The sorrows Alzheimer patients and families experience are close to my heart. I was seven years old walking through the grocery store with my grandmother when she turned to me with a blank look in her eyes and asked “who I was” and “what we were doing”. Barbara Price died at age 58 from complications of early onset Alzheimer. Members of the family claim her memory encountered lapses as young as her late thirties.
The Alzheimer’s Association web page lists eight myths regarding this devastating disease…
Myth 1. Memory loss is a natural part of aging—if you have ever been in contact with an Alzheimer patient you will understand the difference between an infrequent memory lapse versus the disease that triggers brain cell breakdown and death.
Myth 2. Alzheimer’s disease is not fatal—there are no survivors. This condition produces unpredictable behavior, loss of body functions, loss of identity and communication.
Myth 3. Only older people can get Alzheimer’s—early onset Alzheimer’s can affect persons in their 30s, 40s and 50s. The numbers are 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States, 5.2 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Myth 4, 5, 6 & 7 involve environmental factors increasing the risk of Alzheimer—cooking/drinking out of aluminum pots/cans, aspartame, flu shots and silver dental fillings. There is no data to support these theories.
Myth 8. Treatment to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease is available—there is no cure. Treatment/medications are available to slow down the progress of the disease.
Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_myths_about_alzheimers.asp
