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Treatment for Azheimer’s Disease

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 08:42:36 +0000

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and eventually fatal disease of the brain. It causes impairment of the higher brain functions such as memory, thinking and personality. The rate of progression of the disease varies from person to person. A person may live from three to twenty years with Alzheimer’s disease, with the average being seven to ten years.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia, in simple terms means loss of memory.

It is difficult to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. But once the diagnosis is confirmed the health care professional can determine the line of treatment.

Diagnosis methods

There are no specific tests or laboratory procedures to establish the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. A confirmatory diagnosis of this disease can be established only with the help of a post mortem report.

A person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease can come to the doctor with a range of symptoms, which include loss of memory, irritability, depression and anxiety. It is important to rule out the presence of other conditions that can mimic the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, such as brain tumors, depression or some types of malnutrition. In order to do this, the health care professional may refer the person to undergo various tests. These include routine tests such as routine blood tests, routine urine tests, ultrasound, CT scan and X-ray. The doctor may also refer the individual to a psychiatrist in order to undergo intellectual function tests and for a thorough psychiatric evaluation. In other cases the individual may also be prescribed neurological examination and neurological tests. Once the physician has ruled out all other medical abnormalities and diseases, then based on the history and the symptoms the doctor can reach the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Treatment for Alzheimer’s disease

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers are trying to find drugs which can slow down the progress of this disease. The only available treatment is the use of drugs that boost the efficiency of damaged neurons. Recently, cholinergic drugs are found to be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. But more research is still being carried out regarding the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, the role of cholinergic drugs and other treatment options. Drugs can also be used to treat other associated symptoms of this disease, such as anxiety, depression and irritability.

Support Groups

There are many support groups which provide counseling and support for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and their family members. In these support groups, the family members and friends are educated about Alzheimer’s disease. They are provided with necessary treatment options. They are encouraged to share their experiences. They are provided with the necessary counseling sessions and therapy where the patients and their family members, especially the primary care giver are helped to develop the necessary coping skills.

Physical activity and Alzheimer’s disease

The person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is encouraged to participate in group exercises with their family members and friends. Exercise helps to reduce the associated symptoms such as depression and anxiety and boosts their confidence. But it is important to consult the heath care professional before starting any new exercise regimen.

=> Supports brain health and memory functioning for help with the common forgetfulness associated with aging

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Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 07:31:59 +0000

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia, in simple terms, means loss of memory. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and eventually fatal disease of the brain. It impairs higher brain functions such as memory, thinking and personality. The person suffering from this disease begins to experience frequent memory lapses, which eventually progress to long term loss of memory. They begin to forget the names of close family members. They begin to forget their address, their relationships with close friends and family members and even their own name.

What causes Alzheimer’s disease is not yet known. However, scientists are trying to find possible causes and identify trigger factors that may lead to the development of this potentially fatal disease.

A significant amount of scientific research and clinical studies performed over the years has indicated that Alzheimer’s disease may be caused due to a variety of factors including factors in the environment, biochemical disturbances and immune processes. The cause may vary from person to person and may be due to one factor or a number of factors.

Neurons in the brain are gradually destroyed in Alzheimer’s disease

Brain cells are also known as neurons. These neurons communicate with each other by means of connections. These connections are referred to as synapses. When a person is affected by Alzheimer’s disease, the synapses are gradually broken down. Over a period of years, these synapses ultimately disappear entirely in the parts of the brain which are associated with the thinking, memory and the personality traits.

Many clinical researchers have conducted post mortems of the brains of people who have died from Alzheimer’s disease in order to understand the pathophysiology of this disease. These post mortems have shown that there are damaged brain cells in the affected individual. These damaged cells are referred to as ‘tangles’ . There is also a buildup of protein known as A-beta in the spaces between these damaged brain cells. This protein is an otherwise normal protein. But the buildup of the protein in between the otherwise healthy cells may lead to the degeneration of the cells and affect their communication. The protein build up occurs in the form of plaques which are known as ‘amyloid plaques’ . Scientists are still trying to determine as to why this protein buildup occurs in some people and not in others.

Risk Factors in the development of Alzheimer’s disease

Some of the factors that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease are listed below:

Old Age

Advancing age increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease can happen to anybody, but it is much more common after the age of 65.

Genetic Predisposition

Alzheimer’s disease runs in families. In many cases, researchers have found that a person suffering from this disease usually has a parent or a close family member also suffering from it.

Down syndrome

A person with Down syndrome has an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease because they have an extra chromosome.

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Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 07:23:21 +0000

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be divided into two stages according to the progress- the early stage symptoms and the late stage symptoms.

Early stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

In the early stages the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be very subtle. Some of the common symptoms during the early stages of the Alzheimer’s disease are listed below:

Memory lapses

One of the most important symptoms of this disease is lapses in memory. The memory lapse is especially evident in case of recent events, where the person tends to forget important appointments or meetings or even dates of important occasions such as weddings and birthdays. They experience difficulty in recalling recent events. The memory lapses gradually become persistent and increase in frequency.

Difficulty in remembering the right words for common objects

The person may start to experience difficulty in remembering even simple words that are used to describe common objects. This often results in vague conversations and confusion.

Difficulty in making decisions

The memory lapses and the resulting confusion often hamper the decision making ability of the people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

The person may become irritable

The person affected by Alzheimer’s disease may start to become more and more irritable and confused as the disease starts to affect brain functions such as thinking and personality.

Late stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

As the Alzheimer’s disease progresses gradually the person affected by this disease begins to show the symptoms in increased severity and frequency. Some of the common symptoms that begin to appear in the later stage of Alzheimer’s disease are mentioned below.

Long term memory loss

The person suffering from this disease begins to experience frequent memory lapses, which eventually progress to long term loss of memory. They are unable to look after themselves or their kids because of their memory lapses. This may even result in serious accidents in the household which may involve them as well as other family members. In the later stages of the disease they may be bed ridden or need to be cared by somebody.

Poor communication skills

As a result of their memory loss they find it difficult to communicate with other people. They become extremely confused and irritable. They are unable to remember common words in conversation and what the other person said a minute ago. They are not able to recall the topic of the conversation and often tend to speak in a vague and confused manner.

Severe personality changes

As they become more and more dependent on others for their basic day to day needs they begin to become irritable and confused. The loss of memory hampers their social and communication skills. In some cases it may even lead to a total loss of speech. They are unable to follow instructions. They are unable to process the information that is offered to them. They show a lack of enthusiasm and interest in the activities that they used to enjoy before.

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What is Alzheimer’s Disease

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 06:17:20 +0000

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia, in simple terms means loss of memory. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and eventually fatal disease of the brain. It causes impairment of the higher brain functions such as memory, thinking and personality. The Alzheimer’s disease is named after the German physician, Alois Alzheimer who, in 1907, first described the symptoms of this disease.

Causes of Alzheimer’s disease

What causes Alzheimer’s disease is not yet known. After a significant amount of clinical research scientists have identified risk factors. Some of the common risk factors in the development of this disease are advancing age and family history. It has also been found that people affected by Down’s syndrome are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease because they have an extra chromosome. Some scientists believe that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease may be triggered by environmental factors such as viral and bacterial infections, but there is no clinical evidence to support this theory.

Progression of Alzheimer’s disease

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease vary greatly in individuals. However, the disease is a gradually progressive disease. The rate of progression of the disease varies from person to person. A person may live from three to twenty years with Alzheimer’s disease, with the average being seven to ten years.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

The person suffering from this disease begins to experience frequent memory lapses, which eventually progress to long term loss of memory. They begin to forget the names of close family members. They begin to forget their address, their relationships with close friends and family members and even their own name. The memory loss may be so severe that they are unable to manage the daily household chores. They are unable to cook and clean. As a result of their memory loss they find it difficult to communicate with other people. As they become more and more dependent on others for their basic day to day needs they begin to become irritable and confused. In the later stages of the disease the person may even need round the clock care by nurse or relatives as they may become bed ridden or completely dependent on others for even their most simple and basic needs such as eating, drinking and going to the toilet.

Types of Alzheimer’s disease:

There are two different types of Alzheimer’s disease:

Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease

This type of Alzheimer’s disease can affect adults at any age, but usually occurs after age 65

Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease. More than 95% cases of Alzheimer’s disease fall into the category of Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease. It can take up to 20 years for the disease to develop.

Familial Alzheimer’s disease

This is a rare type of Alzheimer’s disease. This disease tends to run in families. If a parent has a mutated gene, each child has a 50% chance of inheriting it. The age of onset is earlier than for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease, with symptoms appearing when the person is aged in their 40s or 50s.

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