Alzheimer's Disease Lesson #2

Recently I was reading a finding presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Paris on Wednesday and the results of the finding were so interesting supporting the high lack of knowledge of this disease that affects thousands every year.

The majority of us would immediately see our doctors if we experienced the confusion and memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s Disease and would encourage our loved ones as well. The interesting observation I made with my family during my aunts battle with this disease is there would be moments of clarity in her memory for months and then she would experience a week of not knowing basic things and being totally out of character with her personality and actions. With the disease’s ability to revert back and forth during her initial stage we did not associate her behavior with Alzheimer at all but contributed it to “oh she is just having a bad week or getting older”. As I reflect back to my grandmother’s experience she dealt with the disease with a zero to sixty momentums and it was more easily diagnosed.

The results of this finding supported by a phone survey of 2,678 adults in the US, France, Germany, Spain and Poland are respondents fear Alzheimer’s Disease as part of one in seven category alongside cancer and heart disease with almost 25% choosing Alzheimer’s as their top fear. Nearly 40% surveyed did not know the disease is fatal-THAT INCLUDES ME!!!!

Lesson #2 proves that we have a long way to go in educating our communities on this invasive disease and I hope this information is helpful to our families.

It’s kind of therapeutic for me to learn these facts and I would love to hear your feedback on Alzheimer’s Disease.