- Although every disease is harmful to the human body, there are some which pose critical effects on humans and have no cure documented so far.
- One such trending disorder is Alzheimer’s disease. In this blog, we would learn about it in detail.
Alzheimer’s disease background.
- Designated as a brain disorder that gradually terminates the memory and thinking skills of a person.
- Currently ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.
- Known as the most common cause of dementia (loss of intellectual functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning ) among older adults.
- An individual becomes unable to perform even the simpler tasks of daily life.
- As per the estimates, some specialists propose that more than 6 million Americans, with age 65 or older, may suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.
- This disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who observed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness which was designated as abnormal clumps (now named amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (now termed neurofibrillary tangles) by him.
How does Alzheimer’s affect the brain?
- In Alzheimer’s disease, changes in the brain occur much before they are observed as symptoms.
- Such toxic changes comprise the building up of abnormal proteins forming amyloid plaques and tau tangles.
- In the initial stage, damage mainly occurs to the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, which are vital parts of the brain responsible for forming memories.
- As a result, more and more neurons get smashed and different regions of the brain get affected and begin to shrink.
- Till the last stage of Alzheimer’s, damage spreads to a higher rate, and brain tissue shrunk significantly.
Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Symptoms may vary from person to person.
- However, loss of memory is the most common symptom.
- Development of a condition known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
- Weakening in non-memory aspects of thought, like word-finding, vision issues, and impaired reasoning may signal the very early stages of the disease.
Stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Mild Alzheimer’s disease.
- Experiencing more memory loss and other reasoning difficulties.
- Issues, like wandering and getting lost, trouble in handling money and paying bills, and repeating questions, may raise.
- Behavioral and thought-related changes.
Moderate Alzheimer’s disease.
- Damaging parts of the brain responsible for the control of language, reasoning, conscious thought, and sensory processing (for instance, the ability to correctly detect sounds and smells).
- Memory loss and confusion to a greater extent.
- Difficulty identifying own family members and friends.
Severe Alzheimer’s disease.
- Plaques and tangles start spreading all over the brain, and brain tissue shrinks significantly.
- Disability of patient to communicate with others and becoming completely dependent
- on others for their care.
- Near-death situation.
Related causes of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Even after many years of research Scientists don’t yet fully understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease in many people.
- However, genetic mutation, and environmental and life factors are found related to the cause of disease.
Diagnosis.
Doctors use some methods, tools, and technology to determine whether a patient having memory issues has Alzheimer’s disease.
Treatment.
- Due to the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease, its vaccine has not yet been developed.
- With ongoing research, professionals and Scientists are discovering many ways to delay or prevent the ailment as well as treat its signs.
- However, medications like Donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine are approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat symptoms of Alzheimer’s. But such drugs may help only for a short time.
