This month’s Q&A is about Alzheimer’s Disease or AD, the most common form of dementia. This disease affects millions of Americans and its causes remain largely unknown. A diagnosis can be scary both for the patient and their family. In today’s Q&A we discuss common questions.
Q: Some people use the tongue-in-cheek moniker “Old Timer’s Disease” to describe Alzheimer’s Disease. Is AD an inevitable part of aging?
A: While the primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease is age, AD is not a normal part of aging. We all become more forgetful as we age, but the symptoms of AD are more pronounced and debilitating. While there is no definitive diagnosis for AD, we can usually identify a case of Alzheimer’s with a high degree of certainty.