Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by deteriorating cognitive and memory function, progressive decline in activities of daily living, and a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms and behavioral disturbances. Prevalence studies show that the number of Alzheimer cases in the United States in 2000 was 4.5 million.1 For every 5-year increase in age, the percentage of patients with Alzheimer’s disease increases twofold, meaning that the prevalence rate is 1% for those aged 60 years and 30% for those aged 85 years.2 If no advances in treatment are made, the number of symptomatic cases in the United States is expected to rise to 13.2 million by 2050.1 Alzheimer’s disease is expected to be more prevalent in the United States. 13.2 million cases.1 The cost of treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease is staggering; annual expenditures total $83.9 billion (in 1996 dollars).3 Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease includes 5 major components: neuroprotective therapies, cholinesterase inhibitors, use of nonpharmacologic interventions and psychopharmacologic medications to reduce behavioral disturbances, health maintenance activities, and clinicians working with family members and caregivers of other persons caring for the patient. Treatment requires an accurate diagnosis and increasingly relies on an understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease.