Editorial Board

                    MMI No. 3
                    Aging Brain

Four million Americans suffer from dementia, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This number is expected to swell fourfold by the year 2040. Dementia is the fourth leading cause of death in those over 60. AD alone kills 100,000 people per year in the U.S.A. Onset of symptoms can start as young as 40 and continue for about 20 years before severe symptoms – such as loss of memory, inability to carry out normal work and being irritable and suspicious – show. AD is a degenerative disease characterized by progressive mental deterioration. Memory and abstract thought processes are impaired. Symptoms include depression, disorientation of space and time, inability to concentrate and communicate, loss of bladder and bowel control, memory loss, personality change, and severe mood swings. Death usually occurs within 5 to10 years as the individual becomes totally incapacitated.

The indicator of an aging brain is loss of brain tissue with men losing brain tissue almost three times faster than women, according to a study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. As the brain ages, mental and physical functions are impaired. The most extreme form of this process can lead to death.

Current treatment of dementia and AD include drugs, hormones, nutritional supplementation and brain exercises.