It’s estimated there are some four and a half million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Experts tell us there is a marked difference between memory loss and Alzheimer's.
"As we get older, it is common to have some degree of memory loss. But the memory loss should not disrupt daily activities. In Alzheimer's disease, the memory loss is severe enough to disrupt the daily activities,” said Dr. Kore Liow, neurologist at Castle Medical Center.
This is not a simple matter of a person forgetting where he put the car keys.
It's not remembering what car keys are for.
"It is common also for them to forget how to do familiar things. They forget how to cook, they forget how to drive a car and also other things - they start to lose their judgment,” said Dr. Liow.
Medical experts are closer to understanding the various indicators about who might be prone to Alzheimer's - - things like heredity and age.
"We know that people who have parents or siblings with Alzheimer’s disease, the risk is about two to three times greater of being affected,” said Dr. Liow. "One in ten people over 65 are being affected. One in three people over 85 are being affected by Alzheimer’s."
Dr. Liow says there are other factors as well - a history of head injury, alcohol and tobacco abuse and anything that increases the risk of heart disease - hypertension and high cholesterol for example.
Knowing that, are there ways to prevent the onset of Alzheimer's?
"Regular exercise, a diet low in fat and high in vegetables and fruits and also socially active, mentally active activities and social people, people who are socially active tend to be protected from Alzheimer's disease,” said Dr. Liow.
