American Morning
Can you explain frontal lobe dementia?
CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reaches into his mailbag and answers your questions.
Question
A lifelong friend of mine, a “young” 58-year-old, has just been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia. She was told she’s had it for 20 years, but there have been no noticeable symptoms until the last two years. Can you please shed some light on this disease?
Answer
Thank you, Kathy, for sharing you friend’s story and for the question. While there are many potential causes of dementia, Alzheimer’s is something that often springs to mind. It is often thought of as an older person’s disease, but it can occur in people that are relatively young, like your friend was. Having never seen your friend or examined her, let me instead talk a little about Alzheimer’s. It is a tough thing to understand because we don’t quite know what causes it, or how to cure it.
What's On Tap – Thursday March 12, 2009
Today on American Morning:
- As accused Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff prepares to plead guilty, one major question remains: what happened to the money? CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
- The Taliban is now bragging it can strike at will at the very heart of Kabul. Just to prove it, they launched a suicide attack last month on government buildings that killed 20. CNN's Paula Newton reports.
- North Korea Korea says it will test a rocket in April. CNN's Jill Dougherty reports.
- Taxpayers hate the bank bailout. Lawmakers too. And now it looks like some of the bailed out banks themselves are starting to get fed up with it as well.
- The role of Michelle Obama – she has a much higher profile than many of her predessors – not just public appearances, but various print publications – landing on the cover of many magazines.
- A man used to giving advice perhaps should have gotten some of his own – think before speaking. CNBC Business analyst Jim Cramer is under fire after a web video surfaces where he admits to manipulating the market when he managed a massive hedge fund.
- John Edwards makes an appearance at Brown University and takes students’ questions – including one that alludes to his affair.
Clinton, Palin Comic Books
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's... Hillary Clinton? A new line of comic books hopes to spotlight powerful women in politics with four new biographical titles devoted to Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama, and Caroline Kennedy. The books are meant to be educational, but also fun and interesting for everyone from 12 year old boys to 50 year old women.
The Clinton and Palin comics go on sale Wednesday and demand has been so high Bluewater Productions, the Vancouver, WA based company that produces the comics, has already ordered a second printing. The Michelle Obama comic doesn't go on sale until April, but there are already orders for 25,000 copies and the book has already popped up on ebay. Kapow, Batman! We take a look at the newest comic book heroes.
Kennedy Space Center Behind the Scenes
CNN's John Zarrella reports
An exclusive look at what it takes to get a space shuttle ready for flight.
Before Space Shuttle Discovery heads into space, everything down to the thermal tiles will be inspected. We have a behind the scenes look at Kennedy Space Center as Discovery is processed, post-landing, being prepared for its next flight.
Minding Your Business
What a rally! From a 12-year low to the best surge of the year for stocks Tuesday. But what happens next? We looked at the charts and found five rallies this year before Tuesday of 200 points or more. Each time, the Dow fell the next day. Two of those times, falling by triple digits. What that tells us, is this market has had a hard time holding onto those gains.
But some chart-watchers say the selling has been so relentless over the past three weeks, the market is ready for a true “bear-market rally.” But make no mistake: any true recovery in stocks doesn’t happen until the banking system gets fixed, confidence returns and lending frees up. We are not there yet.
Gunman's Killing Spree
Police have identified the gunman who they say went on a killing spree in southern Alabama yesterday. They say Michael McLendon murdered 10 people including his own mother, his grandparents, an aunt and uncle, along with a sheriff deputy's wife and child.
There are crime scenes spread out across two small Alabama towns this morning. Their mayors, Wynnton Melton of Geneva and Clay King of Samson joined us live.
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