The latest buzz on the medical scene is that dementia treatment is more costly than cancer and heart disease. According to globalpost published today, “Cancer and heart disease are bigger killers, but Alzheimer's is the most expensive malady in the U.S., costing families and society $157 billion to $215 billion a year, according to a new study that looked at this in unprecedented detail. The biggest cost of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia isn't drugs or other medical treatments, but the care that's needed just to get mentally impaired people through daily life, the nonprofit RAND Corp.'s study found.”
Globalpost goes on to say, “Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Dementia also can result from a stroke or other diseases. It is rapidly growing in prevalence as the population ages. Current treatments only temporarily ease symptoms and don't slow the disease. Patients live four to eight years on average after an Alzheimer's diagnosis, but some live 20 years. By age 80, about 75 percent of people with Alzheimer's will be in a nursing home compared with only 4 percent of the general population, the Alzheimer's group says.”
According to Alzheimer’s Society, “Dementia is an umbrella term. It describes the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by certain diseases or conditions. There are many different types of dementia although some are far more common than others. They are often named according to the condition that has caused the dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by chemical and structural changes in the brain.
Vascular dementia occurs when not enough oxygen is getting to the brain; brain cells die and a series of strokes may occur.
Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by, “tiny spherical structures that develop inside nerve cells. Their presence in the brain leads to the degeneration of brain tissue.”
Fronto-temporal dementia is caused by damage to the front part of the brain and rather than affecting memory it affects personality and behavior.
Korsakoff syndrome “is a brain disorder that is usually associated with heavy drinking over a long period. Although it is not strictly speaking a dementia, people with the condition experience loss of short term memory.”
Creutzfeldt Jacob disease occurs when infectious agents evade the nervous system and then travel up to the brain.
The Alzheimer’s Society goes on to say that, “There are many other rarer causes of dementia, including progressive supranuclear palsy and Binswanger's disease. People with multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease can also be at an increased risk of developing dementia.”
source: examiner
Globalpost goes on to say, “Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Dementia also can result from a stroke or other diseases. It is rapidly growing in prevalence as the population ages. Current treatments only temporarily ease symptoms and don't slow the disease. Patients live four to eight years on average after an Alzheimer's diagnosis, but some live 20 years. By age 80, about 75 percent of people with Alzheimer's will be in a nursing home compared with only 4 percent of the general population, the Alzheimer's group says.”
According to Alzheimer’s Society, “Dementia is an umbrella term. It describes the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by certain diseases or conditions. There are many different types of dementia although some are far more common than others. They are often named according to the condition that has caused the dementia.
Alzheimer’s disease is caused by chemical and structural changes in the brain.
Vascular dementia occurs when not enough oxygen is getting to the brain; brain cells die and a series of strokes may occur.
Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by, “tiny spherical structures that develop inside nerve cells. Their presence in the brain leads to the degeneration of brain tissue.”
Fronto-temporal dementia is caused by damage to the front part of the brain and rather than affecting memory it affects personality and behavior.
Korsakoff syndrome “is a brain disorder that is usually associated with heavy drinking over a long period. Although it is not strictly speaking a dementia, people with the condition experience loss of short term memory.”
Creutzfeldt Jacob disease occurs when infectious agents evade the nervous system and then travel up to the brain.
The Alzheimer’s Society goes on to say that, “There are many other rarer causes of dementia, including progressive supranuclear palsy and Binswanger's disease. People with multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease can also be at an increased risk of developing dementia.”
source: examiner
