The impact Alzheimer's has on life expectancy is moot. However, the impact it has on the quality of life of those living and suffering from it is a lot more significant. Just seems like a really pointless statistic for Hayflick to mention.
I'm an author whose books include Cutting Loose: Why Women Who End Their Marriages Do So Well (HarperCollins,1997). I'm on the board of the Council on Contemporary Families, and a staff writer at the American Museum of Natural History. While researching this project I've received fellowships from the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, the New York Times, and the Yale Law School's Information Society Project.
-- Ashton Applewhite