Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible and devastating form of dementia that gradually destroys memory and thinking skills.
But not everyone is at the same risk. Hispanics are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s than whites, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“Our America: Unforgettable” is a one-hour special produced by ABC Owned Television Stations in partnership with ABC News that looks at the alarming data on Alzheimer’s disease through a Hispanic and Latino lens.
It’s important for high-risk groups to know the signs of Alzheimer’s disease, said Christian Salazar, a researcher at the UC Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders.
“There are older Latinos who have cultural beliefs that losing memory is a normal part of aging. It’s not,” Salazar told ABC News. “You can occasionally forget things, and that’s a normal part of aging.”
He continued: “Or you can have people who have very drastic changes in their personality, in the way they were able to live day-to-day and remember things. This abrupt change is a clear symptom that something is wrong”.
Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s include difficulty with familiar tasks, confusion about dates or times, and impaired judgement.
The disease progresses in stages. In the early stages, people may have some memory lapses but still be able to function normally.
In the middle stages of the disease, people may experience confusion and mood swings, and have difficulty making decisions. People in late stage often need 24-hour care. They may lose awareness of their surroundings, have difficulty walking, swallowing and communicating.
There’s no cure for Alzheimer’s. But people can take steps to reduce their risk of developing the disease, said Dr. Zaldy Tan, medical director of the Jona Goldrich Center for Alzheimer’s Disease at Cedars Sinai.
“Controlling diabetes and high cholesterol is important,” he told ABC News. “Exercise is one of the things I prescribe to all my patients because exercise has been shown to reduce the risk of developing dementia.”
And just because there’s no cure doesn’t mean there’s no hope, Tan said.
“There’s no cure for diabetes, there’s no cure for cancer, there’s no cure for high blood pressure, there’s no cure for heart disease – it doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do about it,” Tan said.
