Introduction
Introduction
As the nation's baby boomers grow older, Alzheimer's disease, an incurable age-related brain disorder, is becoming an urgent concern. About one in eight boomers — 10 million people — are expected to get Alzheimer's disease unless a dramatic scientific breakthrough occurs soon. As researchers race to find a way to prevent or treat Alzheimer's, health professionals are coming up with groundbreaking ways to improve the lives of people with dementia as well as their caregivers. Meanwhile, the federal government is implementing the first-ever National Alzheimer's Project Act, aimed at developing a coordinated national strategy for tackling the disease. But during a time of fiscal austerity, will the nation be willing — or able — to invest the billions of dollars needed to adequately fund costly ...