[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14917]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                SEPTEMBER IS ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker I rise to highlight that September is 
Alzheimer's awareness month and that today is ``Go Purple Day'' to help 
raise awareness of the disease.
  Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. The disease causes 
debilitating symptoms such as extreme memory loss as well as the 
ability to carry out day to day functions as simple as walking and even 
swallowing. Alzheimer's is ultimately fatal. It currently has no cure, 
and treatment options are very limited.
  An estimated 5.4 million Americans are currently suffering from 
Alzheimer's, including over 200,000 who are under the age of 65 and is 
the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Every 68 seconds 
another American develops Alzheimer's. Sadly this disease does not only 
affect the victim but has a profound effect on both family members and 
friends. In 2011 it was estimated that more than 15 million family 
members provided over 17.4 billion hours of unpaid caregiver service 
which would be estimated at over 210 billion dollars worth of care to 
patients with Alzheimer's. Almost everyone has a friend or family 
member who has been impacted by this terrible disease.
  I am proud to go purple for Alzheimer's day and look forward to 
working with my colleagues in a bipartisan way to combat this disease 
which has harmed so many families in West Virginia and around the 
country.

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