RP208 The Memory Eater

 RP208 The Memory Eater

Alzheimer's is a disease that takes people away before they die. It turns loved ones into strangers, homes into cages, and daily life into a series of unpleasant surprises. Alzheimer's disease is estimated to affect four million people in the U.S. and 26 million people worldwide, and we still don't know exactly what causes it or how to reverse it.

Alzheimer's symptoms are often confused with the normal aging process. Difficulty in forming new memories is usually the first symptom of Alzheimer's. People with Alzheimer's may remember the past clearly, but can't remember where they parked the car, why they drove to the mall, or what they spoke to their neighbors about three hours ago. As scientists continue to study the disease, however, it is becoming more and more clear that serious memory problems have little to do with age and everything to do with this dreadful disease. Recognizing the relation between memory loss and this serious medical issue could lead to detecting Alzheimer's earlier and managing it better.

People with Alzheimer's develop buildups called plaques in the spaces between nerve cells. They also develop twisted tangles of fibers inside brain cells. These plaques and tangles are not well understood yet, but they seem to kill nerve cells in the brain. Nerve cells transmit electrical impulses that control our thoughts, our movements, and our words. As they die, we slowly lose control of these processes. As a consequence, the brain shrinks.

As Alzheimer's progresses, patients lose their memories, their ability to move well, to carry on a conversation, and eventually to speak or take care of themselves at all. It is a long, painful process for patients and their loved ones, who can only watch as the patient retreats into a private, perhaps lonely world.

As populations age, Alzheimer's becomes a bigger problem. Research is ongoing. Perhaps soon doctors will be able to save patients' memories and lives.