Isn memory loss a natural part of aging?
Yes and no. Many healthy individuals are less able to remember certain kinds of information as they get older. But the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease involve more than simple lapses in memory. People with Alzheimer’s experience difficulties in communicating, learning, thinking, and reasoning that can have an impact on a person’s work and social and family life. Alzheimer’s is a disease that destroys brain cells — which is not a normal part of aging. • How many people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease? Studies have shown that the greatest known risk for developing Alzheimer’s is increasing age. As many as 10 percent of people 65 years of age and older have Alzheimer’s, and nearly 50 percent of people 85 and older have the disease. A family history of the disease is another known risk. Having a parent or sibling with the disease increases an individual’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s. Scientists have identified three genes that cause rare, inherited forms of the disease that tend
