Nightly News | April 19, 2011 >>> for the first time in almost
three decades the guidelines that doctors use to diagnose
alzheimer's disease are changing. and this now means more than
10 million people in this country could be impacted by the
disease . that's almost doubled. as we've been reporting over
the years, alzheimer 's is a devastating public health and
private family problem. nearly 15 million americans provide care
for a loved one suffering from alzheimer 's. an american will
develop symptoms every 69 seconds on average. and among those 65
and over, a staggering 1 in 8 americans now has alzheimer 's.
our report from our chief science correspondent robert bazell .
>> last year we talked a little bit about your forgetfulness --
>> reporter: the new guidelines recognize alzheimer 's as a
disease that unfolds over years, probably decades. >> reporter:
and they identify 5 million americans like kippy reeder as
having a prealzheimer's condition called mild cognitive
impairment , or mci. the guidelines spe