Some Facts about Alzheimer's Disease :

Presently over 35 million-plus people worldwide are suffering from Alzheimer's Disease which is thought to reach approximately 107 million by 2050.

It is a progressive and fatal brain disease.

It has no current cure

What is Alzheimer's Disease ?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain accounting for about 50-70% cases of dementia (memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life) among older people. It is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.

The Background Story :

Alzheimer's Disease is named after Dr.Alois Alzheimer who in 1906 described changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of what was thought to be an unusual mental illness. 'Frau Auguste D.,' a 51-year-old woman was brought to see him in 1901 by her family. Auguste had developed problems with memory, unfounded suspicions that her husband was unfaithful, and difficulty speaking and understanding what was said to her. Her symptoms rapidly grew worse, and within a few years she was bedridden. She died in Spring 1906. Dr. Alzheimer found abnormal clumps (now called neurofibrillary tangles) in her brain.These changes are now recognized as the characteristic abnormal brain changes of Alzheimer's Disease.
The condition entered the medical literature in 1907, when Alzheimer published his observations about Auguste D. In 1910, Emil Kraepelin, a psychiatrist noted for his work in naming and classifying brain disorders, proposed that the disease be named after Alzheimer.

Incidence:
Age: Most patients develop Alzheimer's disease after age 70. However, 2%-5% of patients develop the disease in the fourth or fifth decade of life (40s or 50s).
Sex: Slightly more women than men have Alzheimer's disease. Its increasing prevalence has led epidemiologists to call Alzheimer's 'the disease of the century.'

Who develops AD ?

Age : The main risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is increased age. With increase in age the frequency of Alzheimer's disease continues to increase. Ten percent of people over 65 years of age and 50% of those over 85 years of age have Alzheimer's disease.

Genetic : There are also genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease; children of patient with early onset Alzheimer's disease having one of these gene mutations has a 50% risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Hormones : Researchers have found that men with lower levels of testosterone were found to have higher levels of beta amyloid protein that is linked to Alzheimer's . Beta amyloid protein is a toxic substance that can kill neurons in the areas of the brain that are important for learning and memory and is widely thought to lead to Alzheimer's

Other risk factors for Alzheimer's disease include high blood pressure (hypertension), coronary artery disease, diabetes, and possibly elevated blood cholesterol. Individuals who have completed less than eight years of education also have an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease. These factors increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but by no means do they mean that Alzheimer's disease is inevitable in persons with these factors.

The onset of Alzheimer's disease is usually gradual, and it is slowly progressive. Memory problems that family members initially dismiss as "a normal part of aging" are the first stages of Alzheimer's disease. When memory and other problems become consistent affecting the normal routine, one should understand there is more to the story than "normal aging".

Problems of memory, particularly for recent events (short-term memory) are common early in the course of Alzheimer's disease. For example, the individual may, on repeated occasions, forget to turn off an iron or fail to recall which of the morning's medicines were taken. Mild personality changes, such as less spontaneity, apathy, and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions, may occur early in the illness.

The person may:

• Show difficulties with language.
• Experience significant memory loss - especially short term.
• Be disoriented in time.
• Display difficulty in making decisions.
• Lack initiative and motivation.
• Show signs of depression and aggression.
• Show a loss of interest in hobbies and activities.

As the disease progresses, problems in abstract thinking and in other intellectual functions develop. The person may begin to have trouble with figures when working on bills, with understanding what is being read, or with organizing the day's work. Further disturbances in behavior and appearance may also be seen at this point, such as, and a diminishing ability to dress appropriately. The patient may:

• May become very forgetful, especially of recent events and people's names.
• Can no longer manage to live alone without problems.
• Become agitated, irritable, extremely dependent and quarrelsome.
• Needs assistance with personal hygiene routines such as toilet, washing and dressing.
• Has increased difficulty with speech.
• Exhibits wandering and other behavioural abnormalities.
• Becomes lost at home and in the Community.
• May experience hallucinations.

Later in the course of the disorder person becomes totally dependent and inactive; memory disturbances are very serious and the physical side of the disease becomes more obvious. Individuals may become confused or disoriented about what month or year it is, be unable to, or be unable to name a place being visited. Eventually, patients may wander, be, and.

The person may:

• Have difficulty eating.
• Not recognise relatives, friends and familiar objects.
• Have difficulty understanding and interpreting events.
• Be unable to describe accurately where they live.
• Have difficulty in walking.
• Lose bladder and bowel control.
• Display inappropriate behaviour in public, unable to engage in conversation, have erratic in mood and become uncooperative.

In late stages of the disease, persons may become totally incapable of caring for themselves. Death can then follow, perhaps from pneumonia or some other problem that occurs in severely deteriorated states of health. Those who develop the disorder later in life more often die from other illnesses (such as heart disease) rather than as a consequence of Alzheimer's disease.

Warning Signs or symptoms

The following symptoms are a checklist for you. If you have some of these do not ignore it as a sign of the ageing process but check with your doctor. You can notice both cognitive and behavioral problems.

Memory Loss : This gets to be distinctly different from the absentmindedness most people have. When you start forgetting familiar details like names of the members of your family or of friends or your home phone number.

Problems with familiar tasks : You may find yourself unable to tie your shoe laces, something you have done almost every morning of your life. Or may find yourself trying to write with a knife instead of pen.

Personality and Mood Changes : You can undergo a drastic personality change. A quiet and courteous person can turn an impatient and aggressive one. Rapid, unexplained mood changes are also part of the AD pattern.

Language problems : You might find it difficult to find the right word even in simple conversation. You may find difficulty in expressing your ideas.

Abstract Thinking impairment : Simple calculations become confusing.

Disorientation : Forgetting the day of the week or the date is not uncommon but getting lost in your own neighbourhood or mistaking morning for evening is.

Misplacing things : Everybody misplaces a book, paper or keys. But if you found that you have put your watch in the fridge or milk in the clothes cupboard and cannot even remember when you did it, you have got a problem

Judgement Problems : You might find that you are making the wrong decisions over simple tasks. Like watering plants on a rainy day or waiting for the postman knowing that it is Sunday.

What is the prognosis?

Alzheimer's disease progresses slowly, taking between three to 18 years to advance from the earliest symptoms to death; the average duration of the disease is eight years. Death results not from the disease itself but from some secondary illness such as pneumonia or urinary tract infection.

How can AD be treated ?

Treatment of Alzheimer's disease focuses on slowing its progression and coping with its symptoms. Researchers have advised that high daily doses of vitamin E and C taken together reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease among elderly people.

A new US study noted that, taken in a supplement form and not in a lower dose, multivitamin, the vitamins anti-oxidant properties appear to offset the build up of so called free radicals that are believed to damage cells and lead to the debilitating brain disease.

ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES :

Herbal medicine : Rosemary tea helps circulation especially of the nervous system, "Ginkgbiloba "(maiden hair tree) is a herb often used for memory loss. "Acupuncture" helps to reduce stress and improve learning .

EXERCISE AND ALZHEIMER's DISEASE : Researchers have said that the best way to treat Alzheimer's is regular exercise and a healthy environment, even gardening can reduce depression and ease anxiety in some Alzheimer's patients. Simple physical regime that focused on strength, balance and flexibility training for about 30 minutes a day, walking, stretching or using light hand weights for quick exercises is known to give better physical shape and lowers depression.
Research under Dr.Linda Teri shows that people, who exercised regularly were much better off both physically and emotionally than those who did not. They spent less time in bed and more time being active and moreover they have improved mood.

HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICINES :

" Ginkgo biloba " - Dementia and Alzheimer's disease, clinical studies suggest that Gingko provides the following benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease: improvement in thinking, learning and memory, improvement in activities of daily living, improvement in social behavior and fewer feelings of depression. Gingko is sometimes used as preventive because it may delay the onset of AD in someone who is at risk for this type of dementia ( for example family history )

It helps to treat and prevent problems with memory and mental dullness, poor concentration and dullness of mind, loss of memory and inability to solve mental task, absent mindedness and forgetfulness.

References:

http://www.webhealthcentre.com/DiseaseConditions/gn_alzheimer.aspx

http://www.medicinenet.com/alzheimers_disease/page3.htm#toce

http://www.getbesthealth.org/alzheimer/diagnosis/signs-and-symptoms/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease