NET News Statewide: Early Alzheimer's, 1/18/02

When most of us think of Alzheimer’s Disease, we think of elderly people nearing the end of their lifetime. But that’s not the case. More middle-aged people are diagnosed everyday.For people in their 40s and 50s, Alzheimer’s tends to be much more devastating than for the traditional patient, because the early onset victim may still have a job and kids living at home. Also, they don’t qualify for many federal programs because they’re not old enough. Medical researchers have learned more in the past 10 years about Alzheimer’s than ever before, but there’s still a long way to go before any cure is found.