Alzheimer's symptoms are generally found in patients who are over 65 years old although less than 10 percent of all cases can be diagnosed in much younger patients. Some people have required Alzheimer's disease treatments as young as the mid-thirties, but this is relatively rare. The illness was not recognized until the early 1900's by a doctor in Germany and was eventually named after that physician. Victims of the mental disorder experience a deterioration of brain cells that particularly affect the area of memory. Other areas of the brain are eventually affected as well, leaving the patient with not only memory loss but difficulties with speech and vision. Many patients also present with emotional difficulties from the continued destruction of brain cells.
Researchers have not determined the exact cause of the disorder, but do know that it is hereditary. Before Alzheimer's symptoms even appear, the illness can begin brain deterioration 5 or 10 years before any symptomology is apparent in many people. Since the brain easily adjusts to nerve cell damage by functioning on fewer than is available, the disorder is slow to appear as cells die until there are no more cells to promote normal brain functioning. While it is known that the disease is hereditary, researchers also believe that it can be brought on by some environmental circumstances.
Environmental cues such as depression, head trauma or exposure to metals such as aluminum are believed to be some of the causes of the disorder. Most medical professionals attribute a multiplicity of factors and site both genetics as well as environmental causes to be responsible for the illness in many people. The fact that it is heavily considered to be hereditary causes much concern in families that have had members who have required Alzheimer's disease treatments. Symptoms progress with the illness and eventually take a patient from mildly forgetful to completely helpless in taking care of himself. There are generally three stages of symptoms that show the progression of the disorder as it ravages the brain. The first stage is mild in symptoms and may even appear normal for some people such as intermittent memory loss regarding recently occurring events.
Patients can easily forget names or places as well as where they have placed an object such as their glasses or keys. This mild stage also may show some personality changes as the patient becomes more easily agitated and begins to lose personal motivation for typical activities in life. The second stage is considered the middle of the disorder for most patients who experience more severe memory loss. They may begin to withdraw from social activities and become more dependent on family members for every day functions. The third stage presents with the most severe of all Alzheimer's symptoms which includes no concept of place or time, no ability to recognize family or friends, extreme agitation, and no ability to take care of themselves in any way.
The disorder is difficult to diagnose and there is no definitive way to recognize the illness until after death when an autopsy is performed on the brain. In fact, other medical problems such as dementia can mimic the illness, but can be treated. Only a medical professional that is properly trained in diagnosing and providing Alzheimer's disease treatments can make a definitive diagnosis by executing a battery of tests, collecting family history and compiling ongoing symptomology of a patient. Even after a diagnosis has been made based on a patient's Alzheimer's symptoms, there are no effective treatments available to delay or prevent a patient's continued brain cell damage. There are a few drugs that have been formulated that can offer relief from some symptoms in various patients. Not all patients respond the same way, so even the few drugs that are available may not be effective for everyone. Drug companies continue to conduct research into medications that may effectively cure or inhibit the disorder, but as of the present, there are no hopeful answers on the horizon.
Those who have been diagnosed with the illness are not the only ones who experience the severe difficulties associated with the disorder. Family members of someone who is diagnosed experience the sadness and difficulty of watching a loved one slowly slip away from them as their personality, physical abilities and memory disappears. "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) Many times families are faced with the responsibilities of caring for their loved ones as long as they are able to and then, must make a most difficult decision of when to admit them to a nursing care center. There are special homes that provide Alzheimer's disease treatments and care for the afflicted that can offer what a family cannot offer at the severe stages of the illness. There are also support groups that can help families know how to care for their ill family member as well as how to make difficult decisions that are best for the patient and family.
Researchers have not determined the exact cause of the disorder, but do know that it is hereditary. Before Alzheimer's symptoms even appear, the illness can begin brain deterioration 5 or 10 years before any symptomology is apparent in many people. Since the brain easily adjusts to nerve cell damage by functioning on fewer than is available, the disorder is slow to appear as cells die until there are no more cells to promote normal brain functioning. While it is known that the disease is hereditary, researchers also believe that it can be brought on by some environmental circumstances.
Environmental cues such as depression, head trauma or exposure to metals such as aluminum are believed to be some of the causes of the disorder. Most medical professionals attribute a multiplicity of factors and site both genetics as well as environmental causes to be responsible for the illness in many people. The fact that it is heavily considered to be hereditary causes much concern in families that have had members who have required Alzheimer's disease treatments. Symptoms progress with the illness and eventually take a patient from mildly forgetful to completely helpless in taking care of himself. There are generally three stages of symptoms that show the progression of the disorder as it ravages the brain. The first stage is mild in symptoms and may even appear normal for some people such as intermittent memory loss regarding recently occurring events.
Patients can easily forget names or places as well as where they have placed an object such as their glasses or keys. This mild stage also may show some personality changes as the patient becomes more easily agitated and begins to lose personal motivation for typical activities in life. The second stage is considered the middle of the disorder for most patients who experience more severe memory loss. They may begin to withdraw from social activities and become more dependent on family members for every day functions. The third stage presents with the most severe of all Alzheimer's symptoms which includes no concept of place or time, no ability to recognize family or friends, extreme agitation, and no ability to take care of themselves in any way.
The disorder is difficult to diagnose and there is no definitive way to recognize the illness until after death when an autopsy is performed on the brain. In fact, other medical problems such as dementia can mimic the illness, but can be treated. Only a medical professional that is properly trained in diagnosing and providing Alzheimer's disease treatments can make a definitive diagnosis by executing a battery of tests, collecting family history and compiling ongoing symptomology of a patient. Even after a diagnosis has been made based on a patient's Alzheimer's symptoms, there are no effective treatments available to delay or prevent a patient's continued brain cell damage. There are a few drugs that have been formulated that can offer relief from some symptoms in various patients. Not all patients respond the same way, so even the few drugs that are available may not be effective for everyone. Drug companies continue to conduct research into medications that may effectively cure or inhibit the disorder, but as of the present, there are no hopeful answers on the horizon.
Those who have been diagnosed with the illness are not the only ones who experience the severe difficulties associated with the disorder. Family members of someone who is diagnosed experience the sadness and difficulty of watching a loved one slowly slip away from them as their personality, physical abilities and memory disappears. "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) Many times families are faced with the responsibilities of caring for their loved ones as long as they are able to and then, must make a most difficult decision of when to admit them to a nursing care center. There are special homes that provide Alzheimer's disease treatments and care for the afflicted that can offer what a family cannot offer at the severe stages of the illness. There are also support groups that can help families know how to care for their ill family member as well as how to make difficult decisions that are best for the patient and family.
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