June is Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month in Michigan

Many of the state of Michigan’s websites and social media accounts are going purple this month to bring attention to Alzheimer’s disease in the state.

The debilitating condition doesn’t only rob people of their memories. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., and it’s the only one of the country’s top 10 causes of death that cannot be cured, prevented or slowed down once it begins to progress.

“We want to highlight the issue, but we also want to work on the issue, so June is actually Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month,” Governor Rick Snyder said. “If you go to the state website, you’ll see we have purple banners on it to really highlight the issue that, in fact, we have too many people already in Michigan that need help. It’s about 180,000 Michiganders and we need to do more.”

The state of Michigan will be using social media throughout June to share facts about Alzheimer’s disease and links to resources for anyone needing help.

The Alzheimer’s Association says that more than half a million Michigan residents are caring for someone with the disease. One of every three Americans age 85 or older suffers from Alzheimer’s and nearly two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women.