Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Economic Toll of Alzheimer's

There's a great piece in today's Huffington Post by a neurologist on the toll of Alzheimer's in our communities and our country and our world. Consider this early passage:

According to a recent Medscape report, the costs associated with Alzheimer's disease globally are staggering at an estimated $604 billion, or a full one percent of the world's gross domestic product.

He uses scientific data to support the need for exercise and a healthy diet to help reduce the risk of acquiring the disease.  And he urges everyone to do their small part to prevent Alzheimer's in ourselves and those we love.

The bottom line is that this author, a practicing neurologist dealing with Alzheimer's disease on a daily basis, believes we need to expand the public awareness that modifiable lifestyle factors have a profound role to play in determining who will or won't get this disease. For now, we are being told to pretty much live our lives, come what may and hope for a pharmaceutical magic bullet. But the science tells us otherwise, and gives us hope that we can indeed take action today to reduce our risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Article: Alzheimer's Prevention: Reducing Your Risk

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