Orcee

Archive for the ‘Alzheimer’ Category

Alzheimer disease develops in phases, slowly but surely destroying memory, cause, decision, verbal communication and ultimately the capability to bear out even easy tasks. In the end phases of the illness, patients be converted into totally confused and should rely on the care of their most basic needs.

Alzheimer's Disease

Persons with Alzheimer are unable to find their cognitive capacity as their brain cells are attacked and damaged by a development of proteins in the brain. The symptoms Alzheimer disease, get worse with each period and therefore does the essential amount of care. The reason for the care is since the people with Alzheimer’s cognitive capabilities are quickly declining by the moment he or she is in the moderate point of the disease. Cognitive functioning is essential for the entire types of everyday jobs from be capable of planning, preparing and serving food to be able to shower and dress to be ready for the day. Everyday jobs that need difficult cognitive expertise such as going shopping, doing house work and carry out tasks necessary for maintaining service are often those that are out of the contact of those in moderate stage Alzheimer’s.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Incapability to make conclusion

This is one of the most dangerous symptom of Alzheimer’s patients can not stop thinking sequentially. For example, if the roast burning oven is the most logical thing would be to turn the oven and remove the flesh burning. Read the rest of this entry »

Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable and degenerative brain disease. It is one form of dementia in which brain tissue degenerates causing steady decline in brain functions. The disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s, who first described it in 1906. He was a German physician.

Alzheimer’s disease causes memory loss, affects thinking skills and behavior. About 100 billions of nerve cells known as neurons are there in human brain. Each is connected with the other in a complex network. Human brain controls memory consciousness, vision, thinking and many activities through this complex network of neurons. Neurons communicate with each other through certain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. This disease i.e. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by loss of nerve cells (neurons) and synapses in cerebral cortex region and some sub cortical regions.

How neurons die

Formation of abnormal structures like amyloid plaques and tangles (neurofibrillary tangles) inside brain lead to destruction of neurons.

Plaques are hard, insoluble deposits of protein fragment called beta-amyloid. Tangles which are insoluble twisted fibres of another protein called ‘tan’ accumulate inside the cells themselves. These abnormal deposits prevent normal brain cells to send right signals to other part of brain.

In Alzheimer’s disease as more and more plaques and tangles develop in particular areas of brain, more and more neurons gradually loose their efficiency to function and communicate with each other and ultimately they die. Affected brain region begin to shrink due to the death of increasing number of neurons.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Initial stage: -
People with Alzheimer’s disease

1. May find disturbances in short term memory, memory begins to fade.
2. May find language problems: – Facing trouble in finding names of objects which are familiar.
3. May not show any interest in things which previously enjoyed.
4. May misplace things.
5. May take much time to than usual to finish routine work.
6. May loose ability and find difficulty in performing task – paying bills, managing money.
7. May loose social skills.
8. May have changes in mood and personality.

Middle Stage:-

1. Find trouble to recognize familiar faces.
2. Memories of present confused with distant past.
3. Face difficulty in reading and writing.
4. Face problems in pronunciation, use wrong words and speak in confusing sentence.
5. Poor judgment.
6. May become depressed.
7. May agitate, may become violent.
8. No interest in social contact, withdrawal from social contact.
9. Change of sleep pattern may wake up at night.
10. Problems in eating, dressing.

Final Stage: -

1. May loose ability to recognize people.
2. May loose ability to speak.
3. May loose ability to feed themselves and control bodily functions.
4. May require constant care.

Author: Surya Narayan Bhattacharya

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain and results in disorientation, with impaired memory, thinking, and judgement. People with Alzheimers also undergo changes in their behavior. This combination of symptoms is also called dementia.

People with Alzheimer’s disease have an atrophy of the cortical tissue within the brain. When examined at autopsy the brain shows abnormal fibers that appear to be tangles of brain tissue filaments and senile plaques. This damage is believed to cause disruption to transmission of impulses amongst brain cells. It is this damage that is thought to produce the symptoms of the disease.

Symptoms

The early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can be difficult to diagnose because many of the symptoms are initially subtle or common to other illnesses. Symptoms also vary among individuals and between the various diseases that cause dementia.

As people get older, they start to forget little things, like the names of acquaintances and where they put the car keys. This needn’t be a sign of dementia and in a lot of cases it’s just that we are growing old and our brains are no longer at their peak.

It’s important to understand the early signs of Alzheimer’s and to seek a medical diagnosis if several symptoms are noticed. Often, it is a family member or close associate who first notices a change in the behavior or mood of a loved one; these people are instrumental in helping the person to get medical care.

Causes

Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer’s disease. There probably is not one single cause, but several factors that affect each person differently. Age is the most important known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. The number of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond age 65. Read the rest of this entry »