Disease and Treatment of Alzheimer
What is Alzheimer Disease (AD)?
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time. Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. The biggest risk factor for having Alzheimer’s disease is increasing age, with three in ten people over 85 having dementia. Symptoms can be treated with medication, but there is no cure.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease is poorly understood. It's recorded about 70% of the risk is believed to be genetic with many genes usually involved. Other risk factors include :
a family history of the condition
previous severe head injuries
lifestyle factors and conditions associated with cardiovascular disease.
The Alzheimer's disease process is associated with plaques and tangles in the brain. These plaques impair synapses so signals cannot pass between brain cells. Tangles kill brain cells by preventing the normal transport of food and energy around the brain cell. Both of this situation causing a declining ability to cope with everyday life as brain cells die. As brain cells die the brain shrinks, which can be detected using imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information. For example, this could be forgetting about recent conversations or events, and forgetting the names of places and objects. Other symptoms may include:
Diagnosis and Test for Alzheimer's disease
The diagnosis is made only after careful clinical consultation, usually diagnosed based on the person's medical history, history from relatives, and behavioural observations. However, a timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can give you the best chance to prepare and plan for the future, as well as receive any treatment or support that may help.
Some test procedure may help the doctor to put the diagnose of Alzheimer's disease such as ;
- Neuropsychological tests (mini–mental state examination (MMSE) are widely used to evaluate the cognitive impairments)
- Blood and urine tests (identify other causes for dementia)
- Lumbar puncture for cerebral spinal fluid tests
- Medical imaging (MRI, PET)
Having trouble with memory does not mean someone have Alzheimer's. Many health issues can cause problems with memory and thinking. These tests will help to eliminate other conditions with similar symptoms such as nutritional deficiencies or depression.
Treatment of Alzheimer's Diasease
As we have explain in the begining, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. But medication is available that can help relieve some of the symptoms and slow down the progression of the condition in some people. Five medications are currently used to treat the cognitive problems of AD: four are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, rivastigmine, galantamine and donepezil) and the other (memantine) is an NMDA receptor antagonist. The benefit from their use is small. No medication has been clearly shown to delay or halt the progression of the disease.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease is poorly understood. It's recorded about 70% of the risk is believed to be genetic with many genes usually involved. Other risk factors include :
The Alzheimer's disease process is associated with plaques and tangles in the brain. These plaques impair synapses so signals cannot pass between brain cells. Tangles kill brain cells by preventing the normal transport of food and energy around the brain cell. Both of this situation causing a declining ability to cope with everyday life as brain cells die. As brain cells die the brain shrinks, which can be detected using imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information. For example, this could be forgetting about recent conversations or events, and forgetting the names of places and objects. Other symptoms may include:
- Emotional unpredictability
- Vagueness in everyday conversation
- Forgetting well-known people or places
- Taking longer to do routine tasks
- Apparent loss of enthusiasm for previously enjoyed activities
- Inability to process questions and instructions
- Deterioration of social skills
- hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren't there) and delusions (believing things that are untrue
Diagnosis and Test for Alzheimer's disease
The diagnosis is made only after careful clinical consultation, usually diagnosed based on the person's medical history, history from relatives, and behavioural observations. However, a timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can give you the best chance to prepare and plan for the future, as well as receive any treatment or support that may help.
Some test procedure may help the doctor to put the diagnose of Alzheimer's disease such as ;
- Neuropsychological tests (mini–mental state examination (MMSE) are widely used to evaluate the cognitive impairments)
- Blood and urine tests (identify other causes for dementia)
- Lumbar puncture for cerebral spinal fluid tests
- Medical imaging (MRI, PET)
Having trouble with memory does not mean someone have Alzheimer's. Many health issues can cause problems with memory and thinking. These tests will help to eliminate other conditions with similar symptoms such as nutritional deficiencies or depression.
Treatment of Alzheimer's Diasease
As we have explain in the begining, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. But medication is available that can help relieve some of the symptoms and slow down the progression of the condition in some people. Five medications are currently used to treat the cognitive problems of AD: four are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (tacrine, rivastigmine, galantamine and donepezil) and the other (memantine) is an NMDA receptor antagonist. The benefit from their use is small. No medication has been clearly shown to delay or halt the progression of the disease.
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