GREENSBORO, N.C. — There are nearly seven million people 65 and older living with Alzheimer's disease, and more than 200,000 of them live in North Carolina.

The Alzheimer’s Association of North Carolina says even more individuals are expected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and forms of dementia as the population ages, and the group is now focusing on early detection.

What You Need To Know

  • There are nearly seven million people 65 and older living with Alzheimer's disease

  • Over 200,000 people live in North Carolina with Alzheimer's

  • The Alzheimer’s Association of North Carolina says there are now treatments that may slow disease progression for people in the early stage of Alzheimer's, making a timely diagnosis critically important.

Richard Eudy takes his dog Max on afternoon walks.

“Gym a couple times a week, come out here with the dogs as often as I can,” Eudy said.

It’s part of his exercising and eating healthy routine with the goal of keeping his mind sharp.

“What types of food to eat. I've been doing that for like 10 or more years now. I've learned to like avocado. It doesn't have much taste, but it is one of the best good fat foods for your brain. I eat a lot of brain food, like walnuts, nuts, berries,” Eudy said.

His routine and diet is a way to help him combat developing Alzheimer’s in his later years.

“A long family history of it, you know, the most recent death was my mother. It got her finally. And I recently had a another very close family member that was diagnosed with it, and I said, 'that's enough.' I said, 'it's not going to keep going on,'” Eudy said.

Eudy has been surrounded by the disease since he was a child, and his earliest memory of it was his grandfather.

“And it all started with my grandfather. When I was a child, he would come down and visit me. I’d go fish in his pond. And he'd come down and talk to me a few minutes and walk back up to his house. It's probably about a two- or three-minute walk. This man said, 'who you talking to? Who's down fishing in your pond, talking to you, hanging out with you?' He says, 'it ain't nobody down there.' And they can look out the window to see me down there. And I’m like an 8-year-old child. That just got blew my mind,” Eudy said.

After doing a genetic test, Eudy learned that he was genetically at risk for Alzheimer's. With this news he entered into a clinical trial that is working to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s, and hopefully even one day cure the disease.

“Remove the amyloid plaque I have on my brain, that they think that causes Alzheimer's, the research study is seeing. That's why they started me off with MRIs and the PET (positron emission tomography) scans every so often to see if it's, drying it up, and hopefully it's drying it up and makes it go away, and I won't get Alzheimer's. Luckily, right now, I have zero, cognitive decline,” he said.

Eudy said he hopes being a part of this clinical trial is his way of helping put an end to this disease.

“I’ve always been one to, you know, help. And I love helping people. And when they get that way, it's it's kind of helpless. That's why another reason I want to be in a study so they can have a way to get this medication approved and put a stop to it. It's my No. 1 goal,” Eudy said.

The Alzheimer’s Association of North Carolina says there are now treatments that may slow disease progression for people in the early stages of Alzheimer's, making a timely diagnosis critically important.