The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible and destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. Dr. Alois Alzheimer first identified the disease in 1906. He described the two hallmarks of the disease: “plaques,” which are numerous tiny, dense deposits scattered throughout the brain that becomes toxic to brain cells at excessive levels, and “tangles,” which interfere with vital processes, eventually choking off the living cells. When brain cells degenerate and die, the brain markedly shrinks in some regions.
The effects of Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a fatal disease that eventually affects all aspects of a person’s life: how they think, feel, and act. Each person is affected differently. It’s hard to predict symptoms, the order in which they will appear, or the speed of their progression.
The following are some of the changes you may expect as the disease progresses.
Cognitive and functional abilities: a person’s ability to understand, think, remember and communicate will be affected. This could impact an individual’s ability to make decisions, perform simple tasks, or follow a conversation. Sometimes people lose their way, or experience confusion and memory loss, initially for recent events and eventually for global events.
Emotions and moods: a person may appear apathetic and lose interest in favourite hobbies. Some people become less expressive and withdrawn.
Behaviour: a person may have reactions that seem out of character. Some common reactions include repeating the same action or words, hiding possessions, physical outbursts, and restlessness.
Physical abilities: the disease can affect a person’s coordination and mobility, to the point of affecting their capacity to perform day-to-day tasks such as eating, bathing and getting dressed.
Treatment: Several medications can help with symptoms such as memory decline, changes in language, thinking abilities and motor skills. Although there is still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, those who respond to these treatments can experience improvements in their quality of life for several years.If you or someone you know is diagnosed with the disease, you can live meaningfully and actively for many years. Eating a heart-healthy diet, regularly exercising, staying socially connected and doing things that challenge your brain also help slow disease progression. While medications may not work well for everyone, they are most useful in the early stages of the disease. That’s why early diagnosis is important. Familial Alzheimer’s disease accounts for less than 5% of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease.
More about Alzheimer’s disease
- Eating a heart-healthy diet, regularly exercising, staying socially connected and doing things that challenge your brain also help slow disease progression. While medications may not work well for everyone, they are most useful in the early stages of the disease. That’s why early diagnosis is important.
- Familial Alzheimer’s disease accounts for less than 5% of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain. It most often occurs in people over 65, but can affect people in their 40s and 50s.
- Alzheimer’s disease remains incurable. However, medications, support and care early in the illness can help manage symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- Not necessarily memory loss means Alzheimer’s disease. However, if memory loss affects your day-to-day ability to function, communicate or is accompanied by a decrease in judgment or reasoning ability, it’s best to see your doctor immediately.
- There is no conclusive evidence to shows that. Aluminum causes Alzheimer’s disease.
- No single treatment can prevent it. Exercising your mind and body, eating a heart-healthy diet, reducing stress and staying socially active may all contributing to reducing your risk.
- There have been many studies on vitamins E, B, and C, gingko biloba, folate, and selenium in preventing dementia. The findings have been inconclusive.
