The condition of former Gov. Carroll Campbell, who has battled Alzheimer's disease for several years, has deteriorated and he has been placed in a residential care facility, a family spokesman said Thursday.

"It was the most difficult decision imaginable," said Bob McAlister, a former Campbell Statehouse aide and family friend. "I do not have the words to convey their pain and anguish in reaching this decision."

Campbell, 65, announced publicly in October 2001 that he had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.

"Gov. Campbell has bravely fought the onslaught of Alzheimer's disease for six years," McAlister said in a prepared statement.

"Sadly, it became apparent that despite the family's best efforts, Gov. Campbell must have around the clock professional care at a facility dedicated to that purpose. The family made that decision after many tears and much prayer."

Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system.

Dr. Ihab Hajjar, a gerontologist with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, said that when institutional care is required, patients are in "moderate to advanced stages."

Hajjar said that Alzheimer's initial stages are usually detected from ages 65 to 75 and often, in younger patients, "in some instances there would be a more rapid progression."

Although there is no cure and Alzheimer's always results in death, new treatments have begun to slow the rate of progression, he said.

In his 2001 open letter to South Carolinians, Campbell pledged to fight the disease with all his might. Since then, he has participated in experimental drug treatments and, with family members, raised research funds and sought to increase public awareness of the disease.

Campbell had remained with his wife, Iris, at their oceanfront retirement home in Georgetown, only rarely venturing to a limited number of political events, none recently.

Over time, Campbell drastically curtailed his public appearances. He did speak briefly at a state Republican Party tribute in his honor in October 2002 and at an impromptu GOP gathering the previous June, to bind the wounds from a bruising gubernatorial runoff primary.

McAlister said Campbell's "family has been a strong source of love and support for the governor during this trying period. Mrs. Campbell gladly has been the primary caregiver."

There were blessings to be counted, though, McAlister said.

"While these years have been challenging in ways that only other Alzheimer's families can understand, they have also been blessed in many ways. For example, the governor has been able to watch his grandchildren grow and they have become very close," McAlister said.

"Additionally, the governor was able to enjoy many tributes and honors that came his way, reinforcing the fact that his successes as governor continue to have a tremendous impact on the people of South Carolina," he said.

Campbell is widely credited with building the state Republican Party into South Carolina's dominant force after becoming governor in 1986.

His younger son, Mike, is a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2006.

In 1980, while in Congress, he was a key player in Ronald Reagan's run to the GOP presidential nomination.

As governor, Campbell emerged as a national political force as his organization rescued George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign in the state's 1988 primary, catapulting the elder Bush to the GOP nomination and the White House. Twelve years later, many of those same Campbell operatives would do the same for George W. Bush, the former president's son.

Campbell was a young state senator from Greenville when he ran for the 4th Congressional District seat and won in 1978. After four terms, he became only the second Republican governor of the 20th century, serving from 1987-95.

After briefly seeking the 1996 presidential nomination, Campbell became head of the American Council of Life Insurance in Washington.

McAlister said that Iris and sons Carroll III and Mike "believe this course of action is the best for Gov. Campbell."

At the request of the family, he declined to reveal the location of the treatment facility.