[phil_will1]

"However! The disease isn't what he died from, no one dies from it, in RR's case, he had broken his hip, didn't recover and he got pneumonia. That's what killed RR."

I did aome study into Alzheimer's a few years ago when I had an aunt who had it. Alzheimer's patients don't die from the disease itself; they die from various maladies that their weakened bodies cannot cope with. I seem to recall that it is fairly comon for Alzheimers' patients to die of pneumonia.

[the Deejay]

"I seem to recall that it is fairly comon for Alzheimers' patients to die of pneumonia."

That's correct. If they don't have a pre-existing condition, diabetes, heart condition, etc., they normally die from pneumonia.

Alzheimer's isn't the killer. It kills the brain cells.

After age 40, certain brain cells begin to die.

This is what I have found in my research online.

[daybreakcoming]

I seem to recall that it is fairly comon for Alzheimers' patients to die of pneumonia

"A" patients can be in the best of health physically - however, as the disease progresses, the part of the brain that tells the body to partake of nutrition offered stops. Then begins starvation. Another part of the brain stops telling the body to swallow. Thus, even saliva can aspirate into the lungs causing pneumonia. There are few things more hurtful than having your spouse or parent look at you and have no idea who you are. But you continue your caretaking because you remember who they are.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Dying from pneumonia would be common in Alzheimer's patients because the immune system is controlled by the brain that recognizes the plethora of diseases from the common cold to pneumonia, and the shutting down of the central nervous system would not allow the brain to communicate with the other body organs to react to foreign viruses invading the body. This is why Ronald Reagan couldn't verbalize Michael's name in the waning months and years of being succombed to Alzheimers because that too is also a brain function.

Being forgetful, unable to speak clearly, falling down, being bedridden, and contracting pneumonia, all clear signs of Alzheimers.

Ten years is quite a long time. I've read articles on the web that say some Alzheimers patients can live 20 to 50 years with Alzheimers.

[dfwgator]

I did aome study into Alzheimer's a few years ago when I had an aunt who had it. Alzheimer's patients don't die from the disease itself; they die from various maladies that their weakened bodies cannot cope with. I seem to recall that it is fairly comon for Alzheimers' patients to die of pneumonia.

Was the pneumonia related to the Alzheimers, or was Reagan just more susceptible to it because he was 93-years old?