As world population 'grays,' Alzheimer's cases soar: reportCases of Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (ăls`hī'mərz, ôls–), degenerative disease of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex that leads to atrophy of the brain and senile dementia. and other forms of dementia are expected to soar in the next few decades, due largely to a spike in cases in developing countries, a report said Monday. Usually, dementia affects the elderly, and as improved healthcare helps more people live longer, the world population has a greater proportion of older people and the challenges that come with that. Just under 36 million people will be living with dementia in 2010, an increase of around 12 million from how many suffered some form of dementia in 2005, said a report by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), which groups Alzheimer associations around the world. Incidences of dementia were expected to nearly double every 20 years, to reach around 66 million in 2030 and more than 115 million by the middle of the century. Dementia is defined in the report as "a syndrome due to disease of the brain, usually chronic, characterized by a progressive, global deterioration in intellect including memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension and judgment." Nearly 60 percent of the 36 million thought to be suffering from dementia are in low- or middle-income countries, and the disease will increase more sharply in those same countries than in high-income countries, the report predicts. "We forecast a 40 percent increase in numbers in numbered parts; as, a book published in numbers. See also: Number in Europe, 63 percent in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. , 77 percent in the southern Latin American cone and 89 percent in the developed Asia Pacific countries," the report said. "These figures are to be compared with 117 percent growth in East Asia East Asia A region of Asia coextensive with the Far East. East Asian adj. & n. , 107 percent in South Asia This article is about the geopolitical region in Asia. For geophysical treatments, see Indian subcontinent. South Asia, also known as Southern Asia , 134-146 percent in the rest of Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , and 125 percent in North Africa and the Middle East," it said. One reason why dementia is rising more sharply in developing nations is because Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are not viewed in many of those countries as medical conditions See carpal tunnel syndrome, computer vision syndrome, dry eyes and deep vein thrombosis. but as "a normal part of aging," the report said, calling on the World Health Organization to declare dementia a world health priority. 
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