Getting Alzheimer's.

There are few more disturbing fears and worries for all families that the onset of the insidious disease of Alzheimer's. It is suggested that one in three of us in the future will get the disease and will die from its repercussions. At present there is no known cure, so we all hope that at some point in the future a solution to this distressing social problem will be found. David Cameron said the other day this was his greatest fear and seeing Mrs Thatcher decline in her considerable mental abilities was one of the saddest days of his life. Clearly more research money needs to be spent in the hope of finding a cure. The Alzheimer's Society is the largest one of the charities in the UK at present, and is doing as much as it can to publicise the importance of early understanding and diagnosis of the disease. The prognosis is not good if that is what the specialist comes up with.
In my opinion there is not sufficient attention paid to what is adult psychiatry is termed the 'pre-morbid personality'. In other words what was the person like pre-illness? I think there may be a correlation between depression and Alzheimer's. Was the person optimistic or pessimistic? Were they an hypochondriac? What was their life style like? Were they sociable and out going or introverted? How self sufficient were they? Did they have a good diet and take regular exercise? Did they see and have good relationships with friends and family? How much did they drink and did they ever smoke? Did they attend clubs and have any hobbies and interests in things outside themselves? Did they do any voluntary work? How irritable or bad tempered were they and were they grumpy? Are they a glass half full or a half empty person? If not a causal correlation - nevertheless an area for more research.