An estimated 6.2 million Americans of all ages, including 400,000 Texans, are living with Alzheimer's in 2021. There is no cure or way to prevent it.
Latinos— which comprise nearly 40% of Texas' population and 65% of San Antonio's — are 50% more likely to develop Alzheimer's than their non-Latino white counterparts.
The number of Americans aged 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to reach 12.7 million by 2050 and the combined annual cost of caring for them is anticipated to reach more than $1 trillion by that same year.
Researchers from UT Health San Antonio and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley will work together to address the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer's in Latinos at a new nationally designated Alzheimer's Disease Research Center — the 33rd of its kind in the U.S. and Texas' first.
What are the latest developments for Alzheimer's treatment and prevention? What does research reveal about the disease's racial disparities?
What's being done to improve diagnosis and care, and find ways to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s and related dementias in both Latino and non-Latino populations? How will Texas' new research center aid these efforts?
Guests:
- Sudha Seshadri, MD, professor of neurology and founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio
- Frank Gilliam, MD, MPH, neurologist and professor in the School of Medicine at UT Health Rio Grande Valley
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*This interview was recorded on Thursday, October 14.