Untangling Alzheimer's

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Untangling Alzheimer's

Sunday, December 10, 2000

It took nine decades from the discovery of Alzheimer's disease to develop the first weapons to fight it -- drugs that can slow but not stop its mind-crippling symptoms.

Dr. Steven DeKosky, director of the University of Pittsburgh's Alzheimer Disease Research Center, is a national authority on the disease. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette)

Now, research on the late-life scourge has accelerated so dramatically that many believe the next decade will yield the keys that the 20th century couldn't -- to either cure, prevent or effectively treat this leading cause of dementia.

Post-Gazette staff writer Gary Rotstein and staff photographer Andy Starnes look at the issues.

Part One:
Researchers race to beat scourge of aging

Part Two:
Alzheimer's patients follow different paths to a final debilitation

Part Three:
Burden of illness often heaviest for caregivers