What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia. Dementia is a condition that describes a wide range of symptoms. Symptoms are related to physical and functional changes in the brain. Dementia often affects a person’s memory, thinking abilities, and personality. In the later stages, people with dementia have difficulty taking care of themselves.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults. However, other things can also cause dementia. Alzheimer’s disease usually affects people over the age of 65. People under the age of 65 can also develop Alzheimer’s disease. This is called early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Early-onset Alzheimer’s is not very common.
What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?
If you’re worried you or a loved one may have Alzheimer’s, there are 10 key symptoms to watch out for. Everyone is different and may have more or less of these 10 symptoms. Talk to your doctor if you notice 1 or more in yourself or a loved one.
- Memory loss affects daily life: Forget important dates or things you just learned or ask the same question over and over. Or you might rely more on reminder notes, technology, or other family members to remember things.
- Changes in ability to follow through on plans or solve problems: This may include having trouble focusing on one problem. It can also mean getting into trouble after a plan, such as a recipe. Or keep track of regularly scheduled tasks, such as paying a monthly bill.
- Changes in ability to complete familiar tasks: Alzheimer’s can make it hard to do things you used to do. For example, it can be difficult to do housework, run errands, or complete a routine task at work.
- Confusion about time or place: Losing track of elapsed time, day or day of the week, or forgetting where you are and how you got there.
- Problems with vision or understanding visual information: For example difficulty reading, identifying colors, judging distances or confused about what you see.
- Problems with words: This can include forgetting words in the middle of a conversation, repeating parts of a conversation, or mis-naming things.
- wrong item: This could mean putting things in unusual places, frequently losing things, not being able to go back to the steps to find lost items, and even accusing others of stealing.
- Bad judgment: For example, little attention is paid to appearance or cleanliness. It can also mean using poor judgment about money, such as giving large sums of money to a lawyer.
- Withdraw from activities: This may include withdrawing from social activities, work projects, or family gatherings. It can also mean giving up a favorite hobby, sport or activity.
- Mood and personality changes: Becoming unusually confused, suspicious, upset, depressed, fearful, or anxious. This can happen when in new or unfamiliar places.
Alzheimer’s disease is called progressive disease. This means that its symptoms usually start slowly and are mild. A person’s cognitive (brain) and functional (self-care) abilities get worse over time. In the later stages of the disease, people with Alzheimer’s disease are no longer able to communicate and are completely dependent on the care of others.
As the disease progresses, a person may experience health complications, including:
- Depression
- Unreported pain, illness or medication side effects (due to inability to communicate)
- Fall
- Pneumonia or other infection
- Malnutrition or dehydration
If you think a loved one may be experiencing any of the complications listed above, talk to their doctor. He or she can provide medication or other treatments to help your loved one feel comfortable.
What causes Alzheimer’s disease?
Doctors do not know what causes Alzheimer’s disease. One theory is that the disease develops when clumps of abnormal proteins develop in the brain. This growth can begin with many small changes in the brain. This often begins long before any noticeable symptoms appear. Over time, these changes add up. Eventually, brain cells are damaged and die.
In addition, doctors believe that a number of things increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Those risk factors include:
- Ages: The older you get, the higher your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. After age 65, your chances of developing Alzheimer’s double every 5 years.
- Genetics and family history: You’re more likely to get Alzheimer’s if you have a family history of it. Scientists also think that certain genes in your DNA may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Down syndrome: People with Down syndrome have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than the general population.
- Environmental/lifestyle factors: It’s likely that your environment and lifestyle habits also affect your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A history of head injury, heart or heart problems, diabetes, and obesity seem to increase your risk. To help prevent these health problems, wear a helmet when riding a bike, always wear a seat belt when in a car, establish a regular exercise routine, eat right, and avoid junk products. tobacco products.
Alzheimer’s disease also seems to be more common in women than men. Nearly two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s disease are women.
How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s can take some time. There is no test that can tell your doctor if you have the disease. Give your doctor plenty of information to help determine the cause of your symptoms. Your doctor may want to evaluate the following in you or your loved one:
- Medical history and current health
- Daily routine and any changes in your behavior
- Memory, problem solving, attention and language
- Lab tests, such as blood or urine tests
- Brain scans for problems, such as stroke, that may be causing symptoms
Based on this information, your doctor can almost always tell if you have dementia. Your doctor will likely tell you if Alzheimer’s disease is the cause. Alzheimer’s disease can only be diagnosed with certainty after death. That’s when the brain is examined under a microscope. The brain will show dramatic changes that only occur when Alzheimer’s disease is the cause.
If you’re concerned that you or a loved one may have some of the warning signs of Alzheimer’s, talk to your doctor. Early diagnosis will help you get treatment sooner. In addition, it will give you time to address caregiving, financial, and legal issues with your family.
Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Prevented or Avoided?
No one knows how to prevent or avoid Alzheimer’s disease. However, doctors believe that living healthy and keeping your brain active can help reduce your risk of the disease. Or it can delay its onset and progression. That means eating a healthy diet, drinking less alcohol, not smoking, and staying physically, socially and mentally active.
Screening can be valuable in the early detection of many diseases. However, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) states that there is insufficient current evidence to suggest that routine screening for cognitive impairment is helpful.
Alzheimer’s disease treatment
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Instead, treatment may focus on:
- Slows the progression of symptoms, such as memory loss
- Address behavioral changes, such as depression and aggression
- Helps relieve other symptoms, such as sleep problems
Several medications are currently used to treat the memory and behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. These drugs do not prevent the disease. They may not work for everyone or may only help for a short time. These include:
- cholinesterase inhibitors approved to treat early and moderate stages of Alzheimer’s dementia. Typical side effects of this drug include diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
- memantine is a drug approved to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. It can be used alone or in addition to a cholinesterase inhibitor. It can cause side effects such as dizziness and headache.
Your doctor may recommend or prescribe medication to change behavior. The type of medication will depend on the behavior and severity of the problem. Over-the-counter medications may include pain relievers. Prescription medications may include antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and sleeping pills.
Medicines don’t always help with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. Non-drug treatments for people with Alzheimer’s often include managing the loved one’s environment and establishing routines that help reduce stress and anxiety.
Some commonly used medications can worsen symptoms of dementia. Review your medications with your doctor to see if they may need to be changed or stopped.
Living with Alzheimer’s
The life expectancy of a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease varies from person to person. Most people live 4 to 8 years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Some live with the disease for up to 20 years. Death does not occur from the disease but from its complications.