No treatments stop or reverse its progression, though some may temporarily improve symptoms.<ref name=WHO2014/> Affected people increasingly rely on others for assistance, often placing a burden on the [[Caring for people with dementia|caregiver]]; the pressures can include social, psychological, physical, and economic elements.<ref name="pmid17662119">{{vcitecite journal | author = Thompson CA, Spilsbury K, Hall J, Birks Y, Barnes C, Adamson J | title = Systematic Review of Information and Support Interventions for Caregivers of People with Dementia | journal = BMC Geriatrics | volume = 7 | page = 18 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17662119 | pmc = 1951962 | doi = 10.1186/1471-2318-7-18 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Exercise programs are beneficial with respect to [[activities of daily living]] and potentially improve outcomes.<ref name=Forb2013>{{cite journal|last1=Forbes|first1=D.|last2=Thiessen|first2=E.J.|last3=Blake|first3=C.M.|last4=Forbes|first4=S.C.|last5=Forbes|first5=S.|title=Exercise programs for people with dementia.|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|date=4 December 2013|volume=12|pages=CD006489|pmid=24302466|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD006489.pub3}}</ref> Treatment of behavioral problems or [[psychosis]] due to dementia with [[antipsychotic]]s is common but not usually recommended due to there often being little benefit and an increased risk of early death.<ref>{{cite web|author1=National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence|title=Low-dose antipsychotics in people with dementia|url=https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/ktt7/resources/non-guidance-lowdose-antipsychotics-in-people-with-dementia-pdf|website=nice.org.uk|accessdate=29 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Information for Healthcare Professionals: Conventional Antipsychotics|url=http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm124830.htm|website=fda.gov|accessdate=29 November 2014|date=2008-06-16}}</ref>
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In 2010, there were between 21 and 35 million people worldwide with AD.<ref name=NEJM2010>{{cite journal|last1=Querfurth|first1=HW|last2=LaFerla|first2=FM|title=Alzheimer's disease.|journal=The New England Journal of Medicine|date=28 January 2010|volume=362|issue=4|pages=329-44|pmid=20107219|doi=10.1056/NEJMra0909142}}</ref><ref name=WHO2014>{{cite web|title=Dementia Fact sheet N°362|url=http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs362/en/|website=who.int|accessdate=28 November 2014|date=April 2012}}</ref> It most often begins in people over 65 years of age, although 4% to 5% of cases are [[early-onset Alzheimer's]] which begin before this.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mendez|first1=MF|title=Early-onset Alzheimer's disease: nonamnestic subtypes and type 2 AD.|journal=Archives of medical research|date=November 2012|volume=43|issue=8|pages=677-85|pmid=23178565|doi=10.1016/j.arcmed.2012.11.009}}</ref> It affects about 6% of people 65 years and older.<ref name=BMJ2009/> In 2010, dementia resulted in about 486,000 deaths.<ref name=Loz2012>{{cite journal|last1=Lozano|first1=R|last2=Naghavi|first2=M|last3=Foreman|first3=K|title=Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010.|journal=Lancet|date=15 December 2012|volume=380|issue=9859|pages=2095-128|pmid=23245604|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61728-0}}</ref> It was first described by, and later named after, German psychiatrist and pathologist [[Alois Alzheimer]] in 1906.<ref name="pmid9661992">{{vcitecite journal | author = Berchtold NC, Cotman CW | title = Evolution in the Conceptualization of Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease: Greco-Roman Period to the 1960s | journal = Neurobiology of Aging | volume = 19 | issue = 3 | pages = 173–89 | year = 1998 | pmid = 9661992 | doi = 10.1016/S0197-4580(98)00052-9 }}</ref> In [[developed country|developed countries]], AD is one of the most financially costly diseases.<ref name="pmid15685097">{{vcitecite journal | author = Bonin-Guillaume S, Zekry D, Giacobini E, Gold G, Michel JP | title = Impact économique de la démence (English: The Economical Impact of Dementia) | language = French | journal = Presse Médicale | volume = 34 | issue = 1 | pages = 35–41 | year = 2005 | pmid = 15685097 | issn = 0755-4982 | month = January }}</ref><ref name="pmid9543467">{{vcitecite journal | author = Meek PD, McKeithan K, Schumock GT | title = Economic Considerations in Alzheimer's Disease | journal = Pharmacotherapy | volume = 18 | issue = 2 Pt 2 | pages = 68–73; discussion 79–82 | year = 1998 | pmid = 9543467 }}</ref>
