Two studies reveal the toll Alzheimer’s puts on families and the brain

Dual reports out this week shed more light into Alzheimer's, a disease that affects more than 5 million Americans. One is from the Alzheimer’s Association, which is involved in care, support and research for the disease. The second report comes out of Cambridge, Mass., where researchers at Harvard University may be a big step closer to picking the biological locks that hide the secrets of Alzheimer's disease.

With each passing year, the toll from Alzheimer's rises. Some hopeful signs in scientific breakthroughs are offering some clues to that mystery. At the same time, there is new information on the terrible toll the disease takes and the gender profile for its effects.

The “Inside Story” team is able to answer some questions about what the latest studies into Alzheimer's reveal:

QUESTION: The Alzheimer’s Association, the leading health organization in Alzheimer’s care, came out with a new study. What did it say?

ANSWER: The new report finds that women are far more likely than men to develop the disease. As many as 1 in 6 women will develop the disease after the age of 65; among men, only 1 in 11 is under the threat of getting Alzheimer’s. The study goes on to find that women over the age of 60 are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as breast cancer.

QUESTION: What is the human toll of Alzheimer’s disease?

ANSWER: With more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in America today, millions more are affected in the form of being caregivers or contributing financial aid to their loved ones. It is estimated that in 2014 more than $214 billion will be spent caring for people with the disease.

While a majority of sufferers are women (3.2 million), more than twice as many women as men provide care for someone with Alzheimer’s. Of those women, 20 percent went from working full time to part time while acting as a caregiver, proving what the Alzheimer's Association says: one disease plus millions in the form of living, caring and paying for the disease equals an epidemic.

QUESTION: What are the facts about Alzheimer’s in America?

ANSWER: Here is a chart that may shed some light into the toll the disease has, not only on the family but on the nation:

QUESTION: A Harvard University study found a glimmer of hope about getting one step closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. What did it find?

ANSWER: Scientists at Harvard have found that the brain’s own protective system can help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia. The promising new finding centers on a brain protein known as “REST,” a protein that increases with age. REST protects brain cells from dying of age-related stresses, including the protein beta amyloid, which clogs the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Researchers found that REST represses the genes involved in Alzheimer’s, and levels of the protein in key parts of the brain were lower than normal in those diagnosed with the disease.

QUESTION: What comes next in this research at Harvard?

ANSWER: Harvard’s team is now looking to test the experimental drugs that pump REST levels. The prescription may include something already on the market — lithium — which seems to activate REST. This finding contributes to understanding Alzheimer’s disease and how to deal with it, especially for families with loved ones battling the condition. Alzheimer’s is estimated to kill more than a half-million people every year.