Actress Marcia Gay Harden Says in Memoir, "Alzheimer's Took Away My Mother."

Alzheimer’s is characterized by a decline in memory and intellectual functions, which interferes with daily living and functioning. There is a progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage to the brain and the areas that affect memory, attention, judgment, language and problem-solving.

Alzheimer’s robs a person of their personality, their ability to think and to make decisions. It also robs a family of the people they love and takes away the essence of who that person once was.