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Many relatives and friends providing financial support or care to people with dementia have dipped into their retirement savings, cut back on spending and sold assets to pay for expenses tied to the disease, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Alzheimer's Association. About one in five go hungry because they don't have enough money. (3/30)

First, Alzheimer's takes a person's memory. Then it takes their family's money. That's the central finding of a report published Wednesday by the Alzheimer's Association on the financial burden friends and families bear when they care for someone with dementia. "What we found was really startling," says Beth Kallmyer, vice president of constituent services for the organization. "The cost of paying for care was putting people in a situation where they had to make really difficult choices around basic necessities — things like food, medical care, transportation." (Hamilton, 3/30)

An estimated 5.4 million Americans — including 210,000 Ohioans and 30,000 central Ohioans — have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Facts and Figures report being released today. Nearly 16 million friends and family members, such as [Deneen] Day, provide financial, physical and emotional support, often without asking for help despite their own needs. (Pyle, 3/30)