Facts about Alzheimer's Disease (AD): Alzheimer's is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain and the most common form of dementia Someone is diagnosed with  Alzheimer's every 69 seconds in the U.S.  Alzheimer's affects 5.2 million Americans today with nearly 200,000 people battling the disease in Georgia (over 60,000 in metro Atlanta) The number of Americans with Alzheimer's will continue to grow -- by 2050 the number of individuals with Alzheimer's could range from 11.3 million to 16 million One in 10 people over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have AD, and some people as young as their early thirties get the disease A person with AD will live an average of eight years and as many as 20 years from the onset of symptoms More than $100 billion a year is spent in the U.S. on AD, and neither Medicare nor most private health insurance covers the long term care that most patients need More than 7 out of 10 AD patients live at home with care provided by family and friends at an average cost of $12,500 per year Half of all nursing home residents suffer from AD, and the average annual cost of of nursing home care is $42,000 but can exceed $70,000 78% of every dollar raised by the Alzheimer's Association, Georgia Chapter, is used to fund local programs and services Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death for people in the U.S. and the 6th leading cause of death for those over the age of 65 The federal government's research funding for heart disease, cancer, and AIDS is 4 to 7 times higher than for Alzheimer's The Alzheimer's Association is the only national voluntary health organization dedicated to the research of the cause, cure, treatment, and prevention of AD and provides education and support services to patients and their families and caregivers