10 Million Baby Boomers Face Alzheimer's, Report Predicts

Still, McConnell said there's hope for new treatments for Alzheimer's, but it's going to take a lot more money for research and testing to make those hopes a reality.

There seems to be a connection between Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, McConnell said. Diet, exercise and blood-pressure control may help stave off cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, he said.

Also, new drugs being tested "show promise in altering the course of the disease," McConnell said.

"Eventually, this disease could be preventable. It's certainly a disease we hope will be manageable if we catch it early," McConnell said. "If we are just able to slow the progression of the disease and delay its onset, it could save many millions of people from having to deal with the consequences of the disease. And it could save billions of dollars in the health-care system."

But, the U.S. government has cut spending on Alzheimer's research, McConnell added. "Right now the government is spending about $640 million a year on Alzheimer's research," he said. "It seems like a lot, but we are spending over $5 billion a year on cancer, and more than $3 billion on heart disease each year. If we can just get that $640 million up to $1 billion a year, that would make a big difference."

Dr. Gary Kennedy, director of geriatric psychiatry at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, worries that there won't be enough trained medical professionals to deal with the projected rise in Alzheimer's patients.

"We are not training enough generalists or specialists in geriatrics, whether it's medicine, psychiatry, family medicine, nursing or social work in the numbers we need to deal with people with dementia," he said.

However, Kennedy also thinks the projected number of Alzheimer's patients contained in the new report may be too high. Baby boomers are healthier, more active, better educated and wealthier than their parents, he noted, and this may help delay the development of the disease until the end of their natural lifespan.

Also, new medications may make Alzheimer's manageable by slowing its progression, Kennedy said.

"Probably within the next five years we're going to have medications that alter the course of the illness," he said. "When that happens, you're going to see pushing back of the disability of the illness even further. So we don't have to cure Alzheimer's disease, we just have to find interventions that are going to delay the disability."

More information

For more on Alzheimer's, visit the Alzheimer's Association.

SOURCES: Stephen McConnell, vice president for advocacy and public policy, Alzheimer's Association, New York City; Gary Kennedy, M.D., director, geriatric psychiatry, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; March 18, 2008, report:2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures