Last Wednesday was International Alzheimer's Day. In Israel, there are around 180,000 people who suffer from the disease, according to a report by Maariv.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, according to the CDC. It starts with mild memory loss and can worsen to a state where the person would not be able to carry on a conversation. Symptoms include a slow and continuous degeneration of the nerve cells in the brain.
The disease was first described in 1906 by German researchers Alois Alzheimer and Emil Kraepelin.
Despite countless studies conducted in recent years, there has yet to be a real breakthrough in the treatment for the serious disease, which causes tremendous suffering among the patients themselves and their families.
What has happened in recent years to fight Alzheimer's?
In parallel with the advanced scientific research on the disease that is being carried out in academia, research institutes and hospitals, the law in Israel in recent years has allowed citizens to retain control of their lives even in the case of diseases that manifest themselves in cognitive impairments or a decline in memory and daily functioning.
Earlier this month, Israeli and US researchers found a way to diagnose someone with the disease through their retina.
Matan Wasserman/Maariv contributed to this report.