Alzheimer’s Disease

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible, age-related brain disorder that occurs gradually over time and results in memory loss, behavior and personality changes. It also causes a deterioration of thinking abilities.

What causes Alzheimer’s?

Scientists do not know for certain what actually causes AD, but there are certain factors that put people more at risk, including:

1) Age – Age is seen as the most substantial risk factor for AD. The number of cases doubles for every five years beyond age 65.

2) Family History – There is evidence that several risk factor genes may interact with each other to cause AD. Additionally, a rare form of AD called “familia Alheimer’s” usually occurs between ages 30 and 60 and can only be inherited.

3) Traumatic Brain Injury – A recent Mayo Clinic study found evidence that Alzheimer’s begins to develop much earlier in people who have previously suffered a head
injury.

 Symptoms

Since AD is a disease that progressively deteriorates one’s mental capacities, the symptoms can be broken down into three stages:

 Stage 1 (2 to 4 years before diagnosis)

• Trouble remembering recent events, activities, or the names of familiar people or things
• Inability to consistently solve simple math problems
• Trouble locating common places (getting lost on the way to work)
• Routine chores take longer to perform
• Loss of initiative
  

Stage 2 (2 to 10 years after diagnosis)

• Problems identifying close friends and family members
• Inability to find the right word, creating fictitious stories to fill the void
• May see or hear things that are not present
• Overly suspicious of loved ones (may believe close friends or family are hiding things or lying)
• Occasional muscle twitches and jerking
• Forgets when a meal was last eaten and then gradually loses interest in food in general
  

Stage 3 (Terminal Stage 1 – 3 Years)

• Very small capacity for self-care and maintenance
• Inability to control bowels and bladder
• Inability to communicate using words
• May have seizures, problems swallowing, and increased weight loss
• Requires full-time assistance and is unable to live independently
  

Treatments

There hasn’t been anything shown to stop Alzheimer’s, but there are measures that can be taken to slow its progress and treat the symptoms:

Prescription Drugs treat symptoms such as sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, and depression, making both patients and caregivers more comfortable.

o tacrine (Cognex)

o donepezil (Aricept)

o rivastigmine (Exelon)

o galantamine (Reminyl)

o memantine (Namenda)

Vitamin E has been shown to slow the progress of some consequences of AD by approximately seven months.