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The Alzheimer’s Association, in partnership with HBO, presents The Alzheimer’s Project, a multi-platform series that examines groundbreaking Alzheimer discoveries made by the country’s leading scientists and the effects this debilitating and fatal disease has on those with Alzheimer’s and their families. The focal point of The Alzheimer’s Project is a four-night documentary series on the cable network. The debut episodes are:
Sunday, May 10 at 9 p.m. EST: The Memory Loss Tapes takes an intimate look at seven individuals living with Alzheimer’s, seeking to introduce a new understanding by sharing the devastating experience of memory loss from the point of view of the person with the disease.

Monday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. EST: “Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?” With Maria Shriver is geared toward children and young teens coping with a grandparent’s illness, and presents vignettes that can help a child understand and deal with a relative’s gradual decline into Alzheimer’s.

Monday, May 11 at 8 p.m. EST: Momentum in Science: Part I. Momentum in Science is a two-part, state-of-science odyssey that takes viewers inside the laboratories and clinics of 25 leading physicians, revealing some of the most cutting-edge Alzheimer research advances.

Tuesday, May 12 at 7 p.m. EST: Caregivers is a collection of five family portraits that illustrate caring for the different stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Tuesday, May 12 at 8 p.m. EST: Momentum in Science, Part II.

The extremely moving trailer is available online.

The full press release is inside (more)…

One of the most devastating forms of memory loss is Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible and progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Today, Alzheimer’s is the second most-feared illness in America, following cancer, and may affect as many as five million Americans. As the baby-boom generation reaches retirement, that number could soar to more than 11 million by 2040 and have a huge economic impact on America’s already fragile healthcare system.
While there is no cure for the disease, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT shows there is now genuine reason to be optimistic about the future. Debuting on HBO on May 10 and created by the award-winning team behind HBO’s acclaimed “Addiction” project, this multi-platform series takes a close look at groundbreaking discoveries made by the country’s leading scientists, as well as the effects of this debilitating and fatal disease both on those with Alzheimer’s and on their families.

Scientific research is gaining momentum in discovering ways to treat and possibly prevent this devastating brain disease. Bringing a new understanding, THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT features a four-part documentary series, 17 short supplemental films, a companion book published by Public Affairs Books, a robust website and a nationwide community-based outreach campaign. HBO will use all of its platforms, including the HBO main service, multiplex channels, HBO On Demand, HBO Podcasts, hbo.com, HBO Channel on YouTube and DVD sales, to support the project.

“The Alzheimer’s research community welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with HBO on this unprecedented television event that seeks to raise new awareness and understanding of this devastating disease,” says Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director of the National Institute on Aging, the component of the National Institutes of Health leading the federal Alzheimer’s disease research program. “This series brings many of the nation’s leading Alzheimer’s researchers and their cutting-edge science directly to the American people. It’s a compelling story of scientific discovery, of research advances and challenges, and of the human faces behind the disease.”

The first of the four documentaries in THE ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT is “The Memory Loss Tapes,” which provides an up-close and personal look at seven individuals living with Alzheimer’s, each in an advancing state of dementia across the full spectrum of the progression of the disease. “Momentum In Science, Part 1” and “Momentum In Science, Part 2” is a state-of-the-science report that takes viewers inside the laboratories and clinics of 24 leading scientists and physicians, revealing some of the most cutting-edge research advances. “‘Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?’ With Maria Shriver” captures what it means to be a child or grandchild of one who suffers, while “Caregivers” highlights the sacrifices and successes of people who experience their loved ones’ gradual descent into dementia.
The ALZHEIMER’S PROJECT is a presentation of HBO Documentary Films and the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health in association with the Alzheimer’s Association, The Fidelity® Charitable Gift Fund and Geoffrey Beene Gives Back Alzheimer’s Initiative. The series producer is John Hoffman; the executive producers are Maria Shriver and Sheila Nevins.