By Associated Press
Oklahoma City, OK – Oklahomans with Alzheimer's expected to increase
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A neurologist at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center says better recognition of Alzheimer's disease and an aging population mean the incidence of the disease is likely to grow in Oklahoma.
Dr. Calin Prodan says there's a lot of confusion when it comes to Alzheimer's. He said the key is to determine if memory loss is more severe than would be expected with just simple aging. He said that, of all the patients he sees who have memory loss, probably two-thirds have dementia. A patient is considered to have dementia if the memory loss is pronounced enough to impair the person's ability to function normally.
And he said that, of older people with dementia, about 60 percent have Alzheimer's.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.