By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@newssun.com
SEBRING -- Cora Schwingel sat in her office at Change of Pace, an activities center for Alzheimer's patients and others suffering from varieties of dementia.
"Alzheimer's is a sad, sad disease," she said. "Not a single two (patients) are alike. They're all moving at different paces, each going backward until they don't know where they are.
"It's not about good days or bad days," Schwingel explained. "It's about snippets of clarity that are gone in minutes. You have the body, but not the mind."
The disease strikes people of every type and background -- those with graduate degrees, those who dropped out of school; those who were driven and controlling, those who went with the flow; those who kept fit, those who just sat.
The disease develops slowly, but inexorably. According to alz.org, Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death and the only one in the top 10 that "cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed."
Also according to alz.org, currently an estimated 26 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer's; 5.4 million in the United States. As many as 16 million Americans will have Alzheimer's by 2050.
In Florida, those individuals 75 to 84 with Alzheimer's have risen from 200,000 in 2000 to 210,000 in 2010 and are expected to reach 290,000 in 2025.
There are currently an estimated 459,00 total cases in Florida.
Schwingel said there are currently slightly more than 19,000 cases in Highlands, Hardee and Polk counties combined -- and an estimated 4,500 in Highlands County alone.
That number, Schwingel said, is proportionately the highest in the state, although it has dropped about 500 cases since 2011.
It is important to remember that Alzheimer's is only one type of dementia and that some symptoms of other diseases mimic, but are not, symptoms of Alzheimer's -- meningitis, for example.
It also important to remember that everyone slows as they age.
For example, it is perfectly normal to occasionally lose one's keys. It is not normal to put them in odd places, like the freezer or dishwasher. It is not unusual to forget parts of a conversation, but it is unusual to frequently forget entire conversations.
There is a difference, in other words, between being unable to find a recipe, and being unable to follow the recipe directions.
Although Alzheimer's is a fearsome disease and difficult to face, experts say the earlier the diagnosis, the better the chances of getting care and maximizing one's quality of life.
Research is ongoing. A lot has been learned about what exactly happens to the brain, and progress has been made in the study of early onset Alzheimer's, which has a genetic predisposition.
There are useful web sites with good information, including alz.org (the Alzheimer's Association's site) and helpguide.org.
The Alzheimer's Association can be reached at 800-272-3900.
Friday, June 22, 2012 - www.newssun.com/062012-ct-Alzheimer-s-sidebar