Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Alzheimer’s disease affects over six million people living in American today, and it kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. This disease affects mainly older people, with one in nine seniors over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s.
There is no known way to cure or fight the disease.
“Exercise your brain still, staying active, still eating healthy, doing all of those things that’s going to help you,” said Katrina Kapustay, the director of care and support of the central New York chapter of Alzheimer’s Association. “Also taking care of your mental health as well, because depression can cause symptoms, really just taking care of your body,”
Kapustay noted that while these activities you can do will not lower your risk of getting Alzheimer’s to zero, these everyday activities are still vital to keeping your entire body healthy.
“So we do know that heart health is directly related to brain health, so anything that you are doing to takle care of your heart is directly related to taking care of your brain,” said Kapustay.
Without a scan of your brain, doctors cannot diagnose someone with Alzheimer’s, however doctors can administer memory tests during appointments to set a baseline to keep track on when your memory starts declining. There is no cure yet for Alzheimer’s disease, however new kinds of medicines are being tested to fight the disease. A new drug, Leqembi, was approved by the FDA in early 2023, which helps prolong the fatality of the disease and help diagnosed people have a better life.
