears baby boomers face as we age. Unlike stroke or cardiac arrest, the disease manifests in what has been termed "the long goodbye." Loved ones become slowly foreign to us. Favorite conjoined memories, like gilded snapshots of a shared past, slip away. It's no wonder we are so afraid of it. But this generation has never been known for sweeping anything under the rug, much less something as important as brain function. And there are some signs of progress on the horizon in the effort to fight the disease.

It seems counterintuitive to think of Alzheimer's as a "hidden" disease given that when it strikes it's anything but hidden. But, it is a little overshadowed — having been relegated to the realm of the "befuddled," as if were somehow a normal part of the aging process. It's not. And, it appears, more people are willing to hitch their wagons to hipper (maybe less shameful) efforts such as breast cancer's "pink ribbon" campaign. Yes, it seems there is shame associated with getting Alzheimer's.

Long Time a-Comin'
That's about to change. The Alzheimer's Association's new "Champions" advertising campaign — it's first paid outreach — dovetails with May, which is mental health month. The non-profit hopes to dispel myths surrounding the disease. It also hopes to bring in one advocate for every Alzheimer's sufferer in the United States.

"What we know is that are already over 5 million living with Alzheimer's, and unless we do something, that number is going to balloon to as many as 16 million by mid-century," notes Angela Geiger, vice president of constituent relations for the Alzheimer's Association. "We did quite a bit of research on baby boomers that showed us quite clearly that people do not understand basic facts about Alzheimer's, but once they learned, they were willing to do something about it. It was a kind of confluence of factors that lead us to understand that now is the time. We need to do something about Alzheimer's."

There is probably not one single cause of Alzheimer's. More likely, it's an amalgam of factors affecting each person differently. It has been widely speculated that contact with aluminum might be the cause. What is known is that the number of people affected with the disease beyond the age of 65 doubles every 5 years.

Alzheimer's manifests first with mild memory problems and ends with severe brain damage. The process varies, but, on average, patients live from 8 to 10 years after they have been diagnosed, though the disease can linger for up to 20 years. Symptoms include asking the same questions repeatedly, becoming lost in familiar places, being unable to follow directions and getting disoriented about time and people.

The Good News … Yes, There's Good News
In 1999, the journal "Science" reported that researchers had succeeded in identifying a long-sought enzyme that might play a key role in creating the biochemical glitch in the brain that causes Alzheimer's. Last year, Australian researchers began human trials on a drug that could eventually lead to a cure for some forms of the disease. The find was one of a number of encouraging research findings on Alzheimer's that came out of the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders in 2006.

The National Institute on Aging says that scientists also have found associations between the disease, high blood pressure that begins in midlife, and other risk factors of stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Even in relatively healthy older adults, it is known that high blood pressure and other factors can damage blood vessels in the brain and reduce its oxygen supply, which may interrupt nerve circuits that are thought to be important to decision-making, memory and verbal skills. Scientists are currently studying the connections. And statin drugs like Lipton and Zocor are proving to have possible effects on the disease.

It is expected there will be an "epidemic" of Alzheimer's as this generation hits critical mass. Here's to hard work, research and volunteering. And here's to hoping that our earlier desires to be in-the-moment won't actually come to fruition just when our memories will matter to us most.

 

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Also visit ReZoom's health blog, The Wellness Report, for more medical updates on health and aging.