Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive disorder in which brain cells (neurons) deteriorate, resulting in the loss of cognitive functions – primarily memory, judgment and reasoning, movement coordination, and pattern recognition. Symptoms of the disease include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, personality changes, disorientation, and loss of language skills. In advanced stages of the disease, all memory and mental functioning may be lost.

The cruelty of the disease lies in the fact that it robs us of our most basic functions; it deprives us of the very qualities that make us a human being.

AD is generally known to afflict the elderly – those who are above 60 years of
age. However, in some cases people as young as 40 years have also been known to be the victim of this disease.

Presently there is no cure for AD. Unless a cure or some means of prevention is found, more than 10 crores of our elderly population will fall prey to this dreadful disease by the middle of this century. Caring for this large population of patients will impose a heavy financial burden on the health care system. Even though we have gained a great deal of knowledge about AD in the last decade or so, our understanding of this disease is still in its nascent stage. Scientists still do not know for certain what causes it.

The onset of AD is typically gradual, and the first signs of it may be attributed to old age or ordinary forgetfulness. As the disease advances, cognitive abilities, including the ability to make decisions and perform everyday tasks, are eroded, and personality changes and difficult behaviours may emerge.

As Alzheimer’s runs its decades-long course, it replaces the brain’s exquisite circuitry with mounds of sticky plaque and expanses of dead, twisted neurons. In its later stages, AD eventually leads to death.