Alzheimer's disease supersedes diabetes as sixth-leading cause of death in the United States

Alzheimer's disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC estimates that 72,914 Americans died of Alzheimer's disease in 2006. With an unprecedented historic population shift of 78 million aging baby boomers in the country and this disease poised to strike 10 million boomers - it is clear this escalating epidemic must be addressed now.

"The CDC's announcement that Alzheimer's disease jumped from the seventh to the sixth-leading cause of death should serve as a wake-up call to the nation," said William Thies, Ph.D., vice president of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer's Association. "The fact that there are no effective treatments for Alzheimer's has allowed the disease to pass diabetes. It is vitally important that we increase Alzheimer's research funding to slow or stop the progression of this devastating disease."

• Alzheimer's Association news release