Reality: In the past people believed memory loss was a normal part of aging, often regarding even Alzheimers as natural age-related decline. Experts now recognize severe memory loss as a symptom of serious illness.

Whether memory naturally declines to some extent remains an open question. Many people feel that their memory becomes less sharp as they grow older, but determining whether there is any scientific basis for this belief is a research challenge still being addressed.

Reality: Alzheimers disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person's identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk and find his or her way home.

Reality: Alzheimers can strike people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. This is called younger-onset Alzheimers. In 2009, it is estimated that there are as many as 5.3 million people living with Alzheimers disease in the United States. This includes 5.1 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimers disease.

Reality: During the 1960s and 1970s, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimers. This suspicion led to concern about exposure to aluminum through everyday sources such as pots and pans, beverage cans, antacids and antiperspirants. Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimers. Experts today focus on other areas of research, and few believe that everyday sources of aluminum pose any threat.

Reality: This artificial sweetener, marketed under such brand names as Nutrasweet and Equal, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in all foods and beverages in 1996. Since approval, concerns about aspartame's health effects have been raised. 

According to the FDA, as of May 2006, the agency had not been presented with any scientific evidence that would lead to change its conclusions on the safety of aspartame for most people. The agency says its conclusions are based on more than 100 laboratory and clinical studies.

Reality: A theory linking flu shots to a greatly increased risk of Alzheimers disease has been proposed by a U.S. doctor whose license was suspended by the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners. Several mainstream studies link flu shots and other vaccinations to a reduced risk of Alzheimers disease and overall better health.      

• A Nov. 27, 2001, Canadian Medical Journal report suggests older adults who were vaccinated against diphtheria or tetanus, polio, and influenza seemed to have a lower risk of developing Alzheimers disease than those not receiving these vaccinations.
• A report in the Nov. 3, 2004, JAMA found that annual flu shots for older adults were associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes.

Reality: According to the best available scientific evidence, there is no relationship between silver dental fillings and Alzheimers. The concern that there could be a link arose because "silver" fillings are made of an amalgam (mixture) that typically contains about 50 percent mercury, 35 percent silver and 15 percent tin. Mercury is a heavy metal that, in certain forms, is know to be toxic to the brain and other organs.

• Many scientists consider the studies below compelling evidence that dental amalgam is not a major risk factor for Alzheimers. Public health agencies, including the FDA, the U.S. Public Health Service and the World Health Organization, endorse the continued use of amalgam as safe, strong, inexpensive material for dental restorations.March 1991, the Dental Devices Panel of the FDA concluded there was no current evidence that amalgam poses any danger.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1991 funded a study at the University of Kentucky to investigate the relationship between amalgam fillings and Alzheimers. Analysis by University statisticians revealed no significant association between silver fillings and Alzheimers.
• October 30, 2003, a New England Journal of Medicine article concluded that current evidence shows no connection between mercury-containing dental fillings and Alzheimers or other neurological diseases.

Reality: At this time, there is no treatment to cure, delay or stop the progression of Alzheimers disease. FDA-approved drugs temporarily slow worsening of symptoms for about 6 to 12 months, on average, for about half of the individuals who take them.