History and Statistics

Alzheimers disease (AD) was originally described in a research paper by German physician Alois Alzheimer in 1907. The probability of the occurrence of Alzheimers disease increases with age; while less than one percent of individuals age sixty-five have the affliction, by age eighty-five the number of diagnosed cases jumps to twenty-five percent of those individuals.

There are two forms of Alzheimers disease. The less prevalent form, Familial or Uncommon Alzheimers disease, has been shown to be a genetic disorder, while the common form of Alzheimers disease is less clear as to its cause. Although there does seem to be a genetic disposition for the disease, other factors influence whether or not an individual develops Alzheimer's Disease¹. It is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the major cause of senile dementia. Senile dementia encompasses the loss of short term memory, progressive impairment of intellectual functions, and the eventual destruction of the personality and functional capacity.