... for Alzheimer's research. Have you been told that there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease?  Yes, it's true, currently there is none available.  Do you ever see a television commercial advertising the latest and the greatest drugs for Alzheimer's?  Not likely. 
One of the biggest reasons?  Money. 
Look at the statistics for where the research dollars go.   
We spend $5.6 billion a year funding cancer studies.
$1 billion a year for heart disease.
For Alzheimer's disease?  A mere $500 million a year.  

It's no wonder why 81% of those polled saw great progress being made in curing heart disease and 74% said the same for cancer, but only 48% felt researchers were making strides against Alzheimer's, as reported in The Shriver Report:  A Woman's Nation Takes on Alzheimer's.   

Yet, "Alzheimer's is what is going to get most of us." says Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. 

We need to increase awareness on the impact of this disease.  We need to have more dollars going to research.  We need to fight for a cure.

 When my mom was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her doctor urged us to make sure that she gets regular exercise.  He recommended that she takes long walks early in the morning.  The morning sunshine provides an important source of vitamin D, and the daily exercise will establish a routine that will not only keep her physically fit, but provide much needed mental stimulation as well.   
 There were numerous studies conducted that show benefit of exercise. The Alzheimer's Disease Rehab by Students program (Arkin, 1999) showed dramatic, positive increases in physical fitness, mood, and maintenance of function in multiple language measures, and a slower than typical decline in mental status after a year of exercise. An Italian research group (Palleschi, Vetta, Degennaro, Idone, Sottosanti, Gianni, & Marigliano, 1996) found a significant improvement on four cognitive measures after three months of aerobic exercise.
 So why aren't all Alzheimer's patients flocking to the local gym or exercising with FitTV?  Unfortunately, even early stage Alzheimer's patients have difficulty initiating or maintaining a new routine on their own.  This means that persons with Alzheimer's need someone to encourage and support them, like an exercise coach or a workout buddy.  Most primary caretakers are already too overloaded with responsibilities that come with care-taking, or they may be too old and frail to initiate an exercise regime. 

 If you are a family member or a friend of someone with Alzheimer's who occasionally provide respite support such as sharing a weekly meal or taking them to church, why not spend an hour longer on your visit and take a walk with them? 
If this is not an option, why not find and pay for a high schooler to come by 1 hour a day, 3 times a week for a regular exercise routine?  It wouldn't cost you more than $30 bucks a week, which is about the cost of a Kentucky Fried Chicken meal for a family of 4.

Dementia is a general term for memory loss and decline in mental ability that is severe enough to interfere with the activities of daily living.  Worldwide, a new case of dementia arises every 7 seconds and Alzheimer's disease is the most feared, accounting for 60% to 80% of cases.  In America, someone develops Alzheimer's disease every 71 seconds, with nearly 5.3 million Americans currently living with Alzheimer's.  For those 55 years of age and older, 1 in 6 will develop some form of dementia, including Alzheimer's.  There are about 11 million people who are designated as primary caregivers.  64% of Alzheimer's caregivers die or get hospitalized before their loved ones.  
With statistics like these, we must race to find a cure.    
 
Did you know that:  
#1.  People's brains begin to shrink when they are in their thirties?  By the way, this doesn't mean you have Alzheimer's. 
#2.  An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan can evaluate the size and well-being of the anatomical features of your brain?
#3.  An EEG (electroencepahlograph) scan which measures electrical activity in the brain will be able to determine how well your memory is working?
#4.  Treatment can be initiated before extensive neuronal loss? 

In an article written by Paul Reaburn in "Discover Presents The Brain", Fall 2010 edition, lithium, a simple metal and oldest drug in psychiatry  may just be the wonder drug for curing mental illness, including Alzheimer's.  According to this article, "lithium has shown two remarkable powers in the brain of mentally ill:  protecting neurons from damage and death, and alleviating existing damage by spurring new nerve cell growth." 
Why then do we not have a pill of lithium that's prescribed for Alzheimer's patients?  We've heard of Aricept and Namenda, but where is Lithium?  Amazingly, it turns out that drug companies do not want to spend millions of dollars researching and investigating how to make lithium into an Alzheimer's drug because there's no profit in it.  No one owns a patent for lithium.  It is a very simple element and freely available to anyone.  So if Pfizer or Merck spent millions of dollars researching and proving lithium's effectiveness for treating Alzheimer's, anybody can turn around and sell it. 
So who will lead this research effort?  Sadly, it seems the drug companies will not.