Top Alzheimer’s Researcher visits Iowa

One of the nation’s top research scientists for Alzheimer’s Disease will be in central Iowa tonight to present his latest findings. Doctor Stanley Birge of Washington University in St. Louis will speak at a candlelight vigil to honor people with the disease at 6:30 p-m in Des Moines.Becky Groff is executive director of the Greater Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. She says there has been new hope in recent years for finding a cure and preventions for the memory-robbing disease, which afflicts 70-to-75-thousand Iowans. She says the cure still seems a ways away, but there has been a lot of progress in treatment.Groff says tonight’s event is designed for anyone who is interested in learning more about new developments in Alzheimer’s treatment, as she says there are some very promising new medications coming out.Groff says Alzheimer’s hits between 50 and 60-percent of people over the age of 85 and about 15-percent of those over 65. For more information, call the Iowa chapter at 800-738-8071.