Читать книгу The Alzheimer's Epidemic - Danton O'Day - Страница 6

As we progress through the 21^st century, the world will be faced with a population dominated by an increasing number of elderly people. Since older individuals often do not work outside the home and have significantly more health issues, the impact on society will be immense. This isn’t their fault, because aging is a fact of life. What is, or more correctly will be, at fault is society’s failure to address the issues raised by this aging population. The goal of this book is to look at a single aspect of aging: The Alzheimer’s Epidemic. In this introductory chapter, we will detail and put into perspective material that will be covered in the book.

The scenarios that the media puts out about our senescing population are sometimes frightening. Old folks, it seems, are going to be a major negative drain on society in a number of ways, not the least of which is living longer and draining funds from old-age pensions. Thus, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) isn’t the only medical problem that faces the aged. The cumulative effect of all of these problems will become a serious issue for society in the future, leading to major medical costs for healthcare and increasing the need for long-term residential accommodation. It might seem a bit incongruous, then, to be looking for ways to improve the health and extend the life of seniors—but curing, stopping or slowing a single disease such as Alzheimer’s will have major benefits on a multitude of levels to Alzheimer’s sufferers, their families, caregivers and society.