the horizon for the united states as well as, perhaps, the world in general. dr. ronald peterson is director of the mayo clinic alzheimer s disease research center. there are probably 5.4 million people with alzheimer s disease in the u.s. right now. and with the baby boomers, aging into the period of risk, this number is going to skyrocket. this is the disease entity that is going to cripple the system in the next decade if we don t address it head-on at this point in time. for years the disease did not get the attention it deserved but in 1994, ronald reagan announced to the world that it had been diagnosed in him. the president put a very public face on what was often a very private matter. dr. peterson was ronald reagan s alzheimer s doctor. if he can get alzheimer s disease, i can get alzheimer s disease, so i think that opened up some doors for us and increased the public awareness of the frequency of individuals with alzheimer s disease.
world in general. dr. ronald peterson is director of the mayo clinic alzheimer s disease research center. there are probably 5.4 million people with alzheimer s disease in the u.s. right now. and with the baby boomers, aging into the period of risk, this number is going to skyrocket. this is the disease entity that is going to cripple the system in the next decade if we don t address it head-on at this point in time. for years the disease did not get the attention it deserved but in 1994, ronald reagan announced to the world that it had been diagnosed in him. the president put a very public face on what was often a very private matter. dr. peterson was ronald reagan s alzheimer s doctor. if he can get alzheimer s disease, i can get alzheimer s disease, so i think that opened up some doors for us and increased the public awareness of the frequency of individuals with alzheimer s disease. this is something that
effects all of us, really. ron reagan jr. says his interest in alzheimer s began with his father s diagnosis. i mean, if you think about the fact that by the age of 85, it s basically a coin flip as to whether or not you will have alzheimer s or not. you know, the chances of either getting the disease or having to be a caretaker for someone who has the disease is the odds are pretty good. we asked the president s son to share his story to help others understand what it s like for a family to experience it. so, what was life like when you would visit it? his personality remained really till the end. he was this very sort of warm presence in the room, even when he couldn t really express himself, which is, of course, a tragic irony for someone known as the great communicator. this is really a terrible disease. it undermines human dignity. it undermines that sense of self, you know, who we know we are is because of our memory and who we have been until this
this is something that affects all of us, really. ron reagan jr. says his interest in alzheimer s began with his father s diagnosis. i mean, if you think about the fact that by the age of 85, it s basically a coin flip as to whether or not you will have alzheimer s or not. you know, the chances of either getting the disease or having to be a caretaker for someone who has the disease is the odds are pretty good. we asked the president s son to share his story to help others understand what it s like for a family to experience it. so, what was life like when you would visit it? his personality remained really till the end. he was this very sort of warm presence in the room, even when he couldn t really express himself, which is, of course, a tragic irony for someone known as the great communicator. this is really a terrible disease. it undermines human dignity. it undermines that sense of
dr. peterson was ronald reagan s alzheimer s doctor. if he can get alzheimer s disease, i can get alzheimer s disease, so i think that opened up some doors for us and increased the public awareness of the frequency of individuals with alzheimer s disease. this is something that effects all of us, really. ron reagan jr. says his interest in alzheimer s began with his father s diagnosis. i mean, if you think about the fact that by the age of 85, it s basically a coin flip as to whether or not you will have alzheimer s or not. you know, the chances of either getting the disease or having to be a caretaker for someone who has the disease is the odds are pretty good. we asked the president s son to share his story to help others understand what it s like for a family to experience it. so, what was life like when you would visit it? his personality remained really till the end. he was this very sort of warm presence in the room, even when he couldn t really express