Viewing HBO Documentary on Alzheimer's Disease

On Thursday, May 28 I attended a private screening of Part 1 of the HBO Alzheimer's Project hosted by the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center followed by a Q and A with their faculty. I've just began to be exposed to the design considerations surrounding Alzheimer disease, dementia, and memory care. InterDesign's Dan Ware has been active in the design of Alzheimer disease care environments for years and has proven a great resource for learning.

A few facts to consider:

• Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he observed the brain of patients during autopsy who had progressive memory failure and saw plaques and tangles (amyloid plaques and tau tangles).
• Typical age for late on-set Alzheimer disease is late 70s to early 80s.
• Alzheimer's is the second most feared illness in America, after cancer.
• As many as 5 million men and women in this country may have Alzheimer's.
• The number of people with Alzheimer's will rise rapidly when the baby boom generation begins to reach retirement age in 2011...