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Alzheimer's Disease Affects 'Twice As Many People' As Experts Thought (nypost.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the updated-estimates dept.

schwit1 shares a report from the New York Post: In the U.S., 5.8 million people are living with the debilitating condition, according to the Alzheimer's Association, and that number is projected to rise to nearly 14 million by 2050. Scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota believe, however, that many more people are probably already living with it without having a formal diagnosis. They've been using brain imaging to give a definite answer as to how many people are affected. Tests on 2,500 people have shown that double the number of people have telltale signs of protein plaques and tangles in the brain -- markers of Alzheimer's disease -- even if they're not experiencing dementia. "The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is all based on clinical assessment. It's just based on the question 'Do you have dementia?'" Dr. Jack Clifford, the Alexander Family professor of Alzheimer's disease research at the Mayo Clinic, told The Telegraph. "Classically defined Alzheimer's undercounts people who have the pathology but do not have symptoms. A lot more people have the disease but do not have symptoms, just like a lot more people have hypertension than have had a stroke, or a lot more people have diabetes than people who have gone blind."

23 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. Biological markers by manu0601 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you can live with the disease biological marker and without the disease, it means the biological marker does not tells us much about the disease.

    1. Re:Biological markers by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not necessarily. Some diseases show few signs at first until the suffer suddenly decompensates. That is, it appears to come on suddenly when it's actually been at a slow boil for some time, then it crosses a threshold.

    2. Re:Biological markers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      If you can live with the disease biological marker and without the disease, it means the biological marker does not tells us much about the disease.

      Asymptomatic Alzheimer's - what will they think of next?

      This whole thing smacks of an effort to get more funding. The ads will be frantically telling everyone that Alzheimer's is epidemic even through we don't always know we have it.

      Reminds me of the autism epidemic, where they were trying to shoehorn more and more people into the spectrum.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    3. Re:Biological markers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Not necessarily. Some diseases show few signs at first until the suffer suddenly decompensates. That is, it appears to come on suddenly when it's actually been at a slow boil for some time, then it crosses a threshold.

      Well, having had some family experience with Alzheimer's, the symptoms never came on suddenly. At first the decline was so slow that it was only in retrospect that we knew that the person was in the beginning stages of dementia.

      Even then, when it was obvious that the person was having trouble, it was not a fast onset, merely a long, slow goodbye.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    4. Re:Biological markers by Megol · · Score: 2

      Ever wondered if maybe it's you that have difficulty understanding the world rather than there being conspiracies everywhere?

    5. Re: Biological markers by Code+Herder · · Score: 1

      Cant say Iâ(TM)m agaisnt more funding for a cure or mitigation treatment. I saw a few people die of it and man itâ(TM)s not pretty in the last fee years. I mean its ok for a while but at some point if it was me Iâ(TM)d whish someone would pull the plug its just a farce.

      We have legal medically assisted suicide here but you have to prove youâ(TM)re sound of mind so itâ(TM)s pretty much out of the window if you want to check out late and you cant ask for it in advance in a will or something. The lawâ(TM)s still new and people are fighting to change it but thereâ(TM)s a lot of logistic to build are making sure people dont bring relatives to have them killed to get their money.

    6. Re: Biological markers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Cant say Iâ(TM)m agaisnt more funding for a cure or mitigation treatment. I saw a few people die of it and man itâ(TM)s not pretty in the last fee years. I mean its ok for a while but at some point if it was me Iâ(TM)d whish someone would pull the plug its just a farce. We have legal medically assisted suicide here but you have to prove youâ(TM)re sound of mind so itâ(TM)s pretty much out of the window if you want to check out late and you cant ask for it in advance in a will or something. The lawâ(TM)s still new and people are fighting to change it but thereâ(TM)s a lot of logistic to build are making sure people dont bring relatives to have them killed to get their money.

      In the USA, the scheme is to insure that your money is extracted before you die. So they will treat you with drugs that draw out the cognitive decline as much as possible. Then (conjecture here) when you have no more money to give the nursing home, they allow you to die.

      Having seen the process firsthand with some family members, my hope is that if I come down with that, I can check out myself during the early stages. Getting to watch a loved one take 10 years to die, the last several as just a mindless money source for the death industry, I gotta say that is several orders of magnitude more stressful on a family than a quick exit. I figure I'll be doing my family a favor both emotionally and financially that way.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    7. Re:Biological markers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I think the idea is to get treated before the symptoms manifest themselves.

      And what would that treatment be?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    8. Re:Biological markers by jma05 · · Score: 1

      Why do you feel that Alzheimer's Association is an industry organization?
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Not saying it is or isn't - I don't know anything about it; just wanted to know why you think it is.

    9. Re:Biological markers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Why do you feel that Alzheimer's Association is an industry organization? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Not saying it is or isn't - I don't know anything about it; just wanted to know why you think it is.

      I don't think it is an industry association. But if they can suddenly claim that asymptomatic people are suffering from Alzheimer's, research money can be demanded. The issue is that Alzheimer's is invariably fatal. The medicines used to treat it simply extend the inevitble timeline. This is like extending the timeline of incurable incendiary cancer. Live a few more months in terrible pain, allow your family to suffer as they see you suffer.

      Ever see a lot of people with Alzheimer's? While some are happy, most are crying, miserable for the times they aren't asleep. So in addition to the drugs that merely slow the progression, they are miserable for that much longer. Fear not though, as other drugs can be administered that might take a little bit of the edge off that misery. This isn't like insulin. This is people who are already demented having the length of their dementia extended. And that means maybe another year on some mighty expensive drugs.

      It doesn't have anything specific that is the fault of any association, it is the pharmaceutical industry, and the nursing industry that can realize increased profits the longer an Alzheimer's patient lives. Another year of life, and they can realize a hundred K or even much much more. The goal is to extract the patient's wealth, then after they are destitute, for them to die. I've seen it with family members. The last two years of my Mother in law's life cost $675,000 dollars for care, without the meds. With the meds, it was edging toward a million. There's a lot of money to be made by having people be ready to die, but extending that as long as possible.

      While some folks seem to think I'm talking about a conspiracy, this is not. It is simply a successful and rather cruel business model that I have been though a few times. I dunno if any of y'all have gone through the US death business. Your retirement account is emptied, then any real estate you might have is sold and the proceeds go toward more upkeep. When you are finally destitute, the socialized medicine takes over, but it simply isn't as profitable as the rates they charge you while you have money. When they can, and if you appear to have afew more years in you, the for profit industry will ship you off to the county home. Your socialized medicine bed can be much more profitably filled with someone who still can pay full price.

      There are a fair number of couples who divorce so that the interred person will be destitute and won't destroy the estate. That however, takes special conditions, where the patient is ill but still of sound mind, which is not the case for dementia.

      And now, we have the real reason that single payer medicine is vehemently fought by one of the political parties in the US. There's too much money in it, and plenty of bribes to be made, and profit to be had.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    10. Re: Biological markers by DigressivePoser · · Score: 1

      In the USA, the scheme is to insure that your money is extracted before you die. So they will treat you with drugs that draw out the cognitive decline as much as possible. Then (conjecture here) when you have no more money to give the nursing home, they allow you to die.

      Sorry you had to go through the long goodbye with a family member. Your bleak assessment has not been my experience with my Dad's decline though. His doctor and nursing home are not in cahoots to drain money. Whether to use drugs that may improve his memory or to alleviate other health issues has been the family's decision. The only time the nursing home chimed in was to control aggression.

      As far as myself getting the disease, man I'm with you. Get out while you still know how. Otherwise, at some point, you'll be wearing Depends because you can't remember where the toilet is or how to use it.

    11. Re:Biological markers by sjames · · Score: 1

      And likewise, someone with the biological markers may be affected at a level that won't be noticed as symptome except perhaps in retrospect.

  2. SAD - Standard American Diet by no-body · · Score: 1

    and insulin resistance are main factors for causing this disease. Has the US society any defense against this onslaught of care cases?
    Nope!

    1. Re:SAD - Standard American Diet by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      Right, it's also called diabetes type 3. Cutting down carbs (especially refined) should be first step in treatment and avoidance.

    2. Re:SAD - Standard American Diet by Megol · · Score: 1

      Nice that you have the cause of and solution to one of this disease, have you published your scientific findings yet? We're all waiting. /s

    3. Re:SAD - Standard American Diet by no-body · · Score: 1

      Nice that you have the cause of and solution to one of this disease, have you published your scientific findings yet? We're all waiting. /s</p></quote>

      Steven Masley "The better brain solution"

      The knowledge is there, is something changing?

      Here is another one for you:

      Over 20 years ago, a book "The heat is on" was written by Ross Gelbspan about global warming and the denial about it.
      In this book, it was outlined that the warming itself is not so much the issue but the increased energy in the system causing more dynamic and extremes - storms, floods droughts etc.

      The knowledge is there, is something changing?

      I'd say system failure, red light flashing - ooonk ooonk oonk,
      somewhere in the basement....

    4. Re:SAD - Standard American Diet by no-body · · Score: 1

      Nice that you have the cause of and solution to one of this disease, have you published your scientific findings yet? We're all waiting. /s</p></quote>

      Another one:

      Have you experienced a person close to you going through this until the very end, and what that does that to you?

      Me thinks this would drive the smart-assy-ness right out of you!

  3. I thought I had heard something about that by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

    But I couldn't be sure

  4. Re: Another fine piece of fake news... by Rockoon · · Score: 1

    Seems to me if a theorized-to-be telltale sign of Alzheimer's isnt present in a staggering number of people that are specifically not diagnosed with Alzheimer's, then maybe it isnt such a telltale sign after all.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  5. Re:Smoke and mirrors by Dayze!Confused · · Score: 2

    I don't think they meant literally asking them "Do you have dementia?" But going from the question, "Do you have dementia?" and answering it by asking the other questions which would say "Yes you do." or "No you don't." But that line of questioning wouldn't catch those without symptoms, but with the pathology. The idea is to examine those without the symptoms to find if they have the pathology. This could help to find how early the disease begins to develop before any symptoms show up.

    --
    "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." [Thomas Jefferson]
  6. Breaking news by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    [fiddles with earpiece]

    Source of error found: it seems they counted them, forgot they'd done it, and then counted them again.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  7. Re: Another fine piece of fake news... by MrKaos · · Score: 1

    Seems to me if a theorized-to-be telltale sign of Alzheimer's isnt present in a staggering number of people that are specifically not diagnosed with Alzheimer's,

    then it maybe a physical manifestation of the cognitive by-products of personality disorders from the production of peptides in the brain.

    --
    My ism, it's full of beliefs.
  8. Re:This is actually the long tail of CJD. by Megol · · Score: 1

    No U.