What is Alzheimer's disease?

Obomaxwell · October 7, 2020, 7:02am

About a year ago Mrs Susan Brown who is 65 years of age started having issues with remembering, it was just almost like normal forgetting where she kept her car key and sometimes forgetting to pay the bills, few months later, her problems with forgetting started growing worse, she will go to the office and forget lots of things that she’s supposed to do at the office, sometimes she even forget to go to the office, she didn’t even remember to pay for her light bills for the month.
Few months later, her beloved grandson came to spend Christmas with her, then the worse happened… upon seeing her daughter and her grandson, Susan couldn’t figure out that she had a grandson nor oletha her daughter, oletha decided to take her mother to the hospital to see what’s wrong…after series of diagnosis, the doctor informed oletha that her mom had developed Alzheimer’s disease… Alzheimer’s disease?, What is Alzheimer’s disease? oletha asked.

What is Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative https://howtodiscuss.com/t/neurotoxin/20295. disease that destroys memory https://howtodiscuss.com/t/memory/24951. and other important mental functions.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia ( a group of brain disorders that results in lose of intellectual and social skills) this changes are severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain cells themselves degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental functions.

Presently there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Current Alzheimer’s disease medications and management strategies may temporarily improve symptoms. This can sometimes help people with Alzheimer’s disease maximize mental function and maintain Independence. It is important to seek medication as early as possible because Alzheimer’s disease tends to worsen with time, this is because it involves progressive neurodegeneration.

Summary
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that progressively destroys brain cells and cause a steady decline mental capabilities.

Symptoms

At first, increasing forgetfulness
or mild confusion may be the only noticable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. But over time, the disease distorts more of memories especially recent memories. The rate at which symptoms worsen varies from person to person.
If you have Alzheimer’s disease, you may notice that you’re having unusual difficulty remembering things and organizing your thoughts. Or you may not recognize that anything is wrong. Even when changes are noticable to family members, co-workers and friends.

Memory degeneration

Everyone has occasional memory lapses, it’s Normal to lose track of where you put your keys or forget the name of of an acquaintance. But the memory lose associated with Alzheimer’s disease https://howtodiscuss.com/t/sickness/25405. persists and worsens, affecting ability to function at work and at home.

People with Alzheimer’s disease may;

repeat statement and questions over and over and over, not realizing that they’ve asked that question or that they’ve been answered.
routinely misplace possessions, often putting them in illogical https://howtodiscuss.com/t/logical-thinking/16342. locations.
forget conversation, appointments or events and not remember them later.
eventually when it becomes worse forget the names of family members and everyday objects.

Disorientation and misinterpreting spatial relationships

People with Alzheimer’s disease may lose their sense of what day it is, the season https://howtodiscuss.com/t/seasonality/16930., where they’re or even the current life circumstances.
Alzheimer’s disease may also disrupts the brain ability to to interpret what is seen, making it difficult for people with Alzheimer’s disease to understand their surrounding. This might get so worse that people with Alzheimer’s disease may get lost even in familiar places.

Speaking and writting

People with Alzheimer’s disease may have trouble finding the right words to identify objects, express thoughts or take part in conversation. Over time, the ability to read and write also declines https://howtodiscuss.com/t/declination/24331.

Thinking and reasoning

Alzheimer’s disease cause difficulty in concentrating and thinking, especially about abstract concepts like numbers. It may be challenging to manage finances, balance checkbooks and keep track of bills and pay them on time. These difficulty may progress to inability to recongnize and deal with numbers.

Making judgements and decisions

Responding effectively to everyday problems such as food Organic food. burning on the stove, or unexpected driving situations becomes increasingly challenging.

Planning performing familiar tasks

Once-routing activities that requires sequential steps, such as planning and cooking a meal or playing a favorite game, becomes a struggle as the disease progresses. Eventually, people with advanced Alzheimer’s disease may forget how to perform basic tasks such as dressing and bathing.

Changes in personality and behavior

The changes that occurs in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease can affect the way people with the disease acts and how they feel. People with Alzheimer’s disease may experience;

depression
mood swings
social withdrawal
delusions, such as believing something has been stolen when nothing is stolen.
irritability and aggressiveness
changes in sleeping habits
wandering
loss of inhibitions.

Many important skills https://howtodiscuss.com/t/skill/6893. are not lose until late in the disease. This includes the ability to read, dance and sing, enjoy old music, engage in crafts and hobbies, tell stories and reminisce. This is because information, skills and habits learned early in life are among the last ability to be lost as the disease progresses.

Stages of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, hence there are stages in the clinical manifestations.

Stage 1:normal outward behavior: when an individual is in this early phase, he won’t have any symptoms that can be spotted. Only a PET scan, an imaging test that show how the brain is working can reveal whether he’s got Alzheimer’s disease or not.

Stage 2; very mild changes:
You still might not notice anything amiss in the person’s behavior, but he may be picking up on small differences, things that are difficult to catch. This could include forgetting a word or misplacing objects. At this stage, subtle Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease don’t interfere with his ability to work or live independently.
NB this Symptoms are not perculiar to Alzheimer’s disease. It could also be as result of aging or something else.

Stage 3; mild decline
It’s at this point that noticable changes and symptoms starts manifesting such as;

forgetting something just read
asking the same question over and over and over
having more and more trouble and difficulty making plans or organizing
having difficulty remembering names when meeting new people.

Stage 4; moderate decline :
During this period, the difficulty in reasoning gets worse more serious manifestations such as;

forgetting what month or season it is
forgets details about himself
having trouble cooking Cooking. meals or even ordering from a menu…begins to appear.

Stage 5; moderately severe decline
During this period, symptoms like;

losing track of where one is.
forgetting address https://howtodiscuss.com/t/address/11849.
forgetting important details…begins to surface.

***Stage 6; severe decline ***
In this stage, more severe manifestations begins to surface such as delusions, thinking one’s wife for one’s mother.

Stage 7; very severe decline
In this stage many basic abilities in the patient such as; eating, walking and sitting up fades during this period.

Summary
The clinical Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are gradual and progressive… starting with been asymptomatic to mild forgetfulness and mild decline to a very severe decline in memory.

Causes

The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet known.but research have shown that possible Causes of Alzheimer’s disease could be; genetic, environmental, and ageing.

Summary
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet known.

Risk factors

Age Research have shown that increasing age is the greatest risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease. Research have shown that the rate of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia doubles every decade https://howtodiscuss.com/t/lost-decade/13757. after age 60.
down syndrome ( a genetic disorder)
genetics What is inheritance and gene expression?.
sex; the percentage of women developing Alzheimer’s disease is greater. This is because women lives longer than men.
mild congnitive impairment.
post head trauma.
poor nutrition ( especially vitamin difficiencies) .

Summary
Avoiding the risk factors is the key to successfully prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

Also read;
Get to know the Psychological Symptoms of Stress:.

What is cognitive psychology?.

Treatment and medications

Treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patient includes:

maintaining mental function
managing behavior
caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Drugs used in treating Alzheimer’s disease are ;
**Cholinesterase inhibitors: ** these drugs works by boasting levels of cell-to-cell communication chemicals depleted in the brain by Alzheimer’s disease. Most people can expect to keep their current Symptoms at bay for a time. Commonly pescribed cholinesterase inhibitors include; Rivastimine ( exelon), Donepezil (aricept) and galatamine (razadyne). The main side effects of these drugs include; diarrhea, nausea, sleep disturbances and increased non sympathetic effects.

**Mematine ( Namenda) ;**This drug works in another brain cell communication network and slows the progression of Symptoms with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. It’s sometimes used in combination with cholinesterase.

Prevention

consumption of fruit and vegetable juice. This have shown to decrease the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
berries contains high levels of biologically active components including a class of compound s called athocyanosides which fight memory impairment associated with free radicals and beta amyloid plaques in the brain. Eat berries everyday for maximum benefit.
keto diet have been found to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.
levels of docosahexanoic acid ( DHA) found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and tuna measured at baseline had lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease. These fishes are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids.
Take folic acid supplements
drink a glass of red wine or purple grape juice with your evening meal. Grape skin contains components that protects brain cells from the effects of oxidative stress and beta amyloid.
control blood pressure

NB: a lifestyle of exercise and a lifestyle of continous learning have been shown to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease.

Summary
Preventing Alzheimer’s disease from occurring is better than trying to cure it…hence engaging in a lifestyle that prevents the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is highly indicated.

Frequently asked questions

Is Alzheimer’s disease a ■■■■ sentence?
Nope, Alzheimer’s disease is not a ■■■■ sentence, Alzheimer’s disease is manageable. It can be managed with both drugs and social care.

Is Alzheimer’s disease the only cause of dementia ?
Alzheimer’s disease is not the only cause of dementia… there are other factors that can lead to dementia How to improve the memory.

Conclusion
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease which causes the brain cells to progressively degenerate and die. This leads to progressive degeneration in memory and mental functions causing memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the major cause of dementia. Someone suffering from Alzheimer’s disease normally have progressive forgetfulness that increases.
The diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease includes medical imaging and other series of tests but there is no very precise test for Alzheimer’s disease for now as scientists are still trying to come up with a very precise test for Alzheimer’s disease.
The best preventative measure one can take against Alzheimer’s disease is to avoid the risk factors.

What is Alzheimer's disease?