Tag: memory loss

Alzheimers Information

Unbelievably, one out of ten people over the age of 65 have Alzheimers disease. In fact, in a recent statistic polls, almost 19 million Americans suffer one way or the other from this dreaded progressive disease. Below are some information that you will find useful about the disease.

What is Alzheimers disease?

Alzheimers disease is a degenerative problem characterized by memory loss as well as loss in thinking skills. It is actually part of a constellation of memory and brain problems called dementia. It can lead to behavioral changes, loss of language skills, disorientation, confusion and increasing dependency. Most experts believe that Alzheimers is caused by a problem in the genetic make-up and is often associated with old age.

What are the signs and symptoms of Alzheimers disease?

What is however difficult with this problem is the fact that the onset of the disease will often manifest in symptoms often associated with forgetfulness when getting old. What separates this problem though is the fact that people with Alzheimers will eventually even forget normal routines and simple tasks. For instance, patients with Alzheimers can forget how to hold a spoon and fork while others will forget how to brush their teeth and take a bath. Believe it or not, some medical experts even say that some even forget hoe to breathe, something which comes quite naturally with a person.

One problem though with this is the fact that one can actually have no way of knowing whether it is ordinary forgetfulness or Alzheimers when it is just in the initial stages. It can start with ordinary forgetting of names and faces until it progresses to something major that can render the person totally incapacitated.

Who are affected by Alzheimers disease?

Although there are cases of Alzheimers that affected people in their 30s, most patients are over the age of 65 and a vast majority is over the age of 85. In addition to old age, experts believe that a family history of the same problem or of dementia may predispose someone to the disease. This is because experts pinpoint a defect in the genetic make up of the person who has Alzheimers disease.

People who are not much into mental pursuits or work that do not much involve mental strains will also most likely develop the disease compared to people who often stretch their mental muscles. In fact, one of the way to prevent the onset of dementia is to exercise the brain all the time especially during old age.

Even when one is already retired from work, old people should not forget to still use their minds by engaging in mental pursuits such as reading, answering crossword puzzles and even playing board games.

How do you diagnose Alzheimer’s Disease?

As mentioned earlier, it is extremely difficult for a person to differentiate an ordinary case of forgetfulness and dementia at the beginning of the progression. Some of the symptoms of the disease such as slow mental processing and forgetfulness may be attributed to other problems such as thyroid gland problems, reactions to medications that are being taken, and even just a normal aging process.

To really ensure that the problem is indeed Alzheimers, doctors rule out other possibilities and conduct series of tests. The only way actually to conclusively determine the presence of Alzheimers is to examine a cross section of the brain tissue when a person is already dead.

Finding caregivers for people with Alzheimers disease

One of the most dreaded diseases in old age is Alzheimers disease. Although unlike cancer and heart problem, this is actually not fatal. In fact, people with Alzheimers can live for a long time with proper care. That is actually the problem most of the time.

With Alzheimers disease, the patient need to be taken cared of all the time. This is because the memory loss will often render the patient incapable of thinking and reasoning. Some will even forget how to do the simplest of tasks, like brushing their teeth and even eating with a spoon and fork.

Alzheimers is a progressive and degenerative disease that affects the brain. The problem often leads to massive memory loss not only in terms of ones memories but also ones learning. Patients will forget everything that they have learned even routinary tasks that they have learned when they were just tots. Some people will also find it hard to learn new things and may even lose their language abilities. They will have difficulties in their speech and in their writing.

Because of this, caring for a patient with Alzheimers disease can be extremely difficult. It is actually like caring for a newborn babe but while a baby will slowly learn to function independently, patients with Alzheimers will lose what they have learned and will slowly become more and more dependent with their caregivers. Thus, it is important to find a caregiver that is both professionally-capable and caring as they will determine the progress that the patient will have as well as their over all condition and behavior.

Here are some tips in finding a good caregiver for an Alzheimers patient.

Choose a professional

It is good to look for a person that is already well experienced in caring for people with Alzheimers. Not only will their experience come in handy when it comes to dealing with the patients medicines and medical routines, they will also be more patient because of prior knowledge.

One problem though in hiring these kinds of people is the money that you will shell out for their salaries. Private nurses and caregivers are expensive enough as it is without adding the burden of a specialization. If you just cannot afford to hire someone with enough experience, try one who has worked with old people and then give him or her materials that will make them familiar with the basics of the disease.

Choose someone you know

Nothing beats hiring someone that you already know or someone that you have already seen working. Patients with Alzheimers will have a lot of quirks and behavior that can be extremely irritating and difficult to deal with. Thus, it is important that you choose someone that you know will have a lot of patience and care.

Of course, if a member of the family can spare the time for the patient, that is good. If not, you can ask for recommendations from people that you know. Chances are they know someone who can take care of a patient with Alzheimers.

Choose someone strong

Although this is actually not a major issue, it is also important that you choose someone who can deal with the patient and the often back breaking tasks. Remember that because the patient is full- dependent on the person, they will sometimes need to carry them or guide them when walking.

What Exactly is Alzheimers?

As uncommon as the name of the disease sounds, its prevalence and incidence rates are not. In fact, almost four million people in the United States are affected by this problem. All can be affected, men or women, across all social status and economic position in life.

Alzheimers is a progressive and degenerative problem under the umbrella of diseases called dementia. It is characterized by disorientation and impaired memory. It is apparently caused by an attack in the brain, affecting ones memory, thinking skills and judgment. Most patients will experience a change in language ability, in the way they use their mental processes and of course their behavior.

While anybody can be affected by this problem, only those that are older than age 65 experience the lagging in their thinking skills. Still, there are some who gets Alzheimers even when they are just 30 years old but these cases are very rare and can only account for a small percentage of the total number of cases. One out of 10 people over the age 65 has Alzheimers and nearly half of these patients are over 85 years old. In a national survey conducted in the United States, almost 19 million Americans have one family member who suffers from this dreaded problem.

In addition to old age, family history of dementia can also predispose someone to the disease. This is because Alzheimers is said to be caused by a problem in the genetic mutations. Still, when you study the cases, Alzheimers is commonly the result of a host of other factors besides genes. In fact, environmental factors such as hobbies and mental pursuits are things that can help prevent the onset of the problem.

What is difficult with Alzheimers is the fact that its symptoms are basically the same with ordinary signs of old age. At the beginning, there will be some memory loss. The person with Alzheimers will also experience confusion and disorientation even with things that they are used to doing. The trick is to make sure that one can recognize what a normal memory loss is against something of Alzheimers caliber.

Often, there will be a gradual memory loss. They will find it hard to read or to write or to think clearly. After which they will experience a decline in the ability to perform tasks that are already automatic and routinary. Believe it or not, in cases that are already in the terminal stage, the patient may even forget how to brush their teeth or how to use a spoon and fork, something that is really pretty basic with a lot of people.

This is one example of the difference of Alzheimers from ordinary memory loss. Forgetfulness will not affect tasks that are routinary. There will also be difficulty in learning new things and in memorizing things. Some patients may even forget the language that they are speaking with while others will no longer recognize their family. Personality will change in terms of the way they communicate with other people and the way they behave.

There is actually no change in personality per se but because of the problems in their memory, they may appear aloof and suspicious perhaps because they cannot recognize the people that they know before. Some may even become extremely fearful and passive for the simple fact that they cannot remember you. As the disease worsens, the patient will then become so incapable of taking care of themselves that they will require help even in eating and in sleeping.

Understanding Alzheimers Better

Alzheimers information is important for individuals who may be at the first stages of this disease. However, it is also very important for friends, family and caregivers of people with Alzheimers disease to have enough Alzheimers information to be able to understand the process of the progression of the disease as well as what to expect and what is the best care and treatment for this.

To understand Alzheimers more, we need to look at and understand dementia. Dementia is a mental disorder characterized by the loss of cognitive abilities. It is an extremely debilitating disease that afflicts some individuals in their old age. Alzheimers information shows that Alzheimers disease is the most common form of this disorder that greatly impairs normal mental operations.
There is no certain prevention or cure for Alzheimers disease right now but continuous studies and tests are being made toward this endeavor because according to Alzheimers information, this disease is irreversible. The disease also continues to progress into different stages and symptoms of this worsen over time.

One of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimers is short term memory loss. It then progresses into a gradual decline of other cognitive abilities. After the disease has progressed further, one may notice a marked change in the sufferer’s behavior and at the very last stages of the disease, the individual with Alzheimers will have to depend on others for simple activities such as eating and mobility.

Alzheimers information tells us that the course of the disease varies from person to person with a range of five to twenty years. Alzheimers eventually ends in death due to complications and infections.

Although more and more Alzheimers information has been collated and researched throughout the years, the progress has been steady but slow. For instance, the Alzheimers information on what causes the disease is still uncertain. There are some major hypotheses that seem to revolve around two factors: genetic or hereditary and a complex environmental interaction.

Alzheimers information shows us that it is primarily a disease that affects the brain. It is in the abnormalities in the brain that result in massive atrophy of the brain’s neurotransmitters, nerves and neurons. From these stem the malfunctions that begin with short term memory loss to sever impairment to memory and the loss of motor skills and other normal bodily functions.

An abnormally large deposit of protein in the brain causes the massive atrophy. The absolute detection of Alzheimers can only really be done post mortem through an autopsy where the brain is examined and it shows a significant amount of shrinkage and a smoothening of the usual brain wrinkles.

However, one need not wait for an autopsy to find out whether one is suffering from Alzheimers disease or not. With modern Alzheimers information, one can have an 85 % to 90% accuracy in the diagnosis of the disease. No laboratory tests are done.
Instead, there will be some cognitive tests and with a series of exercises and questions that are crossed checked against other possible sources of dementia. These mental tests done to be able to diagnose Alzheimers help also by letting the physician know at which stage of progression the sufferer may be at.

Individuals with the age of 65 and above are most likely to be at risk of Alzheimers.