What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia among older adults. Alzheimer’s disease involves parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language and can seriously affect a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Although scientists are learning more every day, right now, they still do not know what causes Alzheimer’s disease.     
   Who has Alzheimer’s Disease?
As many as 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. While younger people may get Alzheimer’s disease, it is much less common. The disease usually begins after age 60, and risk goes up with age. About 5 percent of men and women ages 65 to 74 have Alzheimer’s disease, and nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease. It is important to note, however, that Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging.

   Alzheimer’s disease is one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States.
   Alzheimer’s disease has recently surpassed diabetes as the 6th leading cause of death among American adults. Notably, mortality rates for Alzheimer’s disease are on the rise, unlike heart disease and cancer death rates which are continuing to decline.An estimated 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. This number has doubled since 1980, and is expected to be as high as 13.4 million by 2050. In 2005, total Medicare spending for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease was estimated at $91 billion.
   Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease make up less than 13 percent of the Medicare population, yet they account for 34 percent of Medicare spending. *Reference: Urban Institute, unpublished tabulations from the 2000 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and Medicare Claims, 2005; published by the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, 2007.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body has a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use insulin, a hormone that allows glucose (sugar) to enter cells and be converted to energy. When diabetes is not controlled, glucose and fats remain in the blood and, over time, damage vital organs.

• Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children and young adults, although the disease can appear at any age. Type 1 may be autoimmune, genetic, and/or environmental. There is no known way to prevent this type of diabetes, However a cure is possible through embryonic stem cell research.

• Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and physical inactivity, accounts for 90%–95% of diabetes cases and most often appears in people older than 40. Type 2 is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose metabolism, physical inactivity, race, and ethnicity. Type 2 diabetes in children and adolescents, although still rare, is being diagnosed more frequently among American Indians, African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Asian/Pacific Islanders.

Diabetes is Common, Disabling, and Deadly

• 23.6 million people in the United States (7.8% of the total population) have diabetes. Of these, 5.7 million are undiagnosed.

• In 2007, about 1.6 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years or older.

• African American, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native adults are twice as likely as white adults to have diabetes.

• If current trends continue, 1 in 3 Americans will develop diabetes sometime in their lifetime, and those with diabetes will lose, on average, 10–15 years of life.

• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults (aged 20–74 years), kidney failure, and nontraumatic lower-extremity amputations.

• Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death on U.S. death certificates in 2006. Overall, the risk of death among people with diabetes is about twice that of people without diabetes of similar age.

• In 1999–2000, 7.0% of U.S. adolescents aged 12–19 years had impaired fasting glucose.

• Total costs (direct and indirect) of diabetes: $174 billion.

• Direct medical costs: $116 billion.

• Indirect costs (related to disability, work loss, premature death): $58 billion.

• People with diagnosed diabetes have medical expenditures that are about 2.3 times higher than medical expenditures for people without diabetes.

• Number of deaths:  652,091 (1700.00 deaths per day)

• Deaths per 100,000 population: 222.0

• Cause of death rank: 1

Talk to your doctor about ways you can reduce your cancer risks.

   All Diseases on this page have one thing in common---They all have the potential to be CURED through embryonic stem cell research.

   This shouldn't be a question of religion, or creed, but of science and compassion -- let science run its course.....
 
    Let us join together to help our fellow citizens!

  

According to CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, life expectancy and overall health have improved in recent years for most Americans, but not all Americans are benefiting equally. CDC and its partners monitor trends in cancer incidence (diagnosis) and mortality (deaths) and identifies which groups are affected disproportionately. Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of a disease and the related adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups. These groups may be described by gender, age, ethnicity, education, income, social class, disability, geographic location, or sexual orientation.1

  Among men in the United States during 2001 to 2005 (the most recent 5-year period for which statistics are available), black men were most frequently diagnosed with cancer, at a rate of 632.9 per 100,000. White men had the second highest incidence rate at 551.2 per 100,000, followed by Hispanic* men at 433.7, Asian/Pacific Islander men at 337.2, and American Indian/Alaska Native men at 308.3.
  Among women in the United States during the same time period, white women were diagnosed with cancer most often at a rate of 419.5 per 100,000, followed by black women at 388.3, Hispanic* women at 327.7, Asian/Pacific Islander women at 274.3, and American Indian/Alaska Native women at 253.0.

Among men in the United States during this 5-year period, black men died from cancer at a rate of 313.0 per 100,000, followed by white men at 230.7, Hispanic* men at 158.9, American Indian/Alaska Native men at 151.5, and Asian/Pacific Islander men at 138.8.
Among women, black women had the highest death rate at 186.7 per 100,000, followed by white women at 159.2, American Indian/Alaska Native women at 111.8, Hispanic* women at 105.1, and Asian/Pacific Islander women at 95.9. *Hispanic is not mutually exclusive from white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, or American Indian/Alaska Native.

Selected 2005 Findings The preliminary estimated number of deaths in the United States for 2005 was 2,447,903 (Table A).
The estimated age-adjusted death rate, which accounts for changes in the age distribution of the population, reached a record low of 798.8 deaths per 100,000 U.S. standard population (Table A).
The preliminary estimate of life expectancy at birth for the total population in 2005 was 77.9 years (Table A).

The 15 leading causes of death in 2005 (Table B) were the following:

• Diseases of heart (heart disease)

• Malignant neoplasms (cancer)

• Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke)

• Chronic lower respiratory diseases

• Accidents (unintentional injuries)

• Diabetes mellitus (diabetes)

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Influenza and pneumonia

• Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephritis (kidney disease)

• Septicemia

• Intentional self-harm (suicide)

• Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis

• Essential (primary) hypertension and hypertensive renal disease (hypertension)

• Parkinson’s disease

• Assault (homicide)