General Information and Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease

This research paper in general provides various details about the Alzheimer’s disease. The various symptoms and the various methods used to detect this disease. It also provides in general information about the methods that are used to cure the disease. Some of the natural techniques used to cure it. The various social and physiological issue faced by people suffering from this disease. Introduction Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible brain disorder which has no cure.This disease affects its victims slowly over a period of time and leaves them with no or very little control of their mind. Some of the affects of Alzheimer's disease are partial or total memory loss, they are not in control of their mind to make judgments, it leads to personality changes in the affected person and many a times they loose their control over their language skills. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the disease that affect its patients over a long span of time and with out a warning.The symptom s of Alzheimer’s disease are very similar to that of old age and are many times misinterpreted as old age and by the time people realize the actual problem it is too late. Some of the most common and early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of short term memory and this is one of the ignored by many and slowly and steadily becomes worse over a period of time. There are a number of organizations that have been started to find a cure for the disease and also to help the victims cope with the stigma faced by them in the general public.One of the major organizations started to help this cause is the Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR) which was established way back in 1985 to provide funds to organizations performing research on Alzheimer's disease and also to educate the general public about the disease and raise awareness about the same. Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer's disease was first detected by a German physiotherapist way back in 1901 when a patient was brought to him by her husband as he was not able to take care of her due to her ever diminishing mental health.He noticed that the patient was suffering from short term memory loss and cloud not remember a thing. He continued research on these symptoms for the next 5 years and presented the same at the 37th Assembly of Southwest German Psychiatrists. The name Alzheimer's disease became popular after it was written about by Emil Kraepelin in his book called â€Å"Textbook for Students and Doctors†. However in the whole 20th century this disease was assumed to affect only the people who were of age 60 and above.However in early 1980s it was realized that this disease could affect anyone in any age group and the name Alzheimer's disease was used to refer to all the patients who were contacted with this disease (Alzheimer’s Research Foundation). Alzheimer's disease stops the normal functioning of the brains and reduces its capabilities to perform normal everyday activities . The disease grows over a span of time and the affected persons control over his brain lessens as time passes. Alzheimer's disease is an irreversible disease which has no found cure.The person who is contacted with this has no or very little control his brain and is not able to think and understand things correctly. The patient many have short term memory loss and may forget his name and many a times it has been noted that the patient will walk away from home and wander around not knowing what is to be done. The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is the loss of short term memory. This is a sign which is ignored by many as a sign of old age and by the time one realizes the issue it is too late.Over a span of time the person looses his thinking abilities and finally it leads to a change in the personality of the person suffering from Alzheimer's disease. In the last stage the person become fully dependent on others for his day to day activity and has to be kept under supervision at al l times. The person may get infected by an infection which may eventually lead to his death. It is said that usually people over the age of 65 are contracted with this disease however one can come in contact with Alzheimer's disease at any age.However age is the key factor for people who suffer from this disease as it ahs been noted that the chances of a person having this disease increase as the person grows older (Wikipedia). Some of the common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are as follows; Short term Memory loss (Cohen): There are a number of symptoms that will be noticed in a person who is suffering Alzheimer's disease, however the most common and one of the symptoms that can be noticed in all the patients is the loss of short term memory.All the patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease loose there short term memory and are known to become forgetful. Short term memory loss is considered to be one of the key symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However many time patients avoid te lling this fact to people around them and are know to smartly hide this issue. This is done by them to avoid being made fun by their family members and friends. Confusion and Wandering: Memory loss is followed by problems related to confusion where the affected person finds it difficult to perform even their everyday work properly.They find it difficult to perform some easy everyday work like cooking, eating etc very difficult to do. It becomes very difficlut for them to remember the name of people and places. It worsens to such an extent that they forget the names of their own children and grandchildren. This further worsens and the patient looses track of direction and finds it difficult to find his way around the house and many a times once he goes away from the house, does not know the way back home and is then referred to as a wanderer.In the beinging the affected person will not realize the problem and as time passes things will worsen and the person will find it very difficul t to find his way back home. Personal Care: The personal hygiene of the person suffering from Alzheimer's disease will deteriorate over the span of time. A person who would really take care of his hygiene will start ignoring it. The person will not want to have bath or brush his hair everyday, will forget to brush their teeth etc.Many times the person will start having a weird sense of dressing and will start wearing inappropriate dressing. In this stage a personal care taker will be needed to take care of the everyday work of the person and the patient will require constant help in doing their everyday activities. Mood Swings: A patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease will have massive mood swings and the person will behave differently on a day to day basis. There will also be sudden and quick changes in the person; they might start laughing when they would have been crying only a minute back.They might even start having fights and arguments with themselves or a non living objec t like the floor or even the television. They will start fighting with anyone around and will always be restless. They might even start talking to themselves and mumbling. Sundowner Syndrome: During the stage when the person starts having mood swings, he also starts suffering from the Sundowner Syndrome where the sunset has a very bad affect on the patients brain and the person becomes every restless and becomes over active during the night and early morning hours (Richter & Richter).Diagnosis (Alzheimer's Disease): The diagnosis of a person Alzheimer's Disease is a long and lengthy process and is based on the observations made by the physician over a period of time. A series of tests to check the memory of the person are done over a period of weeks or months to asses the condition. The physician performs number of other tests too to rule out any other disease that the person might be facing. This is done only to check for the symptoms of other diseases, as no clinical test has been proven to diagnose Alzheimer's Disease completely.All the diagnosis is based on the experience and knowledge of a physician who specializes in memory related disorders. The only guaranteed way to detect the Alzheimer's Disease is to do a micro scopic examination of the tissues of the brain. Causes of Alzheimer's Disease (Cohen): There are a number for theories have been formed about the causes that lead to Alzheimer's Disease, many of these have been accepted universally and on some of the other theories research is still on.Some of the causes of Alzheimer's disease are as follow (Richter & Richter)s: Bacterial Infection: Bacterial infection is considered to be one of the major causes of Alzheimer's Disease. Chlamydia Pneumoniae is a virus that usually affect the lungs, nose and sinusus of the infected, however it has been noted that this virus is very prominentnt in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. In a research doen recently seventeen out of ninteen patien ts suffering from Alzheimer's Disease had the virus in their brains.Brain Damage or Head Injury: The chances of a person having Alzheimer's Disease become very high after a person has an head injury. The trauma that the brain has when a person has a head injury leaves traces of amyloid which is know to cause Alzheimer's Disease. Age Factor: Another major factor that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease is the age of the person. It is said that the chances of Alzheimer's disease occurring increases after the age of 65 and every 5 years after that the risk increases by about 5 percent.Genetic Cause: It has not been scientifically proven that Alzheimer's Disease is a genetic disorder and people who have family memebers suffering from the diesease have a high risk of having the disease. However it has also been proven that genetic factors only increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Environmental Causes: There is also an argument about how high levels of aluminum in the environme nt increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease, however there is not scientific proof of this actually being a cause.Some of the steps to be taken to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease are as follows; Intellectual Stimulation: One of good ways to reduce the risks of Alzheimer's disease is by doing metal exercise and doing things that requires one to work their brain. This helps in keeping the brain healthy and in good shape. Regular exercise: Another good way to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease is by doing regular physical exercise. This helps reduces the amount of cholesterol in the body and also reduces the fat. This reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease.Healthy Diet: The risk of Alzheimer's disease can be reduced by having food that is rich in vitamins and proteins. Also reducing the intake of fat also helps in reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Lowering Cholesterol Levels: Reducing the levels of cholesterol in the blood also helps in reducing the chances of a pe rson having the disease. Many clinical trails are also on to check the risk factor. There is another study that has found that compounds found in marijuana known as cannabinoids helps in preventing Alzheimer's disease.However they have not been able to prove it for a fact or replicate the same. Some of the important facts about Alzheimer's disease are as follows (Alzheimer’s Research Foundation); 1. Over a 100 billion dollars are spent a year to do research and to find a cure for the disease. 2. Around 24 million people around the world suffer from Alzheimer's disease. 3. Around 5 million Americans are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. 4. It is estimated that over 81 million people around the world will be suffering from Alzheimer's disease by 2020.Conclusion It can be clearly understood the gravity of the disease and the problems faced by a person suffering from the disease. It is very important for a person to lead a healthy life and be careful if they have Alzheimer's di sease in their family as there are chances that they may have the disease themselves. It is also necessary that one does not ignore the symptoms of short term memory loss as this can be the beginning of the disease and if found at the right stage it is possible to slow down the process of it damaging your brain.Research is on to find out a cure for the disease and reduce the risks the disease. References Alzheimer’s Research Foundation. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. alzinfo. org/alzheimers-disease-information. asp? mtc=google&kwd=alzheimer's_disease&gclid=CIuZgcqL34sCFQIFEAodcyncXg Alzheimer's Disease. (n. d. ). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease#History Cohen, E. Alzheimer's Disease. Richter, W. R. , & Richter, B. Z. Alzheimer's Disease.