BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Living longer and remembering less because of Alzheimer's disease is a mounting problem in America, which is reinforced by a report released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association that shows a 10 percent increase in the debilitating disease since an estimate five years ago.

    That percent pencils out to more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's, a number that supports an often-forecast dementia epidemic as the population ages.

    The report reveals America is on target for a huge increase in Alzheimer's once the baby boomers start turning 65 in 2011. Age is the biggest risk factor and medical advances in the treatment of heart disease, cancer and other diseases are a major contributor to rising longevity rates.

    Unless scientists discover a cure, some 7.7 million people are expected to have the disease by 2030, the report says. By 2050, that number could reach 16 million.

    "We're keeping people alive so they can live long enough to get Alzheimer's disease," explains association vice president Steve McConnell.

    Already, one in eight people 65 and older have the mind-destroying illness, and nearly one in two people over 85.

    Government figures released last year show small declines in deaths from most of the nation's leading killers between 2000 and 2004 -- even as deaths attributed to Alzheimer's disease increased 33 percent.

    Yet the report also reveals between 200,000 and half a million people under age 65 have either early-onset Alzheimer's or another form of dementia. Researchers have been hard-pressed to estimate of the number of young sufferers.

    "I think this has been drastically underreported," said Dr. Bill Thies, the Alzheimer's Association¡¯s medical director.

    The new report -- based on federal population counts, not new disease research -- comes as Congress is considering funding for research into Alzheimer's and other diseases.

    No one knows what causes Alzheimer's creeping brain degeneration. It slowly robs sufferers of their memories and ability to care for themselves, eventually killing them. There is no known cure, and today's drugs only temporarily alleviate symptoms.

    Because it complicates treatment for every other illness, the new report shows Medicare spends nearly three times as much for dementia patients¡¯care as for the average beneficiary -- 13,207 U.S. dollars a year versus 4,454 dollars. Medicare's spending on dementia-related care is projected to double to more than 189 million dollars by 2015.

    That doesn't take in account the unpaid round-the-clock care families and friends provide the vast majority of Alzheimer's patients who live at home or nursing home costs.

    There are nine drugs in late-stage clinical trials, including a few that aim to slow Alzheimer's worsening. If such drugs are effective, delaying Alzheimer's symptoms by even a few years could cut by millions the coming decades¡¯predicted toll, the report notes.

    (Agencies)