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.

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.

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.