Ronald Reagan and Alzheimer's

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IN 1983, PRESIDENT REAGAN ESTABLISHED NOVEMBER AS NATIONAL ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS MONTH. IN 1994, HE TOLD THE WORLD HE HAD IT. SEE VIDEO + INSPIRING LETTER: 
 Read the letter. 

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Nov. 5 1994

My Fellow Americans,

I have recently been told that I am one of the Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease.

Upon learning this news, Nancy & I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.

Continued below video...

In the past Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing. They were treated in early stages and able to return to normal, healthy lives.

So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.

At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life's journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.

Unfortunately, as Alzheimer's Disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage.

In closing let me thank you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be I will face it with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.

Sincerely,

Ronald Reagan

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LATimes

Five million Americans have Alzheimer's, a scourge of a disease that is hard to diagnose, harder to predict and, so far, unpreventable and incurable. There is no chemotherapy for Alzheimer's. And the drugs that are prescribed are more like bandages on a bleeding wound than the powerful cocktails that tame HIV.

The greatest risk factor for the disease is simply getting old — an unsettling thought for the first wave of baby boomers turning 65 this year. One study estimates that 7,000 to 10,000 baby boomers will hit that milestone every day for the next 19 years.

But there was some heartening news last week: An advisory committee to the FDA unanimously approved the use of a chemical dye that highlights, on imaging scans, the plaque in the brain that is the telltale sign of encroaching Alzheimer's.

This might not seem like really good news. A test reveals that you'll get a disease that steals your memory and, ultimately, leaves you dysfunctional, and there's little you can do except maybe set aside some money for future caregivers. Not to mention the ethical problems: Could you lose your job if the test results become known? Or your health insurance?

Those thorny issues will all have to be dealt with. But it will be worth it. Scientists say that identifying the disease in its early stages is important in treating it. Experts think that changes in the brain start as long as 20 years before a person shows signs of Alzheimer's.

Ron Reagan claims in his new book about his father that the late president showed signs of Alzheimer's before leaving office. That has been vigorously denied by former aides. And Reagan the younger is not a doctor. But his father, who died of the disease in 2004, remains one of its most public faces.

Today, every statistic about Alzheimer's is up. Heart disease still kills more people than any other disease, but the number of deaths attributed to it went down 11.1 percent from 2000 to 2006. In that period, the number attributed to Alzheimer's went up 46.1 percent.

According to statistics from the National Institutes of Health, estimated funding for Alzheimer's in fiscal year 2011 is $480 million. For cancer, it's more than $6 billion. Only a small percentage of worthy Alzheimer's research projects receives NIH funding. That should change. Meanwhile, more people — both diagnosed and not at risk — should participate in current research studies that need more subjects so that brain-scan diagnosis won't inevitably mean a grim demise