Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable, terminal condition that impairs thinking and behavior. There are some 222,300 people in Illinois who have Alzheimer’s disease. One thinks of this disease as affecting only older people, but early onset of Alzheimer’s happens, too.

Illinois taxpayers have an opportunity to contribute to research to find the cause, and possibly a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. There is a place to make a monetary donation to this important research on the Illinois income tax form.

Donations to the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fund are spent in Illinois on research, which focuses on prevention, effective diagnosis, treatment, and a cure of this disease. None of the money donated is used for administration.

Since 1986, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Fund has distributed almost $3 million and supported 136 research studies by Illinois researchers according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine has a network of primary provider sites throughout Illinois which are made up of physicians, nurses, health professionals, and nursing home staff who are trained to identify patients who may have Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia disorders.

These primary provider sites receive patients in the local communities where patients live. Although there is no known test to determine if someone has Alzheimer’s disease, there are tests for other conditions with similar symptoms. Many times Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed through the process of elimination of these other possibilities.

The SIUC School of Medicine uses primary provider sites located in our area to help diagnose memory disorders. These sites are located at the Family Practice Center in Carbondale; the Family Counseling Center in Vienna, Golconda, and Elizabethtown; and the Good Samaritan Regional Health Center in Mt. Vernon.

In addition, the SIUC School of Medicine also uses their toll-free number to answer questions about Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders.

Whether memory loss is due to a cause which may be treated and reversed, or whether it is progressive, the goal of the Memory and Aging Clinic is to provide counseling, education, and referral to individuals and their families which can enhance the quality of life for all.

For more information, contact one of the Memory & Aging Clinics.

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For information on Alzheimer’s Disease, support groups, and Care Track, call the Southern Illinois chapter of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association.

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