The Alzheimer’s disease refers to the most usual cause of mental decline or dementia. However, dementia has various other causes.
Alzheimer’s disease has its most common source the mental decline of a person. It may also originate from dementia.
The Alzheimer’s disease- What is it all about?
The Alzheimer’s disease causes damages to the brain. Due to it, there is a constant memory loss and it affects how well you can talk, think and carry out your routine works.
The Alzheimer’s disease always worsens with time. However, the speed at which this happens differs. Some persons lose their ability to perform their day-to-day activities in the beginning. While others, may continue to do their daily chores rather well until much later in the disease.
The loss of some memories is quite common in people who have already reached their 60s. It may not necessarily mean that you are suffering from the Alzheimer’s disease. On the other hand, if you feel that your memory is only deteriorating, then advice from doctor is recommended. If it is indeed from the Alzheimer’s disease that you are suffering, then it is better that you get treatment as soon as possible.
What are the causes of the Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is caused due to the changes that the brain undergoes. These consist of lower levels of chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters, which lend a helping hand to the proper functioning of the brain cells. However, the causes that trigger these alterations remain unclear.
The probability of getting Alzheimer’s disease rises as you grow older. But this surely does not mean that everybody will get it. By the age of 85, there are about 35 out of 100 people who suffer from some form of dementia. This implies that 65 out of 100 persons remain safe from this disease. Dementia occurs rarely before the age of 60.
Being relative to someone who suffers from the Alzheimer’s disease augments your risk of acquiring the disease. But it should be noted that most people who do get this disease do not have a family record of it.
The symptoms of the Alzheimer’s disease?
For the majority of people, the first sign of the presence of the Alzheimer’s disease is a loss of memory. Most of time, it is not the person suffering from the disease that notices this memory problem, but his family and close friends. However, the patient may inherently know that there is something that is not going on smoothly.
As the disease degenerates, the patient may encounter decision making problems. He may become confused about the time and date it is. The person may as well lose his bearings, even in places he is well acquainted with. He may also go through some trouble while learning and remembering a new piece of information. Difficulty in finding the right words to say what he intends to say is also common. Doing routine day-to-day activities like cooking or paying bills may become problematic too.
With time, the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s will solely worsen. Someone who experiences these symptoms and which suddenly deteriorates in the lapse of a few hours or days, should immediately consult a doctor as there may be other problems.
As the disease becomes worst, the patients may get agitated and stroll around, specially late in the afternoon or even at night. This is commonly known as sundowning. After a while, they may act differently as well. They may show withdrawal signs by keeping aloof from family and friends. Moreover, they may see perceive or hears things that are not present. They may start falsely believing that the other person are lying to them, that they are being cheated, used or harmed. As a result they may strike out at them.
As time lapses, the patients of Alzheimer’s disease may no more be able to take good care about themselves. They may not recognize their loved ones when they see or meet them. They may forget how to do basic things such as eating, dressing, taking a bath or using the toilet or as far as how to get up from his bed, chair and walk around.
How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?
In order to check for Alzheimer’s, your doctor ask you questions regarding your past health and ask you to do a physical exam. The doctor may also ask you to do rather simple things to make you use your memory or other mental capabilities. The doctor may also verify how well you can do routine tasks.
The medical exam will also comprise of blood tests to ascertain the cause of the problems that you are facing. CT and MRI scans, that take a look at your brain may also be done. However, by themselves, these medical tests can prove for sure that you are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
How is the Alzheimer’s disease treated?
There is till now no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. But there exists medicines that may help in slowing down the disease for a while, thus allowing the patients to live an easier life. Medicines that may be prescribed comprise of medicines that will help counterattack memory and thinking problems, like donepezil (Aricept) and those that are beneficial in lowering the degree of confusion and memory loss, namely memantine (Namenda).
The medicines that have been prescribed above may work to a varying degree for each person, nonetheless most doctors believe that they are worth trying.
As the disease degenerates, the patient may become unnecessarily angry, upset and go in a depression. Appropriate medicines should be prescribed by the doctor to fight with these problems.
How can you help your loved one with Alzheimer’s disease?
If you are already or will soon be looking after a loved one who is suffering from the Alzheimer’s disease, getting more knowledgeable about the subject matter is a good start. You should know what you should expect from these people. This will help you cope better with the person changing behaviors, and make most of his abilities as they transform with time. This will help you in dealing with the new problems as they take place.
Take important decisions regarding the future well before the disease worsen. Writing a living will in addition to a secure power of attorney is very judicious. The first will make statements regarding the types of health care that he wants, while the second one will allow the patient to designate someone as his health care agent. The latter will be the one responsible to take decisions when your loved one will no more be able to do so.
As time goes by, your loved one will require more care and attention. You will have to take care of his least requirements, the most basic ones. If you think you will not be able to do so, it will be sensible to think about making use of a nursing home where he will be better looked after.
Since people are nowadays living longer than in the past, the Alzheimer’s disease is becoming a regular problem. There are more resources from which you can get information as well as support to ensure a better life to your loved one suffering from this disease.
Source: Yahoo Health
Sun, Feb 7, 2010
Gerontology, Health And Aging, Longevity