Report: Alzheimer's Cases To Increase Locally
POSTED: 8:04 am PST February 26, 2009
UPDATED: 8:49 am PST February 26, 2009
SAN DIEGO -- The number of San Diegans with Alzheimer's disease is likely to increase from 50,000 diagnosed cases to 92,804 by 2030 because of aging baby boomers, according to a new report.Statewide, cases will nearly double to 1.1 million over the next two decades, according to the report, whose findings were cited by The San Diego Union-Tribune.The report, which was released Wednesday, was prepared by UC San Francisco's Institution of Health and Aging with the support of public health officials and the state Alzheimer's Association."The report lays out the enormous impact Alzheimer's has now and the incredible burden it will bring without major breakthroughs in research," Dr. Paul Aisen, a UC San Diego professor of neurosciences, told the Union-Tribune.One such impact affects California businesses, which suffer $1.4 billion in lost productivity each year due to full-time employees serving as caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer's disease.There is no cure for the disease, which commonly affects people 65 and older and causes severe memory loss that can lead to personality changes, including the onset of paranoia and delusions. The Federal Drug Administration has approved five treatments for Alzheimer's disease, but the medications only manage symptoms.

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