In the middle of the Middle-East peace talks at Camp David, President Clinton stopped to make an announcement that had nothing to do with the Middle-East or peace talks. Instead, the President announced that over the next five years, the National Institute of Health will earmark $50 million towards research designed to help prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease (President 1). The monies are primarily directed at developing a vaccine for this pervasive disease which affects millions of Americans, particularly older Americans, and promises to rapidly affect more as more numbers of people age and live longer lives “The number of Americans Alzheimer’s disease is expected to more than triple by the year 2050. Currently, one in 10 people over the age of 65 and as many as 50 percent of those over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s disease” (President 1). This analysis will shed light on this disease that is commonly associated with human growth and the aging process. A conclusion will address some promising new research that may contribute to one day finding a vaccine and even a cure for this debilitating disease that most commonly affects the elderly.
Alzheimer’s disease is an insidious and pervasive neurological disorder. The onset of Alzheimer’s is typically in advanced age, when a dire series of neurological events steals memory and judgment from the mind eventually robbing the individual of the self (personality). In those afflicted with Alzheimer’s nerve cells of the brain are controlling memory, thinking and judgment become damaged. The transmission between these nerve cells of the brain is negatively affected as a result. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, depression, wandering, and an inability to perform routine daily tasks such as getting dressed and cooking. Yet, despite the devastating effects of this disease, doctors are able to accurately diagnose the disease only from performing an...