Authors: Stephen C. Enwefa, Regina L. Enwefa.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common and dreaded diseases affecting the elderly community of all ethnic races. AD was first described by Alois Alzheimer’s in 1906 as a presenile dementia. AD is characterized by a wide range of clinical disorders. Studies argue that there are two distinct features of AD; while both are characterized by spatial deficits, the other overwhelmingly tends toward language deficits. AD discriminates neither among ethnic groups nor among age groups. AD is no longer an old age problem. The available evidence suggests that a small portion of young adults in the general population (ages 18-34) are experiencing AD as reported by family members. The increased life expectancy in the western world combined with low birth rate have greatly altered the age structure of the general population with a proportional increase in the elderly group. Considering the medical advances made during the late segment of the twenty and early twenty-first centuries, the elderly population has been labeled the fastest growing part of the American society. Neurodegenerative diseases account for considerable morbidity and mortality in the United States elderly population and it is projected to be the fastest growing section of the population during the next fifty years. AD is the most common and most devastating form of degenerative Dementia [1]. AD accounts for about sixty percent of all types of dementia. The purpose of this review was to identify and characterize the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans. Also, the study sought to describe racial disparity, barriers, and lack of awareness of the diseases in African American communities in the continental United States. There is a need to have reliable research that addresses the performance of African Americans on the spectrum of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) patients in comparison with normal elderly patients on visual recognition tasks and on a continuum of markers for AD.
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