Alzheimer's Disease - Celebrities Who Has Them And What it Really Is

Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative brain process that produces, usually slowly over time, dementia or senility. It is also known as senile dementia. The brain is disrupted from the way it normally works -- mental function becomes impaired -- and the patient's memory, ability to think clearly and sometimes the patient's language is impaired.

The causes of Alzheimer's are still not known -- but we do know that the disease produces physical change in the brain. There is shrinking in some areas and widening in the others. When the brain shrinks or widens, connections inside the brain are broken, causing disruption of the electrical signals in the brain.

Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia -- it is estimated that between 5% to 10% of the U.S. population over 65 will experience some kind of dementia -- and half of these cases can be attributed to Alzheimer's. The average duration of this disease is 8--12 years and while the incidence of getting it increases with age, usually affecting those over 65, Alzheimer's in a more rapidly progressing form can affect adults in their late 30s and early 40s as well.

This disease is thought to be inherited in the majority of cases, though it does not mean that because either a mother or father has it that the child will automatically develop it.

Alzheimer's is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. for adults, meaning that millions of people are affected by this disease.

Some of the Famous Personalities and Celebrities with Alzhiemer's Disease are:

Joe Adcock, baseball player
Mabel Albertson, actor
Dana Andrews, actor
Rudolph Bing, opera impresario
James Brooks, artist
Charles Bronson actor, film director
Abe Burrows,author
Carroll Campbell, Former Rebublican Senator
Joyce Chen, chef
Perry Como, Singer entertainer
Aaron Copland, composer
Willem DeKooning, artist
James Doohan, actor
Thomas Dorsey, singer
Tom Fears, professional football player and coach
Louis Feraud, fashion designer
Arlene Francis, actor
Mike Frankovich, film producer
John Douglas French, physician
Barry Goldwater, Senator of Arizona
Rita Hayworth, actress
Raul Silva Henriquez, Roman Catholic cardinal, human rights advocate
Charlton Heston actor and political activist
Mervyn Leroy, director
Jack Lord, actor
Ross MacDonald, author
Burgess Meredith, actor
Iris Murdoch, author
Edmond O’Brien, actor
Arthur O’Connell, actor
Marv Owen, baseball player
Molly Picon, actor
Otto Preminger, director
Bill Quackenbush, professional hockey player
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of USA
Harry Ritz, performer
Sugar Ray Robinson, boxer
Norman Rockwell, artist
Simon Scott, actor
Irving Shulman, screenwriter
Betty Schwartz, Olympic gold medal winner in track events
Kay Swift,composer
Alfred Van Vogt, science fiction writer


Source : about.com