Reagan’s health slipping

? Former President Ronald Reagan is steadily slipping in his terminal battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to close friends and former associates.

Sources close to the 91-year-old 40th President report that Reagan’s mental deterioration has accelerated in recent months.

“He no longer knows who Nancy is,” one well-placed source told the New York Daily News, referring to his wife of 50 years. “Some days he seems to recognize her as someone who’s familiar, but most of the time she’s just a blank to him.”

Until a few months ago, Reagan’s physical condition held surprisingly steady even as his mental faculties continued to decline. But that is no longer the case.

“He’s becoming more difficult to deal with,” a source close to the Reagan family told The News. “Both his physical and his mental problems have gotten worse.”

A former aide, who confirmed this account of Reagan’s decline, no longer asks to visit his former boss because he found his last visit too emotionally traumatic.

In a statement of support to actor Charlton Heston Friday, Nancy Reagan hinted at the demands that Alzheimer’s puts on a family.

“Our family knows all too well the cruelty of this disease, and we pray that God will give the Heston family, especially (Heston’s wife) Lydia. … the strength to face each day that lies ahead,” Nancy Reagan said.