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CNN Saturday Morning News

Heston Announces He Has Alzheimer's Symptoms

Aired August 10, 2002 - 07:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oscar award winning actor Charlton Heston takes on a new role: Living with symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The man who played Moses and Ben-Hur made the announcement yesterday, telling the public in a taped statement, "I can part the Red Sea, but I can't part with you."
Here to discuss Alzheimer's with us is CNN medical correspondent Rea Blakey, who joins us from Washington. Hi there, Rea.

REA BLAKEY, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka. You know, he's now among the estimated four million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease. Though there's no specific test for that disease, the diagnosis is made by ruling out other conditions.

Acting great Charlton Heston went public with his health condition basically saying he was doing it while he could.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLTON HESTON, ACTOR: For now, I'm not changing anything. I'll insist on work when I can; the doctors will insist on rest when I must. If you see a little less spring in my step; if your name fails to leap to my lips, you'll know why. And if I tell you a funny story for the second time, please, laugh anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKEY: Alzheimer's disease advances at wildly different rates. The duration of the illness can vary from as little as three years to as long as 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are what are affected first. But, as far as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain so eventually the person with Alzheimer's disease will need complete care. Even if the individual has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function itself will cause death.

So, how do you know if you have Alzheimer's disease? Well, the symptoms and warning signs to look for in yourself or family members would be: memory loss, difficulty performing tasks -- simple, every day tasks, a sense of disorientation, misplacing things, and personality changes often occur.

Now, some people are at greater risk for developing the disease, advancing age is the first risk factor, followed by a family history of Alzheimer's disease. Also, high cholesterol and high blood pressure could put you at greater risk. Now, there are four drugs that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and they're designed to prevent the breakdown of a chemical messenger in the brain that's really important for memory and other thinking skills. The drugs work to keep levels of that chemical messenger high, even though the cells that produce the messenger continue to become damaged or die. About half of the people who take these drugs, Fredricka, do experience a modest improvement in their cognitive symptoms. But, again, eventually the disease takes control.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Rea. And I bet now that he's come out publicly it's going to inspire so many people and family members to take the next step after recognizing, perhaps some of these very symptoms in their loved ones.

BLAKEY: And perhaps, if nothing else, people will step in to provide respite care -- some of these caregivers spend a great deal of time and energy, making sure that the patient is cared for and those people need some care and assistance, too.

WHITFIELD: OK, thanks very much. Rea Blakey. Good to see you this morning in Washington.

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