INTRODUCTION Alzheimer's disease is a form of irreversible dementia that develops over a period of years and mainly affects the elderly population. Alzheimer's disease can be confused with normal aging, but changes in personality and behavior differentiate it. Although Alzheimer's disease is considered a disease of age, it has been documented to affect people before the age of 65. It is called early-onset Alzheimer's disease and accounts for 5-10% of all Alzheimer's diseases. Statistics conducted by the Alzheimer's Association estimate that 5.3 million people suffer from Alzheimer's with an annual medical care cost of $172 billion [2]. The impact of Alzheimer's disease on American society has caused Social Security to change its guidelines for "compensation benefits" for people with Alzheimer's disease [2]. Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is necessary to alleviate the social, economic, and financial burden placed on family members and caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, along with early treatment of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Current treatment for Alzheimer's disease includes drug therapy such as cholinesterase inhibitors, a drug that supports communication between nerve cells leading to improved memory, and memantine, another drug that improves memory and regulates glutamate activity. The following table lists some drugs in the previous category with generic and brand names.[17]Non-drug treatment includes counseling patients and family members about possible mental changes and what can be done to ease the transition. Environmental changes and daily habits can be modified to reduce any obstacles associated with dementia, and cognitive exercises can be performed by patients to...... middle of paper ......10650.jpg>.19. Valeria Geylis, Vitaly Kourilov, Zeev Meiner, Inger Nennesmo, Nenad Bogdanovic, Michael Steinitz, Human monoclonal antibodies against beta-amyloid from healthy adults, Neurobiology of aging, Volume 26, Issue 5, May 2005, Pages 597-606, ISSN 0197- 4580, DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.06.008.(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T09-4DCN0R9-3/2/ab7a4837960d0afc8b844f274bdb2672) Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Anti-amyloid beta antibodies; Epstein-Barr virus; Human monoclonal antibodies; Immunotherapy; Passive immunization20. "Spinal stroke". eMedicineHealth. 05/26/2010 .21. “ApoE Genotyping.” Online laboratory tests. 05/26/2010 .22. "APOE". Reference for the genetics house. 5/26/2010 .