Alzheimer disease,Causes of Alzheimer, Treatment of Alzheimer disease, Progressiver ailment.

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Alzheimer a Progressive ailment
Causes of Alzhemier
Treatment of Alzheimer
Outlook of Alzheimer

About the Alzheimer disease

In industrialized nations Alzheimer disease is considered to be the most common cause of dementia. A brain disorder that badly affects one’s ability to carry out every day activities is known as dementia. A person with Alzheimer disease has abnormal areas (named as senile plaques) and bundles (neurofibrillary tangles) made up of abnormal proteins in his or her brain. Connection between the brain cells is destroyed by these tangles and clumps.

Alzheimer a progressive ailment

Alzheimer disease usually affects those parts of brain that are responsible for cognitive or intellectual functions such as memory, thought and language. In Alzheimer disease the level of those specific chemicals that carry message around the brain (known as neurotransmitters) is low. When the resulting loss is severe enough to disturb the day t day function is referred to as dementia. Alzheimer a progressive ailment Alzheimer disease is usually discovered in people above the age of 60. Alzheimer disease is a disorder whose risk factor increases directly with the increasing age for example people over the age of 80 are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer disease. According to statistics about 5 million people in United States are victimized by Alzheimer disease where the same disorder hits about 30 million people around the globe where others have mild or minimum cognitive impairment that precedes dementia. The disease is discovered in all ethnic groups and in all races and mostly affects women as compared to men. Alzheimer disease is a developing or progressing disease that becomes severe with the passage of time where unfortunately there is no way to cure the disease. The situation can neither reversed nor stopped.

At first the symptoms of Alzheimer disease are subtle. With the passage of time the victims lose their capabilities to reason or think carefully, solve the problems, judge the situation, recognize the acquaintances, remembering useful information, concentration, taking care of their selves and even speaking.

Change in the personality or the behavior of the Alzheimer diseased person is common. Those people who have mild Alzheimer disease are usually in need of help or at times supervision in carrying out routine tasks such as shopping, cooking and paying the bills. Such patients are unable to do things at their own and require permanent or a 24x7 watch. So the Alzheimer disease is considered to be a major problem in public health.

The progression of the Alzheimer disease is a problem but the toughest part of this incurable disease is the cost of caring the patient of Alzheimer disease. It is estimated that in United States about $100 billion per year are required for caring the victim of Alzheimer disease. However the average cost of treating a patient of Alzheimer disease is $20,000 to 40,000 per annum, while the cost depends upon the severity of the disease

Causes of Alzheimer Disease

The actual cause of Alzheimer disease is still unidentified. It is assumed that there is not just one cause the lead to Alzheimer disease but a mixture of a number of reasons that join hand to inflict the disorder.

o Many researchers believe that Alzheimer disease is a ommon and normal part of aging.
o However age may be a risk factor of causing Alzheimer disease but it is alone not responsible for the Alzheimer disease.
o Another vital risk factor is family history. It seems that in certain families the disease occurs however 10 per cent cases of Alzheimer disease are of family history. Familial Alzheimer disease happens at an early age between the age of 30 to 60 years known as early-onset familial Alzheimer disease.

About three different genes are linked with the Alzheimer disease. Here they are:

o Apolipoprotein E (apoE) is a gene that controls the production of protein and helps in the distribution of cholesterol throughout the body. It is the most commonly known one. Every one of us has one of the three forms of apoE gene where oen form of gene helps in protecting from the Alzheimer disease where the other increases the risk of developing Alzheimer disease.
o Apart from apoE gene, another gene is thought to be mutated in some persons with the disease. Alzheimer disease occurs in few people due to this rare cause.
o There may or may not be other genes that contribute in the development of Alzheimer disease but unfortunately they are not discovered yet.

The focus of current research is to figure out that how and why the Alzheimer disease is developed in some people and why not in other while considering that why and how the deposits of abnormal proteins in the brain are developed. Once the development of Alzheimer disease is understood it would be far easier to come across methods that can help in the prevention of the disorder.

Medical Treatment of Alzheimer disease

It is true that Alzheimer disease can not be reversed or stopped but it is also that proper treatment can slow down the progression of Alzheimer disease in some of the victims. If the psychiatrist is successful in relieving the symptoms then the functions can be improved significantly. Important treatment strategies for dementia are:

Non-drug treatments

Some interventions can help in improving behavioral disorders such as aggression and agitation. Helping the patient in controlling or adjusting his or her behavior is important. Interventions also help the family members or the care takers ways to change the behavior of the patient. Combined with drug treatment the approach helps a lot.

Drug treatment

The symptoms of Alzheimer disease can be temporarily relieved at times. Different medications are tried in dementia. Cholinesterase inhibitors are the medications that have given best results so far.
Cholinesterase, an enzyme, breaks down acetylcholine, a chemical in the brain. Acetylcholine performs as a significant messaging system of the brain. In most patients of acetylcholine the brain acetylcholine level is low. Cholinesterase inhibitors stop the breakage of neurotransmitters and thus increase the amount of acetylcholine in brain that results in improved functions of brain. The affect of the enzyme is temporal as it does not change the cause buut control the symptom.
Memantine is another drug that is showing promising affect on the acetylcholine. Glutamate is the brain chemical that damages the brain; the chemical is blocked by the use of memantine.
Some drugs are used on trial bases in the patients of Alzheimer disease as the experts think that the drugs might be helpful. As treatment of Alzheimer disease none of these drugs have achieved wide spread acceptance.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are applied on the inflammation. Inflammation is assumed to be a cause of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques.
The antioxidant tocopherol (vitamin E) is assumed to be the one that can help in repair the loss of damaged brain cells that may play their role in causing Alzheimer disease.
Those women who have been through menopause and have developed Alzheimer disease are suggested to replace their hormone however the approach has been suspected by many experts.

Some other drugs can be employed to tackle individual symptoms or changes in behavior as a resu;t of Alzheimer disease .

Emotional outbursts and mood swings can be improved with the help of mood stabilizing drugs and antidepressant.
Psychotic, disruptive, anger or agitation can be dealt with mood stabilizers or antipsychotic medication.

All drugs have their respective side effect. The aim of the psychiatrist is to prescribe a medicine the benefits of which outweigh its side effects. Older people are more vulnerable to suffer from the side effects. Those people who have dementia and are taking drugs must be observed properly to figure out the side effects of the medication and to also see if the problems are internally tolerated.
The drugs used for Alzheimer disease can also interact with other drugs specially in those senior citizens that are habitual to take medicine for a number of other disease or medical disorders. It is not necessary that the side effects are caused by one drugs. The reactions could be an outcome of a number of medicines.

An Outlook of Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer disease though started slowly but it is bound to result in the intense damage to the brain. The cognitive functions of Alzheimer disease’s victims along with capability to carry out routine work and ability to respectively respond to the surroundings and situations are affected and with the passage of time these abilities are lost for the rest of the time. With time the patient start to completely rely on the care taker. The loss of such people is inevitable however medicine can help in slowing down the speed with which the condition of a person gets worse.

Alzheimer disease is perceived to be a terminal ailment. The real cause of death in such patients is usually pneumonia. The illness incapacitates a person who is already aged and weak. After the diagnoses, it is seen that the patient of Alzheimer disease on an average lives for 8 to 10 years. If good nursing is provided the victims of Alzheimer disease can also survive for more than 20 years.