Alzheimer's Association Marks 20th Anniversary

Alzheimer's Association
Sunday, 29 October 2000

When a group of family caregivers banded together in 1979 to discuss the possibility of forming a national Association for people with Alzheimer's disease, it was a time when not many people knew about Alzheimer's and families facing the disease had no place to turn. Twenty years later, scientists have made great progress in understanding this deadly disease —we now know it is not a part of normal aging — and the Alzheimer's Association, as it is known today, celebrates its 20th anniversary. [The Association was officially incorporated in 1980.]

"In the short time since its founding, the Alzheimer's Association has made tremendous strides in funding research to understand the underlying causes of Alzheimer's and providing programs and services to the millions of families facing this devastating disease," says Edward Truschke, Association president and CEO. "While the Association has grown and experienced many changes in the last twenty years, our mission to create a world without Alzheimer's disease remains unchanged."

On September 9, 1979, representatives from five family support groups who were attending a national medical conference decided to get together to talk about forming a national Alzheimer's Association. Sensing that their families were not the only ones affected by Alzheimer's and that millions of individuals nationwide needed help in coping with the disease, these individuals agreed that a national organization was sorely needed.

After contacting the director of the National Institute on Aging to express their desire, the family caregivers traveled to Washington D.C. On April 10, 1980, the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Inc. was legally incorporated and this date is considered the organization's official founding date.

For more information, or to contact Alzheimer's Association, see their website at: www.alz.org