Tag: brain disorder

Tell Tale Signs Of Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder. Its gradual effects on the brain are relentless as a sufferer’s memory is progressively destroyed and along with it, the capability to learn, make judgments, and communicate. The disease will eventually make it difficult for the sufferer to even carry out normal daily tasks to the point of total disappearance of any capability.

It is a very difficult circumstance to be in, to watch a family member seemingly waste away bit by bit. The sufferer’s the struggle to maintain some form of sanity despite the condition is often too much for many relatives to bear that they, sadly, distance themselves from the sufferer instead of giving support.

It really pays to know more about Alzheimer’s and better understand the condition lest you find yourself or a member of your family in this type of situation. Knowing the warning signs early on can help you cope up with the disease earlier where there might still be some chance at minimizing the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s. Knowing what to look for will not only help you but also your friends or loved ones who might also have the odds against them in developing the said debilitating disease.

It is of the utmost important to understand some of the warning signs of Alzheimer’s. While memory loss is reasonable and is an expected symptom of aging, the type of memory loss symptoms of Alzheimer’s are significantly greater and are often accompanied or followed by other tell tale symptoms. People suffering this disease often have difficulty with general cognitive abilities such as communication, thinking, reasoning, comparing, and learning new skills.

Short-term memory is what Alzheimer’s disease usually affects first. Sufferers tend to forget family names and even how to perform simple daily tasks. However, long-term memory is somehow attained with Alzheimer’s disease where some patients may even retain the ability of remembering events from the past.

Another sign shown by patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease is the gradual loss of verbal communication skills. Instead of speaking up, sufferers will begin to communicate their feelings, preferences and needs through body language and facial expressions more frequently. Perception is another area that can be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

It may be difficult to set up a clear warning sign level as some of the symptoms exhibited by Alzheimer’s sufferers might just be a part of normal behavior. Such symptoms may even be related to another ailment entirely. But when you see such signs being exhibited by someone near to you or someone that you know, you should never be quick to rule out Alzheimer’s as a possible reason. Here are the ten basic warning signs for Alzheimer’s to always look out for:

Gradual loss of memory
Difficulty performing simple everyday tasks
Problems with language
Disorientation
Declining judgment
Inability to perform complex mental tasks
Misplacing certain everyday items
Noticeable behavioral changes
Increased confusion, fear and suspicion
Loss of initiative

As of the present there are no Alzheimer’s treatments that will totally cure, prevent or reverse the onset of the disease or its gradual progression. What doctors can do is try to treat many of the disease symptoms such as loss of memory. The good news is that as new discoveries about the disease are being made, it won’t be long before effective Alzheimer’s treatments will be made available.

Try to consult with a qualified physician in order to help eliminate some symptoms that might look like true Alzheimer’s and to effectively distinguish between the many other causes of dementia, some of which are completely treatable.

What to look out for in Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is a slow brain disorder the eats away the brain functions little by little. The disease develops completely between seven to 10 years. As it progresses, the disease affects various brain functions like memory, movement, judgment, abstract reasoning and even one’s behavior.

Because of the long development stage of the disease, Alzheimer’s has been categorized into three levels which described its progression. These are mild, moderate and severe. These categories defined the disease from early (mild) to middle (moderate) until the final (severe) stages of the disease.

During the early stages of the disease, the symptoms are less noticeable and are often times left unchecked and considered trivial by family members and even the patient themselves. Among the early and classic signs Alzheimer’s disease is the gradual loss of short-term memory.

At times, they find to be at lost while performing normal activities. Or they might get disoriented and get lost in places that they have been before. Also, at this stage, people afflicted with the disease may experience lapses of judgment and slight changes in personality. Mood swings and personality changes will start to worsen as the disease progress.

Moreover, attention span is reduced because of the presence of the brain disorder. People with Alzheimer’s tend to be less motivated to complete activities or tasks. Furthermore, they become more stubborn and would oppose changes and new challenges set forth before them.

These are the general conditions or symptoms of people with the disease. The symptoms vary from person to person. Moreover, some other symptoms include speech problems, failure to identify or recognize objects, no recalling how to use simple, ordinary things like a pencil, and not remembering to turn off the lights, stove, or even lock doors and windows. As the disease progresses so do the symptoms.

However, if one acquires or notice the presence of some of the symptoms it does not necessarily mean that one has already been afflicted with the disease. Loss of memory for example might be just a normal cause of aging or other normal factors. Memory loss in Alzheimer’s is more frequent.

People with the disease will more frequently forget words or names during conversations. And because they become conscious of their forgetfulness, they tend to avoid conversations and would rather keep quiet in order to avoid mistakes and embarrassments. They will then become withdrawn which can cause a myriad of other problems like depression and anti-social behaviors.

Other things that might happen are the discovery of things in odd places. One might find books inside freezers, clothes in dishwasher and even plates in washing machines. People with Alzheimer’s will ask questions repeatedly up to the point that it becomes irritating. They can be provoked quite easily and can surprisingly flare up in anger.

Even though no cure has yet been discovered or developed for Alzheimer’s, there are ways that have been created to delay the progression of the disease. Earlier symptoms of the disease respond well to various treatments.

Because the rate of progression differs from person to person, severe dementia occurs within five years to a decade after diagnosis. Because of present treatments and medications, some people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s can live more than 10 years after diagnosis. Some even live up to 20 years after the initial diagnosis was made.

It is a fact that most people with Alzheimer’s don’t die of the disease itself, but of infections and other tertiary diseases like pneumonia, or urinary tract infection or complications resulting from concussions.

Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of a mental disorder that is also known as “dementia”, a brain disorder that affects and seriously impedes the brain’s ability to process rational or normal thought. This usually results in limiting the amount of daily activities that require the use of cognitive abilities of its sufferers. Alzheimer’s is a debilitating disease because it affects the part of the brain that is responsible for thought, memory, and language.

Alzheimer’s is especially one of the most disabling diseases that can affect the older population. What makes Alzheimer’s disease a very serious affliction is that it is a progressive disorder that can slowly kill the irreplaceable nerve cells in the brain. Although Alzheimer’s is detected more often among patients over 60 years old, there are some individuals as young as 50 years of age who can show signs of Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease holds no boundaries. It can equally affect people of different cultures and is found to afflict both males and females in equal proportions. Not one particular test is known to be used for diagnosing Alzheimer’s. A variety of methods and tests are being used to diagnose 90 percent of Alzheimer’s cases. A 100 percent accuracy in diagnosing the disease can only be achieved upon autopsy to check for plaques and tangles in the sufferer’s brain.

The root cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet quite well understood despite the many years of research on the debilitating condition. Alzheimer’s is a complex disease that can be caused by a number of different influences.

The main cause of Alzheimer’s disease that researchers today have found out is damaged brain cells that die for unknown reasons. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease, which was first isolated by the German neurologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer, is the abnormal clumping together of brain cells. These clumps, also known as plaques, and knots or tangles which disrupt normal brain functioning, are considered as the main definitive characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Its Cause

Genetics are also being studied as a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Another possible cause of the disease is seen to be a slow developing viral infection that results in brain inflammation. Although the actual cause of Alzheimer’s disease may not yet be known and still in the discovery stages, there are a number of risk factors that is known to increase the likelihood of Alzheimer development.

Age is known as a risk cause of Alzheimer’s disease. As a person ages, the likelihood that he or she will develop Alzheimer’s also increases. The average age of diagnosis for Alzheimer’s is about 80 years old. Gender is also seen as involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease, but studies for this may still be inconclusive. The reason as to why the risk is seen to be greater in women is that they tend to live longer than the men.

Hereditary tendency is being looked into as another risk cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The presence of some defective genes and genetic mutations within the same bloodlines has also been seen to increase the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Another possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease that is being looked into is the malfunction of the immune system and protein imbalances that occur in the brain. Certain environmental factors such as the presence of aluminum in the home or workplace are also being put under investigation as a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s, not just an old man’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease, we’ve all hear of it but do we really understand the disease? According to statistics, there are about 350,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed each year in the United States.

Doing the math, you could have more than 4.5 million Americans by the year 2050 that would be affected by the disease. A grimmer outlook indicates that by 2025, there will be 34 million people worldwide Alzheimers disease.

Let’s tackle the issue step by step. Alzheimer’s disease is a known brain disorder that is progressive and irreversible. It is still not known where and how the disorder develops in the human brain neither is there any sure fire cure for the disease. What is known by medical scientists is that the disease attacks slowly.

It takes its time, gnawing slowly at the victims’ minds stealing memories and causing deterioration of brain functions. Alzheimer’s is a disease that causes irreversible dementia and is always fatal.

It was German psychiatrist Dr. Alois Alzheimer who first identified the disease. At first he noted the disease’s symptoms as “amnestic writing disordear,” however when later studies were conducted Dr. Alzheimer found out that the symptoms were more than ordinary memory loss. It was far worse.

Dr. Alzheimer found the presence of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in the brain. The good doctor presented his findings which were accepted by the medical community. And soon enough, by 1910 the name of the disease was accepted and became known as Alzheimer’s disease.

The most common early symptoms of the disease are confusion, being inattentive and have problems with orientation, personality changes, experiencing short-term memory loss, language difficulties and mood swings. Probably the most obvious and striking early symptom of Alzheimer’s is loss of short term memory.

At fist the victim will exhibits minor forgetfulness, but as the disease slowly progress he/she will start to forget a lot of things. However, older memories are oftentimes left untouched. Because of this, patients with Alzheimer’s will start to be less energetic and spontaneous. As the disease progress, they will have trouble learning new things and reacting on outside stimuli which gets them all confused and causes them to exercise poor judgment. This is considered Stage 1 of the disease.

At Stage 2 the patient will now need assistance in performing complicated tasks. Speech and understanding is evidently slower. At this stage, Alzheimer’s victims are already aware that they have the disease which causes a whole lot of problems like depression and restlessness.

At this point, only the distant past can be recalled and recent events are immediately forgotten. Patients will have difficulty telling time, date and where they are.

The final stage is of course the hardest, both for the patient and their family. At Stage 3 the patient will start to lose control of a lot of bodily functions like simple chewing and swallowing. He/she will start getting the needed nutrients through a tube. At Stage 3, the patient will no longer remember basically anyone.
They will lose bowel and bladder control and they will become vulnerable to third party infections and diseases like pneumonia.
Once the patient become bedridden, things will only get worse. Respiratory problems will become more terrible.

It is apparent that the patient will need constant care. At this point, the most one can do is to make sure that the patient stays as comfortable as possible. At the terminal stage, death is inevitable.