Short briefs
Alzheimer's disease may be a much more common cause of death than previously thought.
Alzheimer's is under-reported on death certificates and may, in fact, be the third-leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer, say researchers at Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago. The CDC attributed about 84,000 deaths to Alzheimer's in 2010, but the new study shows the disease may actually be responsible for more than half a million deaths a year among those 75 and older. Death certificates often record only the immediate cause. “Pneumonia, urinary tract infection, heart attack, those are the things that are obvious, and that's what a doctor will frequently list on the death certificate,” says Emory neurologist Allan Levey.
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