Well, it looks like there are some bleak, desultory days ahead.
And it’s not because we have a whole year to wait until the next Oscars Red Carpet show.
If that wasn’t enough of a downer in itself, it is projected that by 2050 Alzheimer’s disease will affect nearly 14 million Americans and their families.
Indeed, America seems headed for a massive state of confusion.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disease that eventually strips sufferers of their ability to remember, communicate and live independently.
It also strips them of their dignity and eventually erases who they are.
It is utterly heartbreaking for the relatives of Alzheimer’s sufferers to see the minds of their loved ones wandering like a gypsy between the dusty cobwebs of the past and the shredded gauze of the present.
The golden years are hardly that when folks have tombstones in their eyes and empty caverns in their heads.
If the human carnage were not appalling enough, the projected economic cost of treating Alzheimer’s by 2050 is one trillion dollars — more than the estimated combined total for treating heart disease and cancer.
Of the leading causes of death in America, Alzheimer’s disease is the only one that we currently cannot prevent, cure or even stall.
Doing crossword puzzles until you wear all your pencils down to the nub isn’t enough.
Now research indicates outdoor air pollution, in the form of tiny particles released from power plants, factories and automobiles that seep into our lungs and blood, could nearly double the dementia risk in older women.
If those results are found applicable to the general population, fine particulate pollution in the ambient air may be responsible for about one out of every five cases of dementia.
The latest research adds to a growing body of research that links outdoor air pollution to dementia.
Granted, we could fix this by eliminating outdoor air pollution.
Of course, I have a better chance of roller skating backwards up the Matterhorn while juggling bowling balls.
Consequently, we all should stay nestled safely indoors.
Otherwise, Brains R Us won’t be us.
