Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological brain disorder named after a German physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906.

Alzheimer's disease 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. (Dementia literally means loss of mentation, or thinking.)

 Alzheimer’s is progressive and irreversible. Abnormal changes in the brain worsen over time, eventually interfering with many aspects of brain function. Alzheimer's disease begins slowly. It first involves the parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language. People with Alzheimer's disease may have trouble remembering things that happened recently or names of people they know. Over time, symptoms get worse. People may not recognize family members or have trouble speaking, reading or writing. They may forget how to change their clothes or brush their teeth. Later on, they may become anxious or aggressive, or wander away from home. Eventually, they need total care. This can cause great stress for family members who must care for them. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. The risk goes up as you get older. The risk is also higher if a family member has had the disease.

10 warning signs of Alzheimer's:

1. One of the most common signs of Alzheimer's is memory loss, especially forgetting recently learned information. Challenges in planning or solving problems
2. Some people may experience changes in their ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers (having difficulty in solving problems).
3. People with Alzheimer's often find it hard to complete daily chores.
4. Confusion with people, time or place.
5. May have difficulty reading, judging distance and determining color or contrast.
6. People with Alzheimer's may have trouble conversing. They may stop in the middle of a conversation and at lost for words.
7.  Persons with Alzheimer's disease are prone to misplace things.
8. People with Alzheimer's may experience decreased or poor judgment.
9. A person with Alzheimer's may confine themselves to avoid social activities because of the changes they have experienced.
10. They can become confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious (Mood changes)

Medications used to treat people with Alzheimer’s fall into two broad categories:

• Drug to treat cognitive symptoms (such as memory problems and other mental deficits of Alzheimer’s)
• Drug to treat behavioral symptoms

One successful approach to reducing inappropriate behaviors is to communicate within the affected person’s frame of reference. It can also be helpful to engage the person in reminiscing about happier memories.

Communication techniques:

• Present reality
• Encourage the person to speak out and validate that thought.
• Use positive means in redirecting conversation.
• Use memory cues

In later stages of Alzheimer’s, aggressive or agitated behaviors may become common.

In such instances, it may be helpful to remove the person to a quiet area away from large groups of people  to avoid stress until they calm down.

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic illness. As Alzheimer's progresses the person with requires complete care – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And it is best to have a care taker that has a very long patience.