What Is Alzhimer’s?
Posted by Admin | Posted in Alzheimer's | Posted on 10-11-2009
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Alzheimer’s also known as AD is a brain disease. The disease progresses slowly and affects the brain. AD would affect the memory and interfere with the ability to plan, reason, perceive and problems with the language as well would be triggered. The cause of the problem is the beta- amyloid; this is a protein, which is responsible for AD. It is when this is accumulated in a certain quantity or if there is an increase in the production of the same would lead to AD. The beta- amyloid kills the nerve cells and that is what triggers the problem.
If you are 70 or more you are likely to be affected by AD as almost 50% of the people in that age group suffer from this but, having said that this is not considered as a part of the process of aging. There are people who are over 100 yrs but they have no trace of AD.
Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s
The most prominent symptoms of alzheimer’s would be relating to the memory problems. Most of the times, the family member of the patient suffering from AD would assume that it is because of the age that the person tends to forget things. It would take some time for the family members to realize that the memory slip symptoms that the person affected is demonstrating are more than normal. Short-term memory is the most common of all symptoms of alzheimer’s. Things like switching on the iron and then completely forgetting about that or forgetting to take the medicines etc could be the examples.
In some cases the symptoms of alzheimer’s would be extended to mild change in the personality as well. This might be during the early stages of the illness. The person with Alzheimer’s disease symptoms would start to withdraw from social interactions would not show spontaneity, apathy when surrounded. As the problem progresses the Alzheimer’s disease symptoms would start to reflect on the intelligence and abstract thinking as well. The things that would require planning, thinking or any kind of brain interference would be hindered. There are chances if this keeps progressing the same way that the person becomes confused and disoriented. The patient demonstrating Alzheimer’s disease symptoms would not have a clue about the date, month or even the year. They would be completely lost. They might wonder aimlessly and they might have erratic moods as well. Bowel and bladder control may be lost. The later stages would be really horrible, as the person would lose the capability to care about himself at all.
The Alzheimer’s disease symptoms would not cause death but the health problems that the symptoms of alzheimer’s would invite would be the cause that a person dies.
Causes Of Alzheimer’s
The causes of AD are not known clearly but the amyloid cascade hypothesis is the most popular hypothesis about the AD problem and is discussed intensively. This supports the increased production or accumulation of beta- amyloid to be the reason but studies are still on to know what triggers the accumulation or the over production.