Alzheimer’s Notes

Alzheimer’s Affects People Around the World

by Mary Emma Allen on April 4th, 2007

              As we approach World Health Day, April 7, we realize that Alzheimer’s has become a world wide concern.  It may not be a contageous disease, but it affects people and families everywhere. 

Liz has called attention to people and projects around the globe in previous posts here, such as You Are Not Alone: Alzheimer’s Stories from Around the World.  I posted about Queen Silvia of Sweden addressing Alzheimer’s at a conference in Japan.  Some of her concern stems from the fact her mother had Alzheimer’s.

So we see this disease is not merely the concern of one country or one continent.  As it gathers widespread recognition, we discover that Alzheimer’s affects people everywhere, whether they’re a patient or a caregiver. 

Researchers in many countries have been looking for causes and cures, such as that mentioned in this post on recent research.  Better and more effective care constantly is being sought.  Liz mentions how, in the Netherlands, they are attempting to help Alzheimer’s patients with care that calms them, in Snoezelen Rooms.  I even reminisced about how patients care for one another as my mom and aunt did.

As recognition of the challenges caused by Alzheimer’s becomes more widespread, I see much more awareness of how this disease affects people (victims, families, caregivers) around the world than when Mother and Auntie developed it.  To me this is a giant step forward and leads to hope that causes and cures will be discovered in future years.

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