The numbers are startling: Alzheimer's disease is the nation's sixth-leading cause of death.

Today, there are about 280,000 people in Pennsylvania age 65 and older suffering with Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

In 2025, there are projected to be 320,000 people with the disease — a 14 percent increase.

Alzheimer's is the most expensive disease in America, costing more than cancer and heart disease.

This year, the direct costs to the country of caring for those with Alzheimer's and other dementia will total an estimated $290 billion.

In Pennsylvania, per capita Medicare spending on people with dementia will well exceed $25,000.

Still, those are just numbers. Figures. Statistics.

For those afflicted with Alzheimer's and the families coping with loved ones living with the disease, the emotional toll cannot be quantified.

Spending on Alzheimer's research is currently close to $1 billion, but leading Alzheimer's disease scientists estimate that $2 billion in annual research funding is necessary to achieve the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's disease: to find a meaningful treatment or cure by 2025.

The largest non-governmental source of funds for research comes from the Alzheimer's Association, which hosted the Walk to End Alzheimer's held Saturday at Butler County Community College.