Prepared at the request of several committees of Congress, this report discusses the medical, social, political, and financial aspects of dementia in the elderly and assesses the impact of these diseases on the Nation. The U.S. Office of Technology Assessment published this first government report on Alzheimer's disease in 1987.

Includes 16 essays which address many issues from a different perspective suggested by the experience of aging in America. This study explores the political, social, and economic realities which have an impact on Americans as they grow older.