© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

September is World Alzheimer’s Month, what more do we know about the disease in 2015?

Alex Heuer

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and statistics from the recently released ‘World Alzheimer Report 2015’ show that by 2050, an estimated 131.5 million people across the globe will have dementia. Currently, that number sits at about 46.8 million people worldwide. A shift in the proportional growth of older populations is the root cause of that increase, but still, the numbers are startling.

What’s being done to combat such predictions from coming true? Dr. John Morris, the director of Washington University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, joined host Don Marsh on “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss the advent of experimental therapies for persons without Alzheimer symptoms to prevent dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of the dementia in older adults.

"We do not have truly effective therapies for Alzheimer's disease, that is the case," said Dr. Morris. "But there is optimism in the field now that we've started to begin research on what we hope will be effective in preventing Alzheimer's disease."

You can listen to the full program here: 

"St. Louis on the Air" discusses issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary EdwardsAlex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh. Follow us on Twitter and join the conversation at @STLonAir.

Stay Connected
Kelly Moffitt joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2015 as an online producer for St. Louis Public Radio's talk shows St. Louis on the Air.