Alzheimer’s disease is a permanent and progressive brain disorder which slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Moreover, it attacks the ability to carry out daily routine works. It is the most common cause of dementia.

Dementia causes the loss of thinking, remembering, reasoning and behavioral abilities that interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.

There is currently no treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, but new medications and therapies appear to slow its progress and improve the patient’s ability to function.

Are you suffering from memory loss?

Are you confused in time and place?

Are you not recognized someone easily?

Are these following the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease? How can you treat or prevent yourself from this disease? Are there any precautions or prevention tips to cure Alzheimer?

Keep reading this article to solve all your queries of Alzheimer’s disease.

Do you know?  In India, there are more than 4 million people are suffering from dementia.

What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s is a brain disease which causes a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. There are the following warning signs and symptoms. If you notice any of them, consult your doctor as soon as possible.

• Memory loss that disrupts daily life
• challenges in planning or solving the problem
• Difficulty completing the familiar task at home or office
• Confusion with time or place
• Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationship
• Problems with words in speaking or writing
• Misplacing the things and losing the ability to retrace steps
• Decreased or poor judgment
• Withdrawal from work or social activities
• Changes in mood and personality

What are the stages of Alzheimer’s disease?

The progression of Alzheimer’s processed into three main stages:

• preclinical, before symptoms appear
• mild cognitive impairment, when symptoms are mild
• dementia

Fact:  Vegetarians have a higher risk of having Alzheimer’s disease because of the lack of efficiency of vitamin B-12. 

What are the causes of Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is caused by genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time.

The exact causes of Alzheimer’s disease are still not fully understood, but according to research, these diseases are mainly caused by problems with brain proteins (PLAQUES and TANGLES).

That fails to function normally, disrupt the work of brain cells (neurons) and lose a series of toxic events when neurons are damaged, lose connections to each other and eventually die.

The loss of neurons spreads in an unsurprising pattern to other regions of the brains. But in the late stage of the disease, the brain has shrunk significantly.

What are the risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease?

These are the following risk factors of Alzheimer’s are given below:

• Age
• Family history and genetics
• Down syndrome
• sex
• Mild cognitive impairment
• Past head trauma
• Poor sleep pattern
• Lifestyle and heart health
• Lifelong learning and social engagement

Alzheimer’s complications

• Memory and language loss,

• impaired judgment, and other

• Cognitive changes

• dental problem

• Notice or describe medication side effects

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses on its last stages, changes in the brain begin to affect physical functions, such as swallowing, balance, and bowel and bladder control.

These effects can increase weakness in additional health problems such as:

• Inhaling food or liquid into the lungs

• Pneumonia and other infections

• Falls

• Fractures

• Bedsores

• Malnutrition or dehydration

How can you prevent yourself from Alzheimer?

Doctors suggest that changes in diet, exercise and habits steps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It may also lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders that cause dementia. The healthy heart may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s include the following:

• Exercise regularly
• Eat a diet of fresh produce, healthy oils and foods low in saturated fat
• Manage high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol
• Quit smoking

How do doctors diagnose Alzheimer?

Laboratory and imaging tests help the doctor to characterize disease-causing dementia symptoms. Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed with these following tests:

• Physical and neurological exam
• Lab tests
• Mental status and neuropsychological testing
• Brain imaging
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Computerized tomography (CT)
• Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET 
• Amyloid PET imaging 
• Tau Pet imaging
• Future diagnostic tests

What are the treatments of Alzheimer?

These are the following treatments from which doctors can treat Alzheimer:

    1. Drugs

• Cholinesterase inhibitors
• Memantine (Namenda)
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Curcumin
• Ginkgo
• Vitamin E

   2. Creating a safe and supportive environment

   3. Clinical trials

   4. Alternative medicine

Summary

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia that seriously affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. This disease begins slowly. It first affects the parts of the brain that control your thoughts, memories, and language.

People with Alzheimer have trouble to remember recent occurrences or the names of people they know.

Doctors may treat this disease by some clinical tests or exams, but you can also prevent yourself from Alzheimer by making changes in your lifestyle routine.

• Tags:  
• Stages of Alzheimer
• Treatments of Alzheimer

Mahima Kumar