This year's walk in Frederick , scheduled for Sunday, begins at 2 p.m. in Frederick at the Maryland School for the Deaf, with 94 teams and more than 400 participants already registered.

"We're hoping to raise $130,000 just in Frederick this year," said Kristen Weddle of the Alzheimer Association's Greater Maryland chapter. "This is the 20th anniversary for us in Frederick , so it's a big milestone for us. It's about raising awareness and it's also our largest fundraiser of the year. There's not another event like it."

Similar walks have been scheduled throughout the state, in Bel Air, Salisbury, Severn and Columbia this month by the Greater Maryland chapter, with the last event this year slotted for Oct. 31 at Oregon Ridge Park in Baltimore County.

"The teams that walk are a mixture of people," Weddle said. "Some local businesses and corporations sponsor teams, but the majority are made up of family members, friends and their co-workers. They are people whose lives have been impacted by the disease. It's hit home for them."

According to the Alzheimer's Association, as many as 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's and the disease is now the seventh-leading cause of death.

Alzheimer's and dementia triple health care costs for Americans age 65 and older, with the direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer's and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amounting to more than $148 billion each year.

Mary Ann Farr, education coordinator with Greater Maryland chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, said although progress in battling the disease has been difficult thus far, there is hope.

"There are a lot of clinical trials going on all over the country that have advanced to 'phase III,' which means they've shown some initial progress and cleared certain criteria," said Farr, naming work at Johns Hopkins, the University of Pittsburgh, and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. "There are new things happening."

Since 1980, the Greater Maryland chapter, which began as a support group at Johns Hopkins, has grown to an organization with 27 staff and more than 300 volunteers. The organization services 14,000 people annually through services that include more than 50 support groups, a 24-hour helpline, respite care grants, and its Safe Return and educational programs.

All Memory Walk donations benefit the Alzheimer's Association, the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. According to its website, the mission of the Alzheimer's Association is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.