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ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE THE ALUMINIUM LINK ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE ALUMINIUM THE LINK Alzheimer’s disease is on the rise in many regions of the world due to environmental factors, but by increasing magnesium and calcium intake and reducing aluminium absorption the disease can be prevented and its symptoms reversed. Does any here know me? This is not Lear. Does Lear walk thus, speak thus? Where are his eyes? Either his notion weakens, his discernings Are lethargied — Ha! Waking? 'Tis not so. Who is it that can tell me who I am? Lear: Fool: Lear's shadow. THE COSTS OF LONGEVITY ife expectancies have risen dramatically over the past century. Asa consequence, in both the developing and developed world, the number of elderly has undergone an unprecedented increase, with the proportion of the very old in the population doubling in one generation. Globally, in 1950 there were 214 million people aged 60 or over; by 2025 there probably will be one billion, a more than fourfold increase.' Although, of course, there are major advantages associated with this trend, there are also serious costs. Not only are more people surviving into old age and therefore increasing their chances of developing dementia, but those who do so are living longer after its onset. Gruenberg? termed this paradox the "failure of success" because it was a major problem that was largely attributable to progress in medical care. As he and his colleagues pointed out, "the old man's friend, pneumonia, is dead—a victim of medical progress".* While this is an oversimplification, pneumonia is certainly less common than it used to be, as are many other diseases that were previously fatal to the elderly. As a consequence, 5-6 per cent of the USA population now has Alzheimer's disease or related dementia, some 4.5 million Americans. This figure is expected to rise to 14 million by 2050.* Of course, dementia is not limited to the USA. For example, it has been estimated that, as of the year 2000, approximately eight million people in the European Union Member States had Alzheimer's disease. Since this disorder accounts for some 50 per cent of all dementia in people over sixty-five, total estimates for dementia in Europe are closer to 16 million. As in the USA, the population of Europe is ageing rapidly and the number of senile dementia cases increasing dramatically.* Clearly, in the Western world, dementia is not a rare problem. Indeed, Katzman and colleagues® have argued that, in those aged over seventy-five, new cases of dementia occur as frequently as myocardial infarction and twice as often as stroke. Despite considerable hype from the pharmaceutical industry, there has been little real progress in either the prevention or the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The estimated US$100 billion costs associated with the disease in the USA produce no cures and, if any- thing, by extending the life expectancy of the demented merely exacerbate the problem. The health bill for "warehousing" 4.5 million Alzheimer's patients in the USA is roughly equivalent to the cost of running 500 moderate-sized universities, providing higher educa- tion to some seven million students. The reader can decide which would be the better use for their taxes. by Harold D. Foster, PhD © 2005 Professor, Department of Geography University of Victoria PO Box 3050 Victoria, BC, V8W 3P5, Canada Email: hfoster@mail.geog.uvic.ca Website: http://www.hdfoster.com Email: hfoster@mail.geog.uvic.ca Website: http://www.hdfoster.com GENETIC PREDISPOSITION Alzheimer's disease is named after Dr Alois Alzheimer, the first doctor to identify a patient (Auguste D.) suffering from this disorder, and then only after her death. What was NEXUS 33 William Shakespeare, King Lear AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com