Alzheimer's disease in the US population

The researchers, led by Denis Evans, MD, estimate that currently some 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Using low, middle and high US Census projections, the researchers calculate Alzheimer's prevalence over the next five decades.

The study predicts that by the middle of the century, between 11.2 and 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's, with the medium number of cases expected to reach 13.2 million. The new numbers represent a significant increase over a 1990 study by the same researchers that estimated 7.5 to 14.3 million cases, with a medium range of 10.2 million, by 2050.

Harry Cayton, chief executive of the UK Alzheimer's Society says:

'The next fifty years will see a significant increase in Alzheimer's disease in the UK. This will be for two reasons, one of which is that a far greater number of people are living into their 70s and 80s. The other factor is that more of those people are living longer. In the UK we estimate about 150% increase by the year 2050.

But the important message is that in fifty years there will be huge advances in research. We have learned more about the brain in the last fifty years than in the previous 5,000. So the likelihood is there will be effective treatments, prevention or even a cure in fifty years time. But for this to happen we need a real increase in funding for research, which lags well behind other major health problems such as cancer and heart disease.'