About 4 million American's have Alzheimer's - a progressive degenerative disease of the brain. One in ten persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have alzheimer's. In Sedgwick County, an estimated eight thousand people suffer from the disorder. It's a disease that takes its toll on Alzheimer's patients and caregivers alike. As part of KMUW's year-long series, "Chronic Illness, Acute Answers," Carla Eckels reports on Alzheimer's treatment and prevention efforts in Wichita.

Listen to the story Carla Eckels, producer
Listen to the lecture by Dr. Connie Marsh, KU School of Medicine, Wichita
Listen to the call-in Guests: Dr. Connie Marsh, KU School of Medicine, Wichita, Dessie Thompson, Adult Day Care director at Life Care, a Wichita nursing home, and Dwayne Broddle, caregiver to his wife, an Alzheimer's victim

Web resources for further information:
Alzheimers Association
Alzheimers Support
Dementia.com
Neal Conan's discussion with Joanne Koenig Coste, author of "Learning to Speak Alzheimer's" on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" (scroll down about half-way)

Sound Partners for Community Health is a program of the Benton Foundation. Support for this website was provided by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.