A Decade Of Alzheimer's Devastating Impact

In 1999, Tom DeBaggio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. He was 57. Soon after the diagnosis, he began talking with NPR about his illness. He wanted to document his decline, to break through what he called the "shame and silence" of Alzheimer's.

NPR's Noah Adams started the visits with Tom, his wife, Joyce, and his son, Francesco, at DeBaggio's Herb Farm and Nursery in Chantilly, Va.

"I still talk, I still stand up on both feet, I still look the same — maybe they go out of here and say, 'Doesn't look like anything wrong with him.' And of course you don't see it," he said in 1999.

Over the course of a year, Tom DeBaggio described his growing confusion with language: the sudden, inexplicable tears. And the waves of anger that came with Alzheimer's.

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Alzheimer's Study: evidence slim on preventive advice

A comprehensive analysis by an independent government panel has found that there is not enough scientific evidence to date to support the advice doctors currently give - such as exercising, doing crossword puzzles or eating a Mediterranean-style diet - for preventing or controlling symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.


As rates of age-related dementia and Alzheimer's disease have continued to rise in the U.S. - largely because Americans are living longer and the over-65 population has swelled to record highs - researchers have worked relentlessly to understand the causes of these mind-robbing diseases and to help prevent or slow their progression. To clarify the state of the current evidence and offer physicians clearer treatment guidelines, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in early 2009 commissioned a detailed analysis of existing studies, covering 165 papers published between 1984 and 2009. (See how to prevent illness at any age.)

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Aging: One-third of US adults plan to care for themselves

WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- One-third of U.S. adults plan to take care of themselves as they age but 90 percent expect the Internet and social networking to help, a survey indicates.

The online national survey of 1,020 U.S. adults -- 7 percent ages 18-29, 19 percent ages 30-40, 63 percent ages 41-64 and 9 percent age 65 and older -- was conducted by CommonHealth Action with the support of Betah Associates, Inc.

Sixteen percent say they are unprepared to provide for personal needs as they age, 47 percent say they are somewhat prepared, 27 percent say they are prepared to provide for their personal needs and 6 percent say they very prepared.

Outside of the 32 percent who anticipate taking care of themselves, 18 percent say they anticipate relying on spouse/partner for care; 21 percent say they plan to rely on children, friends or other relatives; 11 percent say they anticipate paying for professionals; and 4 percent say they don't think they will be able to afford any care.

Fifty-four percent say they are not confident at all that the federal government will support their needs, while 39 percent say they are somewhat confident.

Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed were women and 21 percent were male; 59 percent are married, 14 percent are divorced and 18 percent single. No further survey details were provided.

The full report is scheduled to be posted to the CHA Web site in August.

Help Celebrate 5th Annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15

Help the fight against elder abuse on Tuesday, June 15 with various partners throughout the country and celebrate World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEADD). The key objective of is to raise awareness of elder abuse (which encompasses neglect and mal- or mistreatment) throughout the world.

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In celebration of the elderly Part III of a Part V series

The following is Part III in a series of V that will highlight extraordinary people and businesses that have made a positive impact on the elderly and the eldercare industry:

Bob DeMarco, founder & Editor Alzheimer’s Reading Room

Bob DeMarco learned about Alzheimer's the hard way--by observing it from the front row. Realizing quickly that being an Alzheimer’s caregiver is not a spectator sport…the Alzheimer’s Reading Room was born.

While reading, researching, and searching the Internet, he recognized there was a need for concise, high quality information that an Alzheimer's caregiver could relate to in their everyday life. He knew from first-hand experience that Alzheimer's caregivers are thrust into their role with little or no experience, training, or education about Alzheimer's disease. As a result, they are overwhelmed and many suffer from depression.

Prior to moving to Delray Beach, Florida to take on the full time caregiver role for his 93 year old mother Dotty, Bob was CEO of a software development and marketing company based in Reston, Va. Before then he had a string of successful accomplishments on Wall Street with Bearn Stearns, Daiwa Securities America, Spencer Trask and Salem Partners.

As he gained experience in caring for his mother, he started writing more about the success he and Dotty were having in fighting Alzheimer’s disease. He learned that the more he allowed her to do the more she could do. Additionally, he found that there really are practical solutions to the problems that face Alzheimer's caregivers each day. Bob also learned the great sense of accomplishment in being a caregiver. He realized that he was not alone, millions of families walk in his shoe each and every day.

As the editor of the Alzheimer's Reading Room which he started to keep track of the thousands of articles and many books he was reading about Alzheimer's disease and dementia; he has written more than 1,510 articles with close to 9,000 links on the Internet.

Articles written by Bob have been syndicated on Reuters, Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, Time Warner, Chicago Sun Times, Houston Chronicle, Livestrong, Cox News, and Palm Beach Post (to name a few).

Census Bureau Says Aging Baby Boomers Will Increase Dependency Ratio

The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting that the dependency ratio, or the number of people 65 and older to every 100 people of traditional working ages, is projected to climb rapidly from 22 in 2010 to 35 in 2030. After 2030, however, the ratio of the aging population to the working-age population (ages 20 to 64) will rise more slowly, to 37 in 2050. The higher this old-age dependency ratio, the greater the potential burden. The expected steep rise in the dependency ratio over the next two decades reflects the projected proportion of people 65 and older climbing from 13 percent to 19 percent of the total population over the period, with the percentage in the 20 to 64 age range falling from 60 percent to 55 percent. According to the report, minorities would comprise 42 percent of the 65 and older population in 2050, more than double the proportion they comprise today (20 percent). Likewise, among those 85 and older, 33 percent are projected to be minority in 2050, up from 15 percent in 2010.


"This rapid growth of the older population may present challenges in the next two decades," said Victoria Velkoff, assistant chief for estimates and projections for the Census Bureau’s Population Division. "It’s also noteworthy that those 85 and older — who often require additional caregiving and support — would increase from about 14 percent of the older population today to 21 percent in 2050."

The findings are contained in the report, "The Next Four Decades: The Older Population in the United States: 2010 to 2050," which presents information on how the age structure of the overall population and the composition of the older population in terms of age, sex, race and Hispanic origin are expected to change over the next four decades. The report provides an analysis of national population projections released in August 2008.

Cancer and Age: Why We May Face a Tradeoff Between Cancer Risk and Aging

It's long been clear that cancer is a disease of aging. While children and younger adults are of course afflicted by certain types of the disease, the vast majority of cases occur in people over 50. But from that simple observation, researchers are just beginning to tease out the intricate connections between the biological processes driving both the disease and the aging process. Though the research is in early days, they're discovering how the two may be linked, and even how the forces of evolution may have produced a tradeoff: the ability to protect against cancer at the expense of a faster aging.


Judith Campisi, a research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Buck Institute for Age Research, sees the relationship two ways. First, she says, the same forces that damage our genes likely drive both cancer and aging. For example, oxidative stress, a type of DNA damage caused by free radicals and other molecules, has been associated with both processes, says Steven Austad, a biologist at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health Science Center. (Austad is also deputy director of research at the American Federation for Aging Research, which funds studies on aging and age-related diseases.) Any biological processes that protect against oxidative stress and other forms of DNA damage are "unequivocal good guys," says Campisi. "They protect against cancer, protect the genome, and protect longevity."

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