Things to know about Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s diseases is a progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the brain that results in dementia (impaired memory thinking, Judgment, and behavior).The Alzheimer’s Disease causes the brains of its victims to atrophy and to develop abnormalities, such as tangles of fibers and clusters of degenerating nerve endings, in areas that play and important role in memory and other intellectual functions, unfortunately, these abnormalities become evident only in autopsy.
Named for Alois Alzheimer’s, the German physician who first described it in 1907, Alzheimer’s disease affects some 4 million peoples in the united states and is the leading cause of dementia in peoples over age 65.
Alzheimer’s cases
No one really knows. Theories suggest genetic predisposition, viruses and toxic elements in the environment (particularly aluminum), deterioration of the body’s immune system, or a combination of these factors
Alzheimer’s disease symptoms
Early symptoms may be barely perceptible, but gradually the patient shows increasing signs of dementia. Through Alzheimer’s manifests itself differently in different people, there are three main phases.
In the first-thepatients may be aware of their own memory and concentration problems. Normal tasks such as driving, reading balancing a checkbook, or socializing become harder.
In the second phase-memory loss becomes more severe, and patients have more trouble with speech and orientation.
Anxiety and paranoia increase; erratic mood and personality changes occurs. In the third phase. Patients become so confused and agitated that they can no longer care for themselves in even the most basic way. The disease may take years to run its course, but once the patient becomes incapacitated and bedridden, life expectancy is not long.
How is Alzheimer’s Diagnose?
Sort of an autopsy after death, there is no single definitive diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease. When symptoms noticed and the patient should undergo completed physical, psychiatric, and neurological examinations by physicians experienced in the diagnosis of dementing disorders. (A family physician can refer the patient to suitable specialists)
To determine whether a patient is suffering from dementia and whether the condition is due to a treatable illness rather than Alzheimer’s, the exams should include a medical history, psychiatric and neurological tests blood and urine analyses, chest X-ray, electro-encephalogram, CT scans, and electrocardiogram.
Identification of distinctive Alzheimer’s disease proteins in a patient’s spinal fluid and a new computer-enhanced X -ray technique may soon allow doctors to make more accurate diagnoses of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s treatments
There is still no cure. Symptoms of the disease, such as anxiety, depression, psychotic thinking, sleeplessness, and behavioral disturbances, may be treated with drugs, but medications to slow or reverse the progression of Alzheimer’s remain experimental ad controversial.
Even if there is no cure, it’s very important for an Alzheimer’s patient to be under the care of an experienced physician. Other key elements in the management of Alzheimer’s include proper nutrition, guided exercise and physical therapy, and the maintenance of a daily routine and social contacts. There is much that family and friends can do to help and Alzheimer’s patients.
The vast majority of Alzheimer’s patients are cared for at home by members of their families. The Alzheimer’s Association, a national voluntary organization, provides information for care givers and sponsors support groups for families of peoples with the disease. Many communities have day-care programs for Alzheimer’s patients, and some have respite sericea to give relief to care- giving families. For patients in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, care in an institution may be advisable (more than 50 percent of all nursing home patients have Alzheimer’s or a related disorder)
