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Are we just living so much longer now?

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Dear Kathy,

I share the same concern. I wonder sometimes in some cases if its over medication and the side effects of multiple medications that is causing an inaccurate diagnosis as well. It is hard to say.

My grandmother mind's was in tact till the very end. She hardly ate fast food and cooked all her own meals till 90. She was a big fan of dark greens, sweet potato, fruits and fish.
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According to some lawmakers in Congress, in February they wrote "Alzheimer’s research funding remains disproportionately low compared to its human and economic toll". They are trying to get our current President to add more funds to research.

The Senate proposed increasing Alzheimer’s research by $414 million in its fiscal 2018 bill.... but the bill didn't pass :( Not surprised as back in 2017, our current President wanted to make budget cuts of $7.5B to the National Institute of Health for research.

I don't see anything happening soon since the large Tax Reform passed Congress. Corporations and big business are now paying a lot less in Federal taxes. Someone has to make up the difference. It's the old take from Peter to pay Paul. Less funds for medical research, and possible cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. Oh, I hope I am wrong on this.

The only way to keep Medicaid alive and well will be for each State to raise its State/County/City/Town taxes.
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We are living longer.
There is more awareness. The numbers of people predicted to be diagnosed with dementia are frightening.
We are older, now if someone doesn't know someone with dementia then that person just does not communicate with anyone.
Senility was dementia, it just had not been identified or diagnosed. It has always been there.

The numbers are staggering. People are frightened. Lives have been extended through the use of medications that did not used to be available.

In the U.S. More than 5 million people currently live with Alzheimer's.
By 2040 that number is expected to reach 14 million.
It is public health crisis #1.

Look for yourself at stats compiled by the Alzheimer's Association.

https://m.alz.org/facts-and-figures.asp#Quick

A cure needs to be found.
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There may be scientific evidence that there is a rise in dementia, or, that it is discovered and diagnosed more frequently now that it is known.

Adding another reason:
A person researches and buys a specific car that they have never noticed before.
They start driving it, and all at once, discover just how many identical cars are on the road. Add to that, the cars are the same color! (familiarity?).
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Pure guess by me, but I believe cholesterol is absolutely needed for your brain. In the past couple decades, statins have been widely distributed to combat CAD, because you have several markers for it. (overweight, high cholesterol, family history, diabetes)   I asked my doctor last week why he put me on them, since my research seems to indicate they mainly benefit people that have had a heart attack.  He said he thinks they provide some preventative measure.  I'm no doctor, but statins have a ton of side effects, including some studies which seem to indicate a relationship to type II diabetes, muscle pain and weakness, leg cramps and liver damage.
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Kathy, for me and my family tree the jury is still out on that. Maybe it is environmental related, and chemical related regarding food.

I find it so very interesting that in my family tree, relatives born in the 1800's were able to live to 85, 90, and even 100 and more. The vast majority were farming families. One Great-great-Grandfather did develop dementia due to a serious head injury. Another Great-great-Grandfather was said to be "senile" but I heard from relatives that he would wander out of the house and go visit friends and others in the tiny farming town, and being senile was his excuse :P

Now there were a ton of really aging relatives that died of age related issues, mainly heart disease. One Great-great-Aunt lived to be 103, died in her sleep, she never married, maybe that was her secret :)

Now, those relatives who were middle aged, once they moved to the big city, they died much earlier, again heart disease.  Could be stress related due to noise, traffic, lack of healthy outdoor exercises, pills instead of home remedies they had brought from the old country, etc.
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