My experience with talking to my peers and young people about Alzheimer’s Disease to date has led me to the conclusion that to the majority of you, Alzheimer’s is merely a word. You know it is a disease and probably know that when you get it, you just can’t seem to remember anything. People make jokes when someone forgets something or repeats themselves, often throwing out the, “wow, do you have Alzheimer’s?” joke a little too often for my comfort. That may be the extent of your knowledge about this disease. You may think it’s just about forgetting everything and then dying. Well, young people of America, it is not that at all, and you are probably quite far from knowing what this brain disease truly is.

You must start understanding this disease and realizing its impact now, because it is rapidly barreling into our homes and towns, taking anyone it can with it. This disease is no longer the disease of your old friend’s grandfather who you barely know, or your elderly neighbor’s disease. It is quickly becoming a centerpiece of American life, and it is appalling how little some people know about it, let alone care about it.

In saying this, I think the best way to begin your new formal education is to give you some basic facts and staggering statistics. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, “Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks." It is important to note that the definition is not solely memory. While that is the hallmark of the disease, thinking is greatly impaired, and behavioral changes such as deep mood swings, sudden rage, and overall frustration and denial, are parts of the daily struggle as well.

In a press release from this week’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Washington, D.C., the next few decades are mapped out for us in terms of worldwide affect and financial cost of treating Alzheimer’s. The first sentence of the press release should leave you speechless: “More than 28 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s disease between now and mid-century, and the cost of caring for them will consume nearly 25 percent of Medicare spending in 2040...” Baby boomers are defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. For many of us, this is our parents’ generation.

It affects baby boomers so greatly because this generation is so numerous, and over an almost 20-year period, each year a new wave of adults will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. While each year’s new batch of Alzheimer’s patients get diagnosed, the already diagnosed baby boomers will continue to decline and succumb to the worsening stages of the disease. Put this in terms of financial needs and consider out-of-pocket expenses for families and patients, and you can begin to see the need for funding. I’m not talking about thousands of dollars. I am talking about millions. That’s what will cure this disease and that’s what will save millions around the world, including our baby boomer generation.

Having given some daunting and terrifying information, let me now move to a happier and invigorating side of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference going on this week. A major advance in research still has much to prove and must be replicated many more times on a larger scale to confirm success, but it is promising. This is the new saliva test. To put it simply, patients would give a saliva sample which would be shipped out and examined for several key proteins within the saliva. There is a correlation between the levels of certain proteins in the saliva and cognitive performance now and in the future.

One of the researchers presenting at the conference, Shraddha Sapkota, said, “Saliva is easily obtained, safe and affordable, and has promising potential for predicting and tracking cognitive decline, but we’re in the very early stages of this work and much more research is needed.” Although more work needs to be done, this is a big step because it is non-invasive, extremely quick, and this could be the future of testing for Alzheimer’s once and for all. Imagine having a concern that a family member has Alzheimer’s. All you would need to do is bring them to the doctor’s to give a saliva sample, and then depending on the result, you could walk out with the drug to cure Alzheimer’s, or with a clear conscience. It should be noted that right now there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. This scenario is what the future may look like with continued support and an increase in funding.

The Conference in Washington this week had dozens of new advances such as the saliva test that you should look into and explore for further information. Our generation will play the most influential role in the cure and abolishment of Alzheimer’s very soon. Look around you. We are the up-and-coming scientists, doctors, nurses, researchers, congressmen and women, leaders and voters. But do not forget that we are also the children of our parents, the generation that is growing older just as we are. All of our academic successes and career paths are of great importance to this fight, but remember why we are fighting it. Our grandparents have been affected, and the next round of citizens is our parents. We cannot stop time, but we can stop this disease. Memories are not something to take for granted, so let us start paying attention now before our most sacred and beautiful memories are gone.

Lastly, I cannot write a whole article on Alzheimer's without giving credit to the woman for who I write and fight, my Nona, Esther DePasquale.