'Always Remembers to Say I Love You'

March 20, 2007 — -- Alice Nanes says her life now revolves around caring for her husband, Malcolm, who was once a successful dentist in New York City but whose mind has steadily decayed under the relentless assault of Alzheimer's.

"He's quieter and, of course, his memory is not as good. He sometimes can't remember what he ate for lunch," she told ABC's Dan Harris.

Nanes said he always remembers his wife, "and he always remembers to say I love you."

They are part of a growing number of Alzheimer cases, part of the 5 million Americans living with the disease. A new study from the Alzheimer's Association said someone in America is diagnosed with the disease every 72 seconds, with a 10 percent increase in the number of cases since its last study in 2002.

"The main reason is that there are more people getting older. We have been very good at solving physical diseases. People die less of heart disease, stroke and cancer. They live physically but then they face this mentally humiliating experience of Alzheimer's," explained Dr. Tim Johnson, ABC News' medical editor.

By some estimates, one out of every eight people age 65 and older has the disease, and potentially 50 percent of those over 85 may have it.

"We do not think that the country is prepared for this," said Lou-Ellen Barkan at the Alzheimer's Association.

There is no effective treatment for the disease, and experts say there are not enough trained home health care workers or nursing homes to handle the growing number of Alzheimer's cases.

The latest report from the Alzheimer's Association says caring for the 5 million Alzheimer's patients now costs $148 billion a year, and that amount could soon spiral much higher.

"This is one of those wars that's coming, whether we like it or not," Barkan said.