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New Alzheimer's Statistics
April 20, 2009 |
An estimated 5.3 million Americans are now diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and
it’s predicted to
get worse. By the year 2010, nearly half a million new cases will
be diagnosed, that’s just one year from now. And in 40 years, more than a million
new cases will be diagnosed annually.
“The treatments so far only can slow down the progression of the disease. So, getting
people to start regular exercise, getting their blood sugar and blood pressure under
control,” is important explains geriatrician, Dr. Michael Raab.
The new report also finds the number of deaths from Alzheimer’s disease jumped 47%
between 2000 and 2006. Until a cure is discovered, prevention related tactics are
the only way to fight the growing disease. “It turns out that by working out a hundred
and fifty minutes a week, 30 minutes five days a week, fifty minutes three days
a week, seems to help slow the progressive memory loss,” adds Dr. Raab.
Brain exercises can also help, such as jigsaw puzzles and Sudoku, “exercises where
they practice and work on improving their processing speed, those people are able
to stay at home longer,” adds Dr. Raab. He also suggests adopting a diet rich in
fruits and vegetables to ward off any risk.
It’s important to pay attention to your memory habits and especially those around
you. The earlier the detection, the better the treatment.
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