Alzheimer's disease is one of the most enigmatic brain afflictions and among the greatest health care challenges facing the nation. It affects more than 7 million Americans - a number projected to double by 2060. This article is the first in the series "USC United Against Alzheimer's: Collaborating in Research and Care," which illustrates how USC researchers and clinicians are making groundbreaking strides in the treatment, prevention and care of Alzheimer's.
You misplace your keys. You struggle to remember the name of an acquaintance. You forget an important appointment.
From time to time, everyone experiences lapses in memory. But in midlife, as such blunders become more frequent, they can trigger fear about the future. Alzheimer's disease, which affects 1 in 9 people age 65 and older, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that slowly robs people of their memory, thinking skills and ability to function independently. And there is no known cure.
"Alzheimer's is the most feared consequence of aging," says Paul Aisen, founding director of the USC Epstein Family Alzheimer's Therapeutic Research Institute (Epstein ATRI).
But now, for the first time in the 120-year history of Alzheimer's disease research, prevention of this devastating neurodegenerative disease is within reach. New early-detection strategies and medications - many of which are being developed at and in collaboration with USC - offer hope for disease intervention years before people begin to lose memory and cognitive function.
