According to the American Health Assistance Foundation, more than 36 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and the amount is projected to increase to 115 million by 2050. More than 100 years after it was first identified, scientists have yet to find a cause or a cure for the memory-robbing disease.
A recent student of 141 healthy subjects found that Alzheimer’s plaques may be bigger risks than the Alzheimer’s gene itself. Participants in the study who had clumps of amyloid beta plaques in their brains at the start of the research, had as much as a 20 percent greater decline in memory and thinking over an 18-month period than those with fewer plaques. Read the article.
Clearly more research is necessary into this devastating disease which affects one in eight people over the age of 65. The organizations that are conducting Alzheimer’s research in the U.S. are the Alzheimer’s Association and others, so if you are thinking of making year-end charitable contributions, you may want to consider donating to these worthwhile research endeavors. However, always beware of the negative affect that charitable giving can have on Medicaid qualification.
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About Evan H Farr, CELA, CAP
