Things You Didn’t Know about Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a common disease that affects older
people in various countries on earth. Together with Parkinson’s and
Huntington’s diseases, Alzheimer’s disease is considered the primary factor of dementia,
a condition marked with progressive deterioration of cognitive and intellectual
functions. Some of the most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include
decline in memory, communication and language skills, temporal and spatial
perception, and self-care ability. People with Alzheimer’s disease can hardly
live alone and mostly need caretaker’s help. Due to their deteriorating
condition, their care often gives rise to many issues, including emotional,
familial, interpersonal, and financial. For every family whose member is
suffering from this disease, serious and thoughtful dealing with the condition
is considered necessary.
Facts about Alzheimer’s Disease
There are some interesting facts about Alzheimer’s disease that
you need to know.
1. Alzheimer’s
disease shows terrifying statistics.
The Alzheimer’s Association’s Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and
Figures reports that one of nine Americans aged 65 are suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease and nearly half of Americans aged 85 live with it. At the
present, according to the National Institute of Health’s statistics, more than
5 million Americans are suffering from this disease, yet more than half of them
may not know that they are having it. The statistics also shows that this
disease affects more women than men.
2. Alzheimer’s
disease may develop on young people.
Although Alzheimer’s disease generally affects older people, its
signs can actually be identified on people as young as age 30. The symptoms
might not be as obvious on young people as they are on older people, but anyone
who experiences problem with their memory and cognition should beware of this
disease.
3. Alzheimer’s
disease is one of the leading causes of death in the US.
Alzheimer’s disease ranks fifth among the top causes of death in
the United States. Although Alzheimer’s disease treatment is consistently
developed, the rate of Alzheimer’s disease-related deaths continues to
increase. Compared to other major causes of death, such as heart attack and
diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease is still considered a prominent cause of death.
4. Alzheimer’s
disease also negatively affects caregivers’ health and lifestyle.
As people with Alzheimer’s disease can hardly live without
assistance, a caregiver plays an important role in maintaining their health and
ability to cope with even the most basic necessities. The caregiving task,
whether it is carried out by family members or hired caregiver, is never
considered easy. It has been reported that a large number of caregivers suffer
physical and emotional strains while they are assisting the affected people.
5. Almost
one-fifth of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease live unassisted.
Living without assistance can be dangerous for people with
Alzheimer’s disease as they can take care of their basic necessities only if
there is a caregiver nearby. Sadly, nearly 800,000 of the 5 million people who
are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease live alone. Without caregiver
assistance, they are at risk to being isolated socially, being poorly cared and
nourished, wandering, and experiencing accidents that will endanger their life,
such as falling and maltreatment.
Alzheimer’s disease is a health problem that should be taken
seriously. Both potential sufferers and their family members are responsible
with its monitoring and treatment even before it becomes a problem.
Know the Causes and Risk Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease has both clear and hypothetical causes.
Genetic factor is often cited as the clearest cause of this disease. People
with Alzheimer’s disease running in their family as well as those with
apolipoprotein E or APOE gene are at greater risk of developing this health
problem. There are also some hypothetical causes of this disease, including the
reduction of neurotransmitter acetylcholine synthesis, extracellular amyloid
beta deposits, protein abnormalities, poor blood brain barrier function, the
disruption of cellular homeostasis of biometals, spirochetes bacterium
infection, and neurodegeneration process proposed by Barry Reisberg in 1980s.
because genetic factor is the only clear cause of Alzheimer’s disease, for
people who are at risk to developing this disease, the best way to avoid it and
to prevent it from worsening is by avoiding its risk factors.
What are the risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease? There are some
factors that are known to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Age becomes
the most unavoidable one. As people grow older, they will become more
vulnerable to this disease; however, senior people who are known to live with
healthy lifestyle can cope with this disease better. Maintaining proper
cardiovascular exercise, diet that is low in fat and rich in plant-based
nutrients, cognitive stimulation, and excellent social engagement is a great
way to defend yourself from Alzheimer’s disease.
Certain diseases that negatively affect vascular health, such as
diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, are also risk factors for Alzheimer’s
disease. Those diseases are avoidable. Therefore, as long as you try to avoid
them, you are at lower risk to developing Alzheimer’s disease. Other known risk
factors for this disease include prior head injury and sleep disorders.
Five Known Early Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease
Being aware of all early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is
important as it helps you get prepared for the danger that you may encounter.
By dealing with those signs properly, you will have better chance to fight this
disease and to prevent it from crippling you physically and mentally. Here are
five most commonly cited early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
1. Memory
loss
Forgetfulness is normal; however, if it starts to disrupt your
life and your daily activities, you should beware of it. If someone tells you
that you have asked the same question over and over, that you keep forgetting
appointments, that you misplace things and forget to put them, and that you
easily forget something that you have just learned, the loss of memory you are
suffering from is not considered normal.
2. Poor
problem-solving capacity, poor judgment and poor work productivity
If it becomes more difficult for you to solve problems, even the
simplest ones, and to work at least as productively as you did before, you may
be at risk of developing this disease. If you make numerous decisions that
backfire or don’t yield your expected result, your poor judgment might also be
a sign of Alzheimer’s disease development.
3. Trouble
reading, speaking, writing, calculating, and understanding visual clues.
If it becomes more difficult for you to speak, to work with
texts and numbers, and to determine time, color and distance, you might be at
risk of developing this disease.
4. Mood
swing and personality disorder
If you frequently feel depressed, stressed, fearful, angry, or
anxious, especially for reasons that you don’t know, your psychological
condition might be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.
5. Poor
social engagement
If you no longer have desire to spend your time with your
family, relatives and friends, your pool social engagement can be a sign of
Alzheimer’s disease. People with this disease are known to be reclusive. This
is the reason why even a devoted caregiver often cannot bear the emotional
stress of serving those people.
If you start to experience those signs, deal with them promptly
and properly. Alzheimer’s disease is indeed irreversible as the damage that it
causes is permanent; however, early signs of this disease can be dealt with
effectively if you want to prevent the disease from crippling your life too
soon. There are some evidences showing that people with early signs of
Alzheimer’s disease can fight this disease and delay its attack by improving
their lifestyle.
Getting Medical Help for Alzheimer’s Disease
People with Alzheimer’s disease can prevent the disease from
ruining their life by getting necessary medical help. If you or your family
members believe that you have contracted this disease, you may want to consult
a medical professional as soon as possible. Make a list of all symptoms that
you experience or have your caregiver do it for you and then visit a doctor or
psychiatrist office, preferably together with your family. To diagnose your
condition, the doctor may perform physical and neurological examination, blood
tests, neuropsychological test, and brain imagining. Necessary medical
treatment will be provided if you are positively affected by the disease.
Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments
Medical treatment that is available for Alzheimer’s diseases
sufferers is done through the administering of certain drugs. To establish
communication between important cells in the brain, a
neurotransmitter-containing drugs, such as donepezil and rivastigmine, might be
administered to them. Another drug called memantine is also known for its
effectiveness in improving brain cell communication. Because people with this
disease often have behavioral problem, antidepressants might also be
administered to help reduce this problem.
There are also non-medical treatments available for them.
Creating supportive and safe environment in their home as well as planning
exercise and diet routine for them is the most effective one. There are also
some known alternative medicines for Alzheimer’s disease sufferers, including
vitamin E, curcumin, omega-3 fatty acids, and ginkgo. Most of those alternative
medicines are known for their beneficial effects for the brain. Although there
is no evidence that they can prevent or reverse Alzheimer’s disease, they are
proven to be able to slow down the progress of cognitive decline and to improve
the sufferers’ overall health.
