An estimated 6.7 million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number is expected to increase to 14 million by 2060.Â
There are several types of dementia: Frontotemporal dementia, which tends to occur in people younger than 60; Lewy body dementia, caused by abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies; and Vascular dementia, caused by damage to blood vessels in the brain. But Alzheimer’s is by far the most prevalent form of dementia, accounting for as much as 80 percent of dementia cases. According to the National Institute on Aging (part of the National Institutes of Health), Alzheimer’s is currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
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