The Alzheimer's Catastrophe

The Alzheimer's Catastrophe portrays the attempts and failures of the medical and research establishment to find an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease and exposes the significant deficiencies of long term care. More than five million Americans currently have Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to triple by 2050. The first case of Alzheimer's was described more than one hundred years ago yet there is still no clear understanding of what causes this devastating disease. With no effective medical treatments, patients and their families may turn to long term care facilities which often fall short in providing quality care. The Alzheimer's Catastrophe chronicles past and current areas of research but also reveals some less publicized issues such as the use of chemical restraints in nursing homes, instances of profit driven maneuvers of pharmaceutical companies, and the controversies related to screening tests.