Autumn Of Memory
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia among older
people. Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability
to carry out daily activities.
. It first involves the parts of the brain that
control thought, memory and language. People with AD may have trouble
remembering things that happened recently or names of people they know. A
related problem, mild cognitive
impairment (MCI), causes more memory problems than normal for
people of the same age. Many, but not all, people with MCI will develop AD.
_ Early Signs and
Symptoms of Alzheimer's
·
Memory loss that disrupts daily life
·
Challenges
in planning or solving problems
·
Difficulty
completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure
·
Confusion
with time or place
·
Trouble
understanding visual images and spatial relationships
·
New
problems with words in speaking or writing
·
Withdrawal
from work or social activities
·
Changes
in mood and personality
_ Causes of Alzheimer's
disease
Like all types of dementia, Alzheimer's is caused by brain
cell death.3 It is a neurodegenerative disease, which means there is
progressive brain cell death that happens over a course of time.
The total brain size shrinks with Alzheimer's - the tissue
has progressively fewer nerve cells and connections.3,4
Nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. In Alzheimer's, there are microscopic 'plaques' and 'tangles' between and within brain cells.
While they cannot be seen or tested in the living brain
affected by Alzheimer's disease, postmortem/autopsy will always show tiny
inclusions in the nerve tissue, called plaques and tangles:3,4
- Plaques are found between the dying cells in the brain - from the build-up of a protein called beta-amyloid (you may hear the term "amyloid plaques").
- The tangles are within the brain neurons - from a disintegration of another protein, called tau
Stages
of Alzheimer's disease
The progression of Alzheimer's can be broken down into three
basic stages:12
- Preclinical (no signs or symptoms yet)
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Dementia.
Alzheimer's worsens over time.
Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where
dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages,
memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the
ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment.
Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those
with Alzheimer's live an average of eight years after their symptoms become
noticeable to others, but survival can range from four to 20 years, depending
on age and other health conditions .
Alzheimer's has no current cure,
but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues
Although current Alzheimer's
treatments cannot stop Alzheimer's from progressing, they can temporarily slow
the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve quality of life for those with
Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort under way to
find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset, and prevent it from
developing.
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