According to the BBC broadcast this morning (BST), former President Ronald Regan died from a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. Can I just ask how he can die from it?

I always thought that it was just where the brain couldn't process memories properly and so you would become forgetful.

The memory loss and personality changes are a symptom of the physical damage that is occuring in the brain due to the build up of plaques.

BTW,
It's Reagan, another cabinet member was Regan.

President Reagan was 93 years old after all. The alzheimer's probably weakened his health and only contributed to his death, not caused it.
Maybe they will tell us??

Reagen had cancer (im very sure), i think that's why mostly he died.

Originally posted by AD5673
Reagen had cancer (im very sure), i think that's why mostly he died.

Yeah, in 1985.
Surgery removed it and he's been cancer-free for nearly 20 years.
He didn't die from cancer.

Alzheimer's disease causes the loss of brain cells, which can affect everything from memory loss as the disease emerges all the way to automatic functions like breathing and heartbeat as the disease progresses.
It is always fatal and there is no cure.

The BBC stated it was Pneumonia caused by the Alzheimers. Does this mean that the disease wiped out the part that deals with the immune system?

If you get pnuemonia at 93, alzhiemer's or not...you're probably on your last leg.

People die at 93 from nothing.

What Alzheimers did more than likely was just make it impossible for him to care for himself. Which others did for him.

Had he been poor or alone, Alzheimers would have killed him ten years ago. Or rather, some complication thereof. Falling, forgetting to eat (my Great grandmother did that), forgetting your meds. That stuff.