A recent study shows New York state has the 10th highest rate of Alzheimer's Disease in the country. The study was conducted by assisted living referral service, A Place for Mom, using data from the CDC, Medicaid, and Medicare.
While Alzheimer's diagnoses are on the rise in the state, local experts and families, like Louise Young, experiencing the disease say it's very prevalent and something they hope people will address as soon as they start experiencing symptoms.
Louise had been caring for her mother for months leading up to her passing in January of 2014. When her kids came home for the funeral, they noticed something wasn't quite right with their dad, Bob.
"They began noticing that Bob had some expressive language issues and he left the car running in the driveway with the door open and came in," Louise said.
She says she and her husband still maintained an active social life; they took classes and traveled and adjusted the way they do those things to make it more flexible. But when all of the symptoms progressed, the Youngs saw several neurologists, before Louise called the Alzheimer's Association.
"I said, 'I don't want a list of doctors, I want one name,' and the girl said, 'Well, there is only one name: Dr. Richard Holub.' I said, 'I don't care if he lives on Mars, we're gonna go to him,'" Louise said.
Luckily, the Youngs only had to travel from Wilton to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Treatment Center at Neurological Associates of Albany (NAA).
"We can't get anywhere without clinical research, we can't get anywhere without interested patients and families," said Dr. Richard Holub, president and director of research and neurology at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Treatment Center at NAA.
After meeting with Dr. Holub, Bob joined a clinical trial. While neither the Youngs nor Dr. Holub know whether Bob is receiving treatment or a placebo, Dr. Holub's staff and trials have been part of all five FDA-approved treatments to slow the symptoms of Alzheimer's. One treatment is no longer used, but the other four are all still available for patients.
"Over the past two years, we've reached a certain threshold [so] we now know we are in [the] range of significantly improved treatments. We're in range of a potential cure," Dr. Holub said.
Being in range of a cure is something Dr. Holub says could not happen without patients like Bob. And, as for why certain states have higher rates of prevalence than others? There's no research that points to why just yet.
"There's a concern with cancer that there are environmental factors, such as toxins and other things in the environment," Dr. Holub said. "We do not know that yet for Alzheimer's disease."
Instead, Dr. Holub says the statistics seem to be proportionate to the aging population. As for inheriting the disease, he says the current research supports that there are certain genes passed on and inherited risk factors which could cause the disease, but don't necessarily mean you will get Alzheimer's. If you notice symptoms in yourself or someone you love, Dr. Holub says you should see a doctor immediately.
"It's important to recognize there's a problem and once you recognize there's a problem, [to] not to be afraid of the problem but to pursue it," Dr. Holub said.
As for the Youngs, Louise says the hardest thing they've had to come to grips with is that Alzheimer's is a disease and should be treated as such.
"This isn't us. This is one part of our lives. We're who we are and were [before]," Louise said.
Dr. Holub says the Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Treatment Center at NAA is currently involved in seven nationally and internationally recognized clinical trials.