When the topic of dementia is brought up, the discussion will invariably turn towards Alzheimer's disease; other forms of dementia are often forgotten even though they are all important. Alzheimer's is estimated to affect 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 causing problems with the memory centers of the mind; although current diagnosis is not perfect, the accuracy levels are up to 94 percent at best, 87 percent at worst. The world started focusing on the disease only about thirty years ago although was first discovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer, a German physician; despite a great deal of scientific investigation, not that much is known about this awful disorder.

Studies show that your greatest risk of acquiring Alzheimer's is advancing age. Unfortunately, the person experiencing the early symptoms of Alzheimer's will know something is wrong but won't admit it to others or even to themselves; this can be difficult for friends and relations who do not know what the problem is.

General measures for treatment of Alzheimer's disease are the same as for all dementias. Stalling the progression and possibly improving the condition is about the best that can currently be achieved with drugs but no definitive treatment has yet been discovered. Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine are three drugs that have been approved for use in treating Alzheimer's by the American Food and Drug Administration; improvements have shown to help the average sufferer's cognitive abilities by up to six months.

Another drug, Memantine, a relative of the older anti-influenza drug Amantadine, is proving successful at slowing down the mental decline of sufferers; this new drug is used on patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's already receiving Donepezil. Memantine is the first medicine to show such positive results with sufferers with few problems associated with its use; as 80 percent of the drug is passed in urine unchanged there is very little left to cause any harm.

Alzheimer's disease is considered to be a major public health challenge because the average age of the industrialized world's population is increasing. it is a major cause of death in America. The economic cost of treating and providing care for those with this type of aging disease another issue to be addressed; there is already 40 billion American dollars spent every year on treatment and this amount is set to rise. Another large body, the National Institute on Aging spent almost half of its yearly research fund into the condition; global testing into various treatments are currently being investigated with hundreds of compounds under scrutiny.