Alzheimer's disease - what you must know

About Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease, Alzheimer’s or simply AD is one of themost common types of dementia. This medical condition is very common, and almost24 millions of people all over the world suffer from this disease.

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease are usually older peopleand most of them are over 65 years of age. The disease starts long before it isdiagnosed, and early signs of this disease may involve short-term loss ofmemory. Many times, people think this happens because of the aging or some kindof stress the person is exposed to, not recognizing the Alzheimer’s. Withfurther development of the disease, patients may experience mood swings,confusion, anger, language problems and some long-term loss of memory. Decline ofsenses and loss of minor and major bodily functions are also something thatwill eventually happen in these patients. However, it is very hard to predictall symptoms, because each patient experiences Alzheimer’s symptomsdifferently.

AD is the disease which usually lasts for 5 to 20 years, andthere are no exact causes of the disease identified so far. Scientists discoveredprotein plaques and tangles in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients, which areblamed for the problem, but this is only current theory. Doctors diagnoseAlzheimer’s disease with the help of some cognitive tests and behavioral assessment.In most cases, doctors will need the brain scan to confirm the AD diagnosis.

Treatment for Alzheimer’s

Patients suffering from AD can’t be cured, for this isdegenerative and terminal disease for which doctors have no cure. Currenttreatment options are medications which should slow further progression of thedisease, but it is uncertain if they actually work.

There are some recommended preventive measures, recommendedfor decrease of the progression and severity of the AD symptoms. Regular exercise,proper nutrition and mental stimulation are used to manage the disease. Sincethere is no way to resolve this medical problem, the most important thing withAlzheimer’s patients is care management.

Mediterranean diet, rich in fruit, vegetables, cereals, red vine,olive oil and fish might decrease the risk or ease symptoms of existing Alzheimer’sin some patients, as well as the regular intake of vitamins B, C and E. Certainintellectual activities, like chess, crossword puzzles, and also bilingualismand regular social interaction may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Some treatments, such as hormone replacement therapy formenopausal women and ginkgo remedies, were thought to prevent this disease, butrecent studies haven’t proved these facts.