THE DISEASE IS NAMED after Alois Alzheimer, a German neuropathologist who first described it in 1906 after examining the brain of a 56-year-old woman who had died with severe dementia. Alzheimer found a tangled, fibrous web of dead cells in the center of her cerebrum.

Research over the decades determined that the disease destroys brain cells and is the major cause of dementia in elderly persons. In rare cases, it strikes people as young as their 30s.

Alzheimer's ultimately steals everything -- knowledge, relationships, memories, the ability to reason, walk, eat, swallow and even breathe. Most patients die within 10 years. A few endure more than 20.

Ninety-two years after Alzheimer's discovery, scientists still don't know what causes this disease, although they have made advances in pinpointing its genetic markers and treating symptoms.

Approximately 50,000 Coloradans have Alzheimer's. That number could grow exponentially because of our state's rapidly aging population.

Nationally, 4 million Americans have it -- a figure that could triple by 2050 unless a cure or prevention is found. About two-thirds of the disease's victims are cared for at home, the rest in facilities for the aged.

The economic cost is enormous. Americans pour tens of billions of dollars year into nursing homes, assisted living centers and at-home care. That makes Alzheimer's the third costliest illness after heart disease and cancer. Medicare and most insurance companies don't cover the long-term care most patients ultimately need.

The larger toll, however, is paid in the suffering of the victims and their families. The genetic link in Alzheimer's often means generations of pain for afflicted families.

From Mom's father, to my Dad, to Mom's brother, and now to Mom herself, the disease has given the Davison family tree a grisly pruning.