This Weekend, HBO will debut a four part series (that is getting good early reviews) called The Alzheimer’s Project.
One of the most devastating forms of memory loss is Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible and progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Today, Alzheimer’s is the second most-feared illness in America, following cancer, and may affect as many as five million Americans. As the baby-boom generation moves through retirement, that number could soar to more than 11 million by 2040, and have a huge economic impact on America’s already fragile healthcare system.
While there is no cure for the disease, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future.
The series is co-produced by Maria Shriver who was interviewed in the Sunday NY Times Magazine:
If someone says to me, “I’m worried because I can’t find my keys,” I say, “You should only be worried if you put your keys in the refrigerator.”
- 54% of the U.S. population has been touched by Alzheimer’s.
- 91 drugs were in clinical trials in 2008 with many more in the pipeline.
There is a lot of great information, videos and links to external resources on the HBO site.
