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Kristen Cusato and Ginge Cabrera spoke for the Alzheimer's Association on Thursday.
On the same Thursday last week that the Federal government announced large cuts to Alzheimer’s research grants, the Y’s Men were told the disease kills as many people as breast and prostate cancer combined.
In a thorough presentation, Kristen Cusato, director of communications for the non-profit Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter, laid out the landscape of the disease probably most feared by seniors. She was joined by Ginge Cabrera, chairman of the Chapter.
She said one of three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia, sometimes discovered only in autopsies. The disease afflicts nearly seven million Americans, about one in every nine people over the age of 65, making it a leading cause of death among seniors. Up to 420,000 adults in the prime of life — including people as young as 30 — suffer from early-onset Alzheimer’s. The annual number of new cases is expected to double by 2050.
Early on she cleared up a common misunderstanding based on misapplied labels. She said, “Dementia is an umbrella term for various symptoms – loss of memory and other thinking abilities – severe enough to interfere with daily lives.”
While Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes dementia, one of a handful of diseases that does but the most common. And some of the others are more reversible.
While no single test can diagnose Alzheimer’s, Cusato outlined some of the standards in use today – PET scans and MRI’s – and these frontier methods. Spinal fluid is being used to predict changes in the brain. Emerging blood tests can detect Alzheimer’s markers years before symptoms occur. There is even some promise for retinal imaging and examinations of skin and saliva.
Of course, everyone wants to know about treatments. The FDA approved two new drugs in the last two years: Leqembi in 2023 and Kisunla in 2024. Both have shown some effectiveness against the MCI stage: mild cognitive impairment, an early stage of memory loss that may develop into Alzheimer’s.
Prevention is still a matter of lifestyle changes commonly recommended for a healthy heart with some games added to challenge your mind.
Cusato said 40 percent of Alzheimer’s cases could be delayed – and some prevented – simply through the classic lifestyle changes of diet, exercise, sleep and others..
The presentation ended on a high note with summaries of all the research and clinical trials underway. The association’s website https://alz.org offers a complete Alzheimer’s education, access to clinical trials, and details of research. The 24/7 helpline is 800-272-3900 and staffed by informed professionals, she said.
Click here to see the full presentation. No need to sign in to play.
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