Showing posts with label alzheimer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alzheimer. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Remedy and Attention for Alzheimers Patients

Numerous breakthroughs and essential discoveries are already discovered throughout the years of research and testing regarding the remedy and remedy of Alzheimers illness. Despite that though, there remains no recognized remedy or prevention for Alzheimers. Furthermore, once the illness has started, there can be no repairing or slowing down the harm of abnormal deposits of proteins within the brain.

Individuals with Alzheimers have abnormal deposits of protein in their brains. These brain protein coat the brain and interacts with the neurons, neurotransmitters and nerves, causing harm and massive atrophy. At some point, the brain will continue to shrink and also the otherwise wrinkled surface will begin to smoothen out. This is basically what causes the degeneration within the mind and within the person's body.

There nevertheless are some drugs and remedies that seem to relieve symptomatic conditions slightly in some instances. These drugs and Alzheimers remedies are particularly essential during the onset and early stages from the illness when the sufferer can nevertheless be familiar with what he or she is going via.

For instance, a individual with Alzheimers at the early stages might suffer from depression or restlessness and particular drugs and Alzheimers remedies could be administered to assist with this somewhat. Also, there were some instances where memory loss at the beginning of dementia can nevertheless be improved somehow. Other feasible symptoms that can be momentarily alleviated are sleep disorders and hallucinations.

Beyond these, the correct Alzheimers remedy of caregivers for patients is really a extremely specialized skill and must be administered by a expert. This will mean that the affected person will at some point have to be entrusted in institutionalized attention for the correct Alzheimers remedy required.

Of course, loved ones from the Alzheimers affected person may wish to administer attention personally but the attention and Alzheimers remedy required by the affected person is going to be full time and specialized so it's greatest for a expert caregiver to make sure dignity is maintained throughout the course from the person's illness.

Despite the present lack of Alzheimers remedy and remedy, hope ought to never be abandoned. After all the technological advancements that have been made within the field of science and medicine, it most likely won't be long prior to the correct Alzheimers remedy and remedy is going to be discovered.

If not the remedy or Alzheimers remedy, then possibly the techniques of prevention against Alzheimers is going to be discovered to assist other individuals not fall into this predicament. Possibly within the near future, there will be vaccines for Alzheimers illness much like everyone has vaccines against illnesses like small pox and the like. All those illnesses in the past posed a challenge to humanity then just like Alzheimers does now.

In the meantime, should you or someone you know and attention about suffers from Alzheimers, it is best to consult a expert for feasible choices for instance for eventual institutional attention, or for support groups or counseling advice that may be given to the affected person and to his or her friends.

There may be some misconceptions and even some difficulty in accepting the situation of this illness be it assisting the affected person or from the individuals around her or him. For situations for example these, the correct counseling and guidance is required included in the correct Alzheimers remedy.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Different Reasons Behind Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a kind of a mental disorder that is also called "dementia", a brain disorder that affects and seriously impedes the brain's ability to process rational or normal thought. This usually results in limiting the quantity of daily activities that require the usage of cognitive abilities of its sufferers. Alzheimer's is a debilitating disease because it affects the part of the brain that is responsible for thought, memory, and language.

Alzheimer's is especially one of the most disabling diseases that can affect the older population. What makes Alzheimer's disease a very serious affliction is that it's a progressive disorder that can slowly kill the irreplaceable nerve cells in the brain. Although Alzheimer's is detected more often among patients over 60 years old, there are several individuals as young as 50 years of age who can show signs of Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's disease holds no boundaries. It can equally affect people of different cultures and is found to afflict both males and females in equal proportions. Not one particular test is proven to be used for diagnosing Alzheimer's. A variety of methods and tests are being used to diagnose 90 percent of Alzheimer's cases. A 100 percent accuracy in diagnosing the disease can only be achieved upon autopsy to check for plaques and tangles in the sufferer's brain.

The root cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet quite well understood despite the years of research on the debilitating condition. Alzheimer's is a complex disease that may be caused by a number of different influences.

The main cause of Alzheimer's disease that researchers today have found out is damaged brain cells that die for unknown reasons. The cause of Alzheimer's disease, which was first isolated by the German neurologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer, is the abnormal clumping together of brain cells. These clumps, also called plaques, and knots or tangles which disrupt normal brain functioning, are considered as the main definitive characteristics of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's Disease and Its Cause

Genetics are also being studied as a possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. Another possible cause of the disease is seen to be a slow developing viral infection that results in brain inflammation. Although the actual cause of Alzheimer's disease may not yet be known and still in the discovery stages, there are a number of risk factors that is known to increase the likelihood of Alzheimer development.

Age is called a risk cause of Alzheimer's disease. As a person ages, the likelihood that he or she will develop Alzheimer's also increases. The average age of diagnosis for Alzheimer's is about 80 years old. Gender is also seen as involved in the introduction of Alzheimer's disease, but studies for this may still be inconclusive. The reason as to the reasons the risk is seen to be greater in women is that they tend to live longer than the men.

Hereditary tendency is being looked into as another risk cause of Alzheimer's disease. The existence of some defective genes and genetic mutations within the same bloodlines been specifically seen to increase the introduction of Alzheimer's disease.

Another possible cause of Alzheimer's disease that is being looked into is the malfunction of the immune system and protein imbalances that occur in the brain. Certain environmental factors such as the presence of aluminum in your home or workplace are also being put under investigation just as one cause of Alzheimer's disease.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Different Stages Of Alzheimer

Medical science has determined lots of things through the years. It has discovered various diseases and its causes. Unfortunately, you may still find a lot of unknowns. Doctors are unable to determine the reason for cancer, the cure for AIDS and even something that called Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is regarded as a disorder that will affect one's mental and physical state. It normally happens to people 65 years of age and above that can affect anyone regardless of sex.

There are seven known stages for this type of disorder and it only gets worse as time goes by.

In the first stage, the individual and those around will not notice anything wrong. The person may forget a few things, which everyone experiences so there isn't any cause for alarm yet.

During the second stage, the person may already feel something wrong as this memory lapses happen more frequently. Again, you don't have yet to be alarmed because people tend to forget things due to aging.

The third stage it's time when someone can be suspected of having this disease. The person will falter at work or be unable to accomplish some simple tasks and people will take notice of these changes.

In the fourth stage, the individual can no longer handle certain activities and will require the assistance of those around to accomplish it.

The fifth stage is what doctors describe to be moderate Alzheimer's disease. The individual will not only forget other people but also be unable to recall certain facts about oneself. There will also be periods of disorientation.

In the sixth stage better known as moderately severe Alzheimer's, there will already mood swings. The patient may be happy and in the next minute appear hostile to those around. There will also be fecal and urinary incontinence as being a baby who is not yet toilet trained.

The seventh and final stage is called severe Alzheimer's. The individual will be unable to speak much and do anything anymore. The patient will probably just stare into space so there will be times that those around will have to carry and force feed every single child stay alive.

Alzheimer's disease happens gradually. The thing people can do is slow down the process before it gets to the succeeding stage by using drugs and giving proper care to the patient.

As the patient's condition gets worse, the person is no longer treated as a human being by merely as a subject with the disorder. This shouldn't be the case given that the individual at point in life accomplished a lot of things and never wanted this to happen in the end.

There are more than four million people in america that are diagnosed with this disorder. This number will definitely grow in the years to come as more Americans will reach the retirement age.

Anyone who has family members who are suffering from this disease should find out about the various stages every single child understand what the patient is going through to give the proper help.

There are books and other information on the internet as well as support groups since this disease affects not only the patient but also anyone who has to live with it.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Detect Symptoms Of Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer's is a disease that robs thousands of people each year of their memories, their personalities, and the ability to complete daily activities. The disease can greatly affect the quality of life of every sufferer in addition to those people around him, most especially immediate family members.

For a long time, most people believe that there's nothing that could be done to prevent this awful disease. People came to accept it due to deteriorating of mental abilities due to age. It was considered as simply something that people had to cope up with when approaching their golden years of life. But doctors today have discovered and now consider Alzheimer's as a disease that may be treated up to some extent.

The hallmark sign associated with Alzheimer's disease is the gradual loss of memory especially in people of 65 years and older. Although forgetfulness is a sign of the said disease, it should also be noted that we now have other signs that may also indicate the onset of this ailment. Before picking out your own conclusions, it is advisable to know more about Alzheimer's through its exhibited signs, how it may be diagnosed and how it is going to affects the sufferer.

Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can be done through a series of tests. The patient exhibiting some signs of the disease must undergo a variety of laboratory tests, such as physical and mental assessments. As of late, there isn't any known single test available that will effectively diagnose Alzheimer's in patients.

But with recent developments and advances in the medical field, doctors have been able to devise a set of Alzheimer's disease testing tools that can assist in effectively detect symptoms of the disease in its earlier stages.

As of yet, there is no single definitive test that has the capacity to determine if one has Alzheimer's disease. But it really is a battery of testing that is available that makes it possible for physicians to diagnose Alzheimer's with about 90 percent accuracy. Such battery of tests can take anywhere from one day to several weeks so that you can ensure accuracy and the proper diagnosis.

Among the various tests available there is a bouquet of tests that has recently been developed that will further help make diagnosing Alzheimer's disease easier. A professor of psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has developed a new tool for testing called the Seven Minute Screen that can test people for the early signs of Alzheimer's disease in addition to other forms of dementia.

The said test, developed by Paul Solomon, is really a set of four tests that can be administered to patients in just less than ten minutes, may also be completed on average of just seven minutes and forty three seconds. What makes the said test even more convenient is that it may be administered by any medical professional with more than an hour of basic training.

The short time that it takes for completing the whole test is an attractive option for doctors who may not have the luxury of time when they're diagnosing patients with Alzheimer's.

This kind of test is only a part of a much larger effort by medical researchers to develop better ways of detecting Alzheimer's early. A likely option that some researchers are trying to look into is the use of brain scanning technology such as magnetic resonance imaging or MRI to identify even the smallest damage to the brain before any impairment in cognitive ability ever show up in people likely to develop Alzheimer's. Other possible approaches being studied involve looking for gene abnormalities in patients which have been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Alzheimer- A Degenerative Problem

As uncommon as the name of the disease sounds, its prevalence and incidence rates are not. In fact, almost four million people in the united states are affected by this problem. All can be affected, men or women, across all social status and economic position in life.

Alzheimer's is a progressive and degenerative problem under the umbrella of diseases called dementia. It is characterized by disorientation and impaired memory. It is apparently caused by an attack in the brain, affecting one's memory, thinking skills and judgment. Most patients will experience a change in language ability, in the manner they use their mental processes not to mention their behavior.

While anybody can be affected by this problem, only those that are older than age 65 experience the lagging in their thinking skills. Still, there are several who gets Alzheimer's even when they're just 30 years old but these cases are very rare and can only account for a small percentage of the total number of cases. One out of 10 people over the age 65 has Alzheimer's and nearly half of these patients are over 85 years old. In a national survey conducted in america, almost 19 million Americans have one family member who suffers from this dreaded problem.

As well as old age, family history of dementia can also predispose someone to the disease. This is because Alzheimer's is considered caused by a problem in the genetic mutations. Still, when you study the cases, Alzheimer's is commonly the result of a host of other factors besides genes. In fact, environmental factors such as hobbies and mental pursuits are things that can assist prevent the onset of the problem.

What is difficult with Alzheimer's is the fact its symptoms are basically the same with ordinary signs of old age. At the start, there will be some memory loss. The person with Alzheimer's will also experience confusion and disorientation even with things that they're used to doing. The trick is to make sure that one can recognize what a normal memory loss is against something of Alzheimer's caliber.

Often, you will see a gradual memory loss. They will find it hard to read or to write or to think clearly. After which they will experience a decline in a chance to perform tasks that are already automatic and routinary. Believe it or not, in cases that are already in the terminal stage, the patient may even forget how to brush their teeth or using a spoon and fork, something that is really pretty basic with many people.

This is one example of the difference of Alzheimer's from ordinary memory loss. Forgetfulness will not affect tasks that are routinary. There will also be difficulty in learning new things and in memorizing things. Some patients may even forget the language that they're speaking with while others will no longer recognize their family. Personality will change the way they communicate with other people and the way they behave.

There is actually no change in personality as such but due to the problems in their memory, they may appear aloof and suspicious perhaps because they cannot recognize the people that they know before. Some may even become extremely fearful and passive for the simple realization they cannot remember you. As the disease worsens, the patient will then become so incapable of taking care of themselves that they can require help even in eating and in sleeping.