Laurie Owen: Hi! I'm Laurie Owen from Home Instead Senior Care. In this video, myself and Dr. William Burke from the University of Nebraska Medical Center will discuss the latest advancements in treating Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

According to Alzheimer's Disease International in 2010 there were 35.

6 million people in the world living with dementia. That number is expected to increase to 65.

7 million by 2030. Given this serious problem there is a major push to find new treatments to stop, slow, or even prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. William J. Burke: Most of the drugs on the market today treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's, but do not treat the underlying cause of the disease. This is what research hopes to change. There is no known specific cause for Alzheimer's and other dementia, but research has allowed us to see the changes that occur in the brain. As a result, many of the new drugs in development aim to impact one or more with the many wide-raging brain changes that Alzheimer's causes.

Brain imaging and testing of blood and spinal fluid is also receiving a lot of attention. The goals of these efforts are early diagnosis and treatment. And because one of the risk factors of getting Alzheimer's and other dementias is having a family history of the disease, research is underway that will test therapies targeting Beta Amyloid which is the chief component of plaques that cause brain abnormality.

People who carry the Alzheimer causing gene, but have not yet experienced symptoms will engage in trials that target Beta Amyloid to see if they can delay or prevent the appearance of Alzheimer's in these individuals.

Laurie Owen: Clinical trials are a key component for moving drugs from the discovery phase to general use. Check with your doctor, local hospital, or alz.

org to engage in these studies and help find new ways to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

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