America's Frightening Alzheimer's Epidemic

One in eight Americans who are 65 years old or older has Alzheimer's disease, according to the Alzheimer's Association's 2008 Facts and Figures Report (www.alz.org). By 2030, due to the aging of our population, that number will have doubled to one in four. There's no cure, and no certain evidence that the current medications -- Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne and Namenda -- which are said to slow the course of the disease, really work. Recent studies pitting ... Full Story »

Posted by Ann Wilmer
Tags Help
Subjects: Health, Business, Politics, U.S.
Member Tags: Alzheimer's, dementia, RedwoodAge, Redwood Age, Alzheimers, boomers
Stats Help
Number sourcesHelp: 5
Number viewpointsHelp: 2
Editorial Help

To:


Separate email addresses with commas.
25 recipients max.

Note:

Reviews

Show All | Notes | Comments | Quotes | Links
Member_photo_thumb
4.5
by Beth Wellington - May. 16, 2008

The writer, combines her personal experience with informational reporting in this well-done article.

See Full Review » (9 answers)
Silhouette_sml
4.3
by Veronica Barlee - May. 16, 2008

excellent story and readers' responses on Azlheimers, its causes and effects on families.

See Full Review » (13 answers)
Fred_gatlin_thumb
4.4
by Fred Gatlin - May. 16, 2008

This is a good story about a difficult topic. When I did my ratings and came to the Fairness section, my first thought was fairness has nothing to do with this disease.

See Full Review » (7 answers)
Ann_wilmer_thumb
5.0
by Ann Wilmer - May. 16, 2008

When submitting the story, I tagged it "Health" but for a specific category I had to select "other" because there was no category for Alzheimer's, dementia or even eldercare issues. This story, which interweaves expert sources with personal observation, covers a topic that the media is NOT covering adequately in comparison to the potential it has to impact the U.S. population. Uncovering important, underreported stories is good journalism in my book.

See Full Review » (7 answers)
Member_photo_thumb
3.4
by TJ Murphy - May. 17, 2008

Alzheimer's is a slow and ugly death sentence for the one in four Americans who will suffer from the disease by 2030, and awareness of the disease and its effects on the victims, their families and society are important. This article blends often reported statistics with a personal look at this medical horror story, and that is good. Where it falls short is in looking at the potential economic costs of the disease on society (going beyond mere dollar costs, which are impressive, but ... More »

Right now, a number of prestigious medical institutes are investigating the “Amyloid Hypothesis,” a theory that damage to the brain’s nerve cells in ... More »

See Full Review » (8 answers)
Silhouette_sml
3.7
by Paul-André Raymond - May. 17, 2008
See Full Review » (11 answers)
Member_photo_thumb
4.8
by Walter Cox - May. 16, 2008
See Full Review » (6 answers)
Jack_dinkmeyer_thumb
5.0
by Jack Dinkmeyer - May. 16, 2008

An informative, even emotional article about a difficult subject. Hardly anyone isn't touched in some way by this disease. On the other end of the age spectrum is the alarming increase of autism in children. A few years ago it was 1 child in 1500. Now it's 1 child in 150. With such dramatic increases, one wonders the causes: Diet? Environment? Better diagnosis? Much research in needed in both these areas.

See Full Review » (13 answers)
Fabportrait_smallsquare_180x180_thumb
3.5
by Fabrice Florin - May. 16, 2008
See Full Review » (2 answers)
Silhouette_sml
4.7
by D. Anson - May. 16, 2008

We need more articles showing personalized examples of patient and cargiver issues. What do you do when your parent starts calling you names and trying to hit you? Be prepared.

See Full Review » (13 answers)
Silhouette_sml
4.8
by Dianne Adams - May. 17, 2008
See Full Review » (6 answers)
Silhouette_sml
5.0
by Miles Yamamoto - May. 16, 2008
See Full Review » (6 answers)

Comments on this story Help (BETA)

NT Rating | My Rating

Ratings

4.4

Good
from 12 reviews (50% confidence)
Quality
4.5
Facts
4.4
Fairness
4.5
Information
4.5
Sourcing
4.2
Style
4.6
Accuracy
4.3
Balance
4.5
Context
4.6
Popularity
4.2
Recommendation
4.8
Credibility
3.9
# Reviews
5.0
# Views
5.0
# Likes
1.0
# Emails
1.0
More
How our ratings work »
(See these related stories.)

Links Help