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CNN Saturday Morning News
Look at Talk Show Host Leeza Gibbons's Fight With Alzheimer's
Aired October 19, 2002 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Americans suffer from a disease that steals your memories and ultimately your life. It's Alzheimer's. Researchers don't fully understand what causes it. They say each person is affected differently, to compound their confusion.
Here to tell more about all this and to tell about one celebrity's story about this terrible disease is CNN's Kat Carney.
Good morning, Kat, good to see you.
KAT CARNEY, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
That's right, Alzheimer's afflicts nearly 4 million Americans. And that number could reach 14 million by the year 2050 if no cure or treatment is found.
Now, while the disease devastates its victim, it also takes a huge toll on the families.
Talk show host Leeza Gibbons shares her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARNEY (voice-over): For the past 20 years, Leeza Gibbons has seen success as a journalist, television host, producer, and businesswoman. But her most important role yet may be that of caregiver.
When I met with her recently in Los Angeles, she recounted the struggle of watching her mother, Jean, slowly succumb to Alzheimer's.
(on camera): And when did you or your family start to realize that there was a problem with your mother's health?
LEEZA GIBBONS, MOTHER HAS ALZHEIMER'S: Well, I must tell you, in the beginning we thought she had a problem drinking. And the signs were so similar. She was getting disoriented. She was forgetting things. She was getting agitated. Her personality began to change.
CARNEY: And when did you hear the diagnosis, Alzheimer's?
L. GIBBONS: We get it all together sitting in a room with my mom and a team of professionals. And after they ruled out all other kinds of possible ailments, they said to us, She has Alzheimer's.
CARNEY (voice-over): Shortly after her diagnosis, Jean Gibbons prepared a taped message for her daughter's daytime talk show on the disease.
JEAN GIBBONS, LEEZA GIBBONS'S MOTHER: If you have Alzheimer's, don't hide it. You know, go out and tell your friends, Yes, I have a problem. And they will understand.
CARNEY: Initially, Gibbons had reservations about her mother's participation in the show.
L. GIBBONS: I said, Mom, you know, we don't have to share this with people. And she said, Yes, we do. And you must talk about it. And you must continue to talk about it until there's a cure for it.
CARNEY: Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's. The disease robs brain cells, resulting in memory loss, disorientation, personality changes, and dementia. Gibbons' mother prepared her family for that time.
L. GIBBONS: She said. When I'm not there anymore, I don't want you to come see me. That won't be me. And I won't know that you're there.
CARNEY (on camera): And where is she now with the disorder?
L. GIBBONS: Mom is now in the last stage. She doesn't know me. She thinks I'm just a nice lady.
CARNEY: Why is it important to you now to continue to speak out about this?
L. GIBBONS: To honor my mother. I hope that our story will somehow be relatable to people, and that it can honor her.
CARNEY (voice-over): In addition to carrying on her mother's legacy, Gibbons advises families who receive a diagnosis to begin coping with the practicalities right away.
L. GIBBONS: The hardest leap for families is just to kind of stare it in the face and get started, because the longer you wait, that's precious time that you are not going to get back.
CARNEY: Leeza Gibbons, staring Alzheimer's in the face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's a tough battle. It's a tough battle. Of course, we always think about former president Reagan and the battle that family has had with this.
Let's talk about rumors for a minute, because there are so many rumors that waft around the Internet these days. And there's one that is going around about possibly a link to liquids in cans or something? Knock that down for us, will you?
CARNEY: It's the aluminum can and aluminum pot rumor. And I was getting calls from people, I was getting e-mails from people, even in the building, saying, I'm afraid to drink out of aluminum cans, I'm afraid to cook using aluminum cookware, because there's this rumor on the Internet that it can lead to Alzheimer's.
And I did a lot of research on this. And there is no research supporting that aluminum can contribute to Alzheimer's. And there's no research that says that eliminating this will prevent you from getting Alzheimer's. So it just seems to be one of those Internet hoaxes. And if you go online, it seems like there's research to support it, but if you really go look in the medical journals and you talk to the people who are doing the research, there is no research to support it.
O'BRIEN: And so there's a lesson in here for things in general relating to medical care. You got to be very careful what source you're going to when you go to find these kinds of things.
CARNEY: Absolutely, absolutely.
O'BRIEN: All right, finally, what about root causes in Alzheimer's? Is it definitive yet that it's a genetic root cause, or there's some other -- let's take aluminum cans out of it, but is there some sort of thing that we do to ourselves that may hasten all of this?
CARNEY: Well, researchers haven't figured out that out yet. There are actually two forms of Alzheimer's. The more common form is late-onset Alzheimer's, and the biggest risk factor there is age. This affects people over the age of 65. Now, scientists do say if you have a sibling or family member that has Alzheimer's, you might have an increased risk. But again, the biggest risk factor is age.
Now, there is a rare form of Alzheimer's called early-onset Alzheimer's that affects people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. And scientists have identified three genes. And if you carry any one of the three genes, you will more than likely develop it.
But Miles, again, it's very, very rare. They've only identified 120 cases worldwide of this.
O'BRIEN: So don't necessarily rush for a genetic test.
CARNEY: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: All right. Kat Carney, thank you very much.
CARNEY: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate your dropping by, as always.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Alzheimer's>
Aired October 19, 2002 - 09:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Millions of Americans suffer from a disease that steals your memories and ultimately your life. It's Alzheimer's. Researchers don't fully understand what causes it. They say each person is affected differently, to compound their confusion.
Here to tell more about all this and to tell about one celebrity's story about this terrible disease is CNN's Kat Carney.
Good morning, Kat, good to see you.
KAT CARNEY, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
That's right, Alzheimer's afflicts nearly 4 million Americans. And that number could reach 14 million by the year 2050 if no cure or treatment is found.
Now, while the disease devastates its victim, it also takes a huge toll on the families.
Talk show host Leeza Gibbons shares her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARNEY (voice-over): For the past 20 years, Leeza Gibbons has seen success as a journalist, television host, producer, and businesswoman. But her most important role yet may be that of caregiver.
When I met with her recently in Los Angeles, she recounted the struggle of watching her mother, Jean, slowly succumb to Alzheimer's.
(on camera): And when did you or your family start to realize that there was a problem with your mother's health?
LEEZA GIBBONS, MOTHER HAS ALZHEIMER'S: Well, I must tell you, in the beginning we thought she had a problem drinking. And the signs were so similar. She was getting disoriented. She was forgetting things. She was getting agitated. Her personality began to change.
CARNEY: And when did you hear the diagnosis, Alzheimer's?
L. GIBBONS: We get it all together sitting in a room with my mom and a team of professionals. And after they ruled out all other kinds of possible ailments, they said to us, She has Alzheimer's.
CARNEY (voice-over): Shortly after her diagnosis, Jean Gibbons prepared a taped message for her daughter's daytime talk show on the disease.
JEAN GIBBONS, LEEZA GIBBONS'S MOTHER: If you have Alzheimer's, don't hide it. You know, go out and tell your friends, Yes, I have a problem. And they will understand.
CARNEY: Initially, Gibbons had reservations about her mother's participation in the show.
L. GIBBONS: I said, Mom, you know, we don't have to share this with people. And she said, Yes, we do. And you must talk about it. And you must continue to talk about it until there's a cure for it.
CARNEY: Currently there is no cure for Alzheimer's. The disease robs brain cells, resulting in memory loss, disorientation, personality changes, and dementia. Gibbons' mother prepared her family for that time.
L. GIBBONS: She said. When I'm not there anymore, I don't want you to come see me. That won't be me. And I won't know that you're there.
CARNEY (on camera): And where is she now with the disorder?
L. GIBBONS: Mom is now in the last stage. She doesn't know me. She thinks I'm just a nice lady.
CARNEY: Why is it important to you now to continue to speak out about this?
L. GIBBONS: To honor my mother. I hope that our story will somehow be relatable to people, and that it can honor her.
CARNEY (voice-over): In addition to carrying on her mother's legacy, Gibbons advises families who receive a diagnosis to begin coping with the practicalities right away.
L. GIBBONS: The hardest leap for families is just to kind of stare it in the face and get started, because the longer you wait, that's precious time that you are not going to get back.
CARNEY: Leeza Gibbons, staring Alzheimer's in the face.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That's a tough battle. It's a tough battle. Of course, we always think about former president Reagan and the battle that family has had with this.
Let's talk about rumors for a minute, because there are so many rumors that waft around the Internet these days. And there's one that is going around about possibly a link to liquids in cans or something? Knock that down for us, will you?
CARNEY: It's the aluminum can and aluminum pot rumor. And I was getting calls from people, I was getting e-mails from people, even in the building, saying, I'm afraid to drink out of aluminum cans, I'm afraid to cook using aluminum cookware, because there's this rumor on the Internet that it can lead to Alzheimer's.
And I did a lot of research on this. And there is no research supporting that aluminum can contribute to Alzheimer's. And there's no research that says that eliminating this will prevent you from getting Alzheimer's. So it just seems to be one of those Internet hoaxes. And if you go online, it seems like there's research to support it, but if you really go look in the medical journals and you talk to the people who are doing the research, there is no research to support it.
O'BRIEN: And so there's a lesson in here for things in general relating to medical care. You got to be very careful what source you're going to when you go to find these kinds of things.
CARNEY: Absolutely, absolutely.
O'BRIEN: All right, finally, what about root causes in Alzheimer's? Is it definitive yet that it's a genetic root cause, or there's some other -- let's take aluminum cans out of it, but is there some sort of thing that we do to ourselves that may hasten all of this?
CARNEY: Well, researchers haven't figured out that out yet. There are actually two forms of Alzheimer's. The more common form is late-onset Alzheimer's, and the biggest risk factor there is age. This affects people over the age of 65. Now, scientists do say if you have a sibling or family member that has Alzheimer's, you might have an increased risk. But again, the biggest risk factor is age.
Now, there is a rare form of Alzheimer's called early-onset Alzheimer's that affects people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. And scientists have identified three genes. And if you carry any one of the three genes, you will more than likely develop it.
But Miles, again, it's very, very rare. They've only identified 120 cases worldwide of this.
O'BRIEN: So don't necessarily rush for a genetic test.
CARNEY: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: All right. Kat Carney, thank you very much.
CARNEY: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Appreciate your dropping by, as always.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Alzheimer's>
