For the most part, the disease develops slowly and creepily. It first appears in the form of bad memory, especially the memory shortages greatly. No one knows exactly why Alzheimer's is affected. Probably contributes several factors.
In most cases, Alzheimer's disease develops slowly and creepily. It first appears in the form of bad memory, especially the near-memory deteriorates a lot. No one knows exactly why Alzheimer's is affected. Probably contributes several factors.
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Alzheimer's disease is the most common and well-known dementia disease. About 60 percent of people with dementia suffer from Alzheimer's disease. The disease is named after the German doctor Alois Alzheimer who first described the disease in 1906.
In the disease, the brain's nerve cells, especially those found in the temporal and brain lobes, are affected. The projections of the nerve cells are reversed, thus breaking contact with other nerve cells. Later, the nerve cells die completely.
Why do you get Alzheimer's disease?
No one knows exactly why Alzheimer's is affected. Probably contributes several factors. The most important is the age, the older you are, the greater the risk of suffering. In some cases, hereditary factors also contribute, but that a single person in the family suffered from Alzheimer's disease does not mean a significantly increased risk for others in the family.
How does dementia manifest itself?
In most cases, the disease develops slowly and creepily. It first appears in the form of bad memory, especially the near-memory deteriorates a lot. Initially, memory impairment, concentration difficulties, and loss of intellectual abilities may be so subtle that they are not noticed, neither by the person concerned nor by his friends and relatives. However, the symptoms become more noticeable as the disease develops and begin to disrupt routine work and social activities. Practical difficulties in daily tasks, such as dressing and personal hygiene, gradually become so difficult that the person eventually becomes completely dependent on others.
Alzheimer's disease is not contagious. It is a deadly disease within a ten-year period from the onset of illness and causes a general deterioration in health. The most common cause of death is pneumonia, as the development of the disease leads to weight loss and a weakening of the immune system.
Often it is usually described how the disease develops by dividing it into mild (stage 1), moderate (stage 2) and severe (stage 3) Alzheimer's disease. How long you are in each stage varies, but usually each stage lasts about two to three years. Here is a brief description of the three stages. It is important to remember that everyone affected is not the same, different symptoms can be marked very different in different individuals.
The first stage of Alzheimer's
The memory is affected, the affected person forgets more than usual and forgetfulness increases. The problems are further exacerbated by the difficulty of getting attention. A combination of these two problems can lead to difficulties such as performing multiple-step actions, and following the thread of a conversation. The affected person also begins to have language disorders, sometimes finds it difficult to find words and therefore begins to use a simpler language with shorter sentences. Often, you suffer from fatigue, lack of initiative and concentration difficulties.
The inconvenience often leads to simplification and compensation for what you forget. You write notes and change habits, it is also common to isolate yourself and sometimes get depressed. The trouble can lead to anxiety, worry and suspicion.
The above problems can be more or less noticeable, depending on factors such as work, family, lifestyle and personality. This stage can be very stressful for the affected person as he or she is fully aware of what is happening.
Second stage of Alzheimer's
As the disease progresses, the memory deteriorates more and more, but the earliest memories often remain unaffected into the longest. For example, the memory loss may cause the affected person to think that it was a long time ago that relatives and friends greeted, when in reality they have just resigned.
It is more difficult to interpret the stimuli (touch, taste, sight and hearing). This affects everyday life in the form of, for example, reduced appetite and, sometimes, visual and auditory hallucinations. Insomnia can become a problem when the difference between night and day loses its meaning. The affected person tends to sleep more during the day, but less at night. The perception of time and space is affected.
Everyday chores such as washing and dressing are becoming increasingly difficult to perform alone due to memory loss, confusion and difficulty dealing with objects. The movements are constantly less precise and more uncoordinated. The affected person becomes more volatile on their feet and can suffer accidents.
The language problems become more apparent. Both difficulties in understanding speech as well as difficulties in reading and writing endorse.
The third stage of Alzheimer's
In the third stage, dementia is very pronounced. The victim loses the ability to understand and use the language and can sometimes repeat the end of sentences without understanding what the words mean.
Behavioral changes and psychological symptoms such as aggression, screaming and walking behavior are common at this stage and cause suffering for the sick and problems for both relatives and carers. These changes are often perceived by relatives as a greater stress than cognitive and functional limitations, and are the most common reason for people with dementia to move to an institution. Nine out of ten people show some kind of behavioral change during illness.
Incontinence becomes total and the ability to walk, sit, smile and swallow disappears. The risk of getting pneumonia and the risk of having a bed sore if the affected person is not turned around regularly increases. The affected person also becomes rigid, loses the reflexes and can become unmotivated upset and irritated. Constant supervision is necessary at this stage. Despite the severe symptoms, the affected person can still respond positively to the touch and sound of familiar voices.
How does the doctor diagnose?
There is no special test to determine if a person has Alzheimer's disease or not. The disease is diagnosed by excluding other symptoms that have caused the symptoms. Examples of other conditions that, at least initially, can cause symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's are: vitamin deficiency (especially B-12), metabolic disorders, depression, infections and fluid deficiency. Other forms of dementia, such as those due to repeated small brain infections, may also be similar to Alzheimer's disease.
The most important part of the investigation is that the affected person and preferably also someone close to them can tell about the problems, how they started, how they developed and how they appear.
In the investigation, blood samples are also taken, for example to check vitamin content, metabolism, fluid balance and body salts, especially calcium. You also do a computed tomography of the brain, usually a so-called EEG and sometimes also a magnetic camera examination of the brain. In addition to these laboratory and x-ray examinations, some form of memory test is also done.
Most diseases that can cause similar symptoms can be treated with good results. Therefore, it is important to undergo examinations to get a correct diagnosis.
How is Alzheimer's disease treated?
To date, there is no preventive or curative treatment for Alzheimer's disease. It has been found that patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease have lowered levels of acetylcholine, a so-called neurotransmitter, which is used to regulate the electrical impulses that allow neurons to communicate with each other.
Several of today's medications prevent acetylcholine from breaking down, thus increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the brain. These medications cannot cure the disease but can provide some improvement and a somewhat slower course of the disease. The medication is used in mild / mild or moderately severe Alzheimer's. Examples of such medications (tablets or so-called capsules) are donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon, which is also available as a patch) and galantamine (Reminyl). In moderate to severe illness, memantine (Ebixa) can be used, which has a different mechanism of action than the other preparations (a so-called NMDA receptor antagonist). It is also common to combine the two different types of drug as the patient reaches the moderate stage of the disease.
Behavioral and psychological symptoms should always be investigated in order to identify underlying causes and to enable adequate measures to be taken, ranging from support efforts for family members to the treatment of pain. Memantine (Ebixa) can reduce the risk of behavioral and psychological symptoms in people with Alzheimer's disease and has a special effect on symptoms such as agitation and aggression.
