C5 - Wednesday, November 26, 1980 - North Shore News e ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE TORONTO (UPC) - The first traces of lost memory signal death for thousands of Canadians. Many of the senile suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a little known ailment that is the nation’s fifth most common killer. Although senility has been labeled “a natural product of aging,’’ Dr. Don MacLachlan of the (iller disease o funding is very poor,” MacLachlan said. “There is so little public recognition of the need for combatting the disease that’ the hopes of finding a cure by then is almost nil.” Ignorance of the disease is so widespread that many physicians do .net“know its name. Autopsy reports often list the symptoms instead of the disease as the cause of University of Toronto says death — perpetuating this dangerous miscon- “professional ignorance,” ception fosters neglect. MacLachlan, a pioneer in Alzheimer’s research, says about 70 per cent of those — diagnosed as senile have the disease, which has no cure and no known cause. The mental crippler is a degenerative brain disease that causes loss of memory and speech, mental breakdown and death. It usually strikes after the age of 60. It can hit as early as 40 and be improperly diagnosed as a bizarre form of midlife crisis, doctors say. In 1979 it claimed 100,000 lives in the United States and upward of 8,000 in Canada. By the year 2000, 12 per cent of the Canadian population will be over 65, so the pressure is on to discover ways of combating the disease. “The government has been and short-sighted MacLachlan said. Among the ranks of the informed are many doctors who hesitate to list their patients as Alzheimer's victims because the diagnosis causes problems. “Alzheimer’s victims are more active than others afflicted by senile dementia, and many nursing homes will not accept them because - more they. are not as complacent and predictable as more infirm patients,’’ MacLachlan said. “In some cases I know it’s almost wrong to make a. diagnosis of Alzheimer’s because I know they will have trouble finding a place to care for them.” To combat ignorance and discrimination against victims of the disease, a group of medical experts in Toronto launched the assumes senile seniors spend their days in a blissful daze, unaware of. their mental State, society spokesman Allan Sears says. “Victims know there is something not quite right, as if pieces were missing in _ their mental makeup, but they are heipless anything about it,” Sears said. “We can't stop the disease, but we try to soften the blows. “The condition can be to do Alzheimer’s society in 1978. The society, bearing the name of the German doctor who discovered the disease in 1906, holds “reality sessions” to help victims become aware of the world around them. Research shows death usually results from inactivity, which in turn leads to heart failure and respiratory infections. The public incorrectly Is fitness Important? likened to falling into a drunken stupor. The person knows that he’s losing control, and this can alarming even though the temporary lapse of waking consciousness may have some pleasant effects.” . The 10 society branches in Canada and the United States work witb families trying to cope with the disease, lobby to get money for research and sponsor public education programs. Their work has fostered branches of the society in Hamilton, London, Kit- chener and Kingston. or aging ORCHID FLORAL SCHOOL is now accepting Class registration Groups are expected to be in action in Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa by the end of 1980. cat: 980-3611 SPECIAL SAVINGS on the New MAYTAG ECONO-MISER WASHERS & DRYERS too! Limited Time“ Ends Dec. 14 Don't Miss Out - Great Savings on ae MAYTAG ECONO-MISER LLLEL EN FFE, ; ee) DISHWASHERS rs ' @ Outclean ’em all on the dual: wash regular cycle « Low Energy - cycle for everyday toads ¢ Energy Saver Drying Cycle circulates air without heat ® Exclusive Micro- .-Mesh™ Filter ¢ 3-level Jetwash ‘ System. ‘ Seasonal Fabrics! a Built To Save Energy & Money MAYTAG ECONO-MISER LAST CHANCE | CLEARANCE Printed Velveteens $414 25 HEAVY DUTY WASHERS 116om (46 in.) Reg. 22.50 Only . ON DISCONTINUED MODEL $7 . 50 No. 1 - in long life - in fewer repairs - ~ 90cm Reg. 15.00 Only in lower repair costs - in nationwide preference (Based on a national sur- vey asking Consumers which brand of § washer they'd like to own) Plain Velveteen 90cm Reg. $10 98 Washers Dryers $5.50 Ss Only ea Guarantesd Savings During This Sale fo MAYTAG ECONO-MISER <