Alzheimer’s Strikes Latino-Americans at a Younger Age

Posted on Nov 21, 2010

Wikimedia Commons

“Senile plaques” are seen in the cerebral cortex of a person with Alzheimer’s disease in this magnified image.

Here’s a startling statistic for you: Latino-Americans tend to get Alzheimer’s disease seven years earlier than white Americans. Researchers blame the phenomenon on limited access to medical care and lower levels of education and income.  —JCL

Los Angeles Times:

The Alzheimer’s Assn. calls the situation “a looming but unrecognized public health crisis” and predicts that Alzheimer’s and related dementias could afflict 1.3 million older Latinos by 2050, up from about 200,000 currently.

In Chicago, a push to respond is being led by Constantina Mizis, a Mexican immigrant who founded the Latino Alzheimer’s & Memory Disorders Alliance, one of the few organizations of its kind in the country.

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