More than 5 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that is projected to jump to 16 million by 2050.
In New Hampshire, 351 people died in 2013 from the disease, which represents the sixth leading cause of death across the state.
As a way to discuss the widespread prevalence of the disease, Nichole Von Dette, program coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association, gave a presentation titled “Know the 10 Signs: Early Detection Matters” at the Peterborough Town Library on Thursday.
“This is an important discussion to have so that people are diagnosed earlier, and so they can receive treatment earlier,” Von Dette said after the presentation, adding there is no cure for the disease at this time.
Still, she said, early detection can stall the progression of the disease.
The most stark detection of early onset Alzheimer’s is memory loss that disrupts daily life, she said, although there are slew of other medical explanations for such symptoms.
The early-detection list also includes challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty completing familiar tasks, confusion with time or place and trouble understanding visual images and spacial relationships, to name only a few.
A volunteer hospice caregiver who refers to herself only by her “God given name” of Precious said she attended the event to learn more about the disease.
“I am a new hospice volunteer and I think all of the individuals that I have been assigned to have had Alzheimer’s,” she said.
Knowing as much about the disease as possible helps her as a caregiver, she said.
Von Dette said the program is in place “to educate people and to reduce the stigma so that people will talk about it and get the care and help that they need.”
Abby Kessler can be reached at 924-7172, ext. 234 or akessler@ledgertranscript.com.