ABSTRACT
In spite of extensive basic and clinical research in prevention and progression of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and Parkinson’s disease (PD) over the past two decades, the incidence of these diseases has not signicantly changed. As a matter of fact, the incidence of cancer appears to have risen. For example, a decade ago, the annual incidence of cancer was 1.2 million new cases; in 2009, there were estimated to be about 1.5 million new cases. About 1.5 million new cases of coronary artery disease (CAD) are detected annually. The current estimate is that about 62 million Americans have one or more types of cardiovascular disease,1 and about 14 million per year suffer a heart attack or angina. At present, about 5.3 million Americans suffer from dementia, with or without AD. The incidence of AD and other dementias doubles every 5 years beyond the age of 65 years or older and about 50% of individuals 80 years or older may have dementia, with or without AD. Currently, PD affects about 500,000 Americans,2 with about 50,000 new cases diagnosed annually.
