Alzheimer’s Memory Walk for Charity
Aug 24th, 2007 by Michelle
I think this Memory walk for Alzheimer’s is a WONDERFUL thing! There are 4 teams near where I live and I will be walking! It is a goal that I can strive to achieve. If you interested in fundraising for this event please click on fundraising for more information. Your efforts will be going for a good cause!
The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Held annually in hundreds of communities across the country, this inspiring event calls on volunteers of all ages to become champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $225 million. Team captains are needed NOW! Team Captains need to sign up early to ensure they have enough time to recruit a team and raise funds for the cause!
There are walks in more than 600 communities. A typical Memory Walk is a 2-3 mile walk held on a weekend morning in the fall. By teaming up with the Alzheimer’s Association, you can walk with a purpose.
For those of you who do not understand what Alzheimer’s is exactly I found the following definition on Wikipedia.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), also known simply as Alzheimer’s, is a neurodegenerative disease that, in its most common form, is found in people over age 65. Approximately 24 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s.[1]
Clinical signs of Alzheimer’s disease are characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. It is the most common type of dementia. Plaques which contain misfolded proteins called beta amyloid form in the brain many years before the clinical signs of Alzheimer’s are observed. Together, these plaques and neurofibrillary tangles form the pathological hallmarks of the disease. These features can only be discovered at autopsy and help to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Medications can help reduce the symptoms of the disease, but they cannot change the course of the underlying pathology.
The ultimate cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown. Genetic factors are suspected, and dominant mutations in three different genes have been identified that account for the small number of cases of familial, early-onset AD. For the more common form of late onset AD (LOAD), ApoE is the only repeatedly confirmed susceptibility gene.
