Defining And Explaining Alzheimer

It is sometimes confusing when an individual receives the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease because the disease involves both cognitive and behavioral symptoms. The disease is also progressive in...

It is sometimes confusing when an individual receives the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease because the disease involves both cognitive and behavioral symptoms. The disease is also progressive in nature so the symptoms worsen and increase in severity over time. This changes the dynamics of the disease adding to confusion when a non-medical person like the patient or family members try to understand what is happening. Defining and explaining what exactly Alzheimer’s is and how the symptoms affect the quality of life in terms that non-medical individual can more easily understand can make dealing with the news that you or someone you love has Alzheimer’s disease a little easier to accept.

Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the most well-known of dementia diseases. It is a neurological brain disorder that manifests itself in both cognitive and behavioral symptoms. There is currently no cure for the disease. The disease is progressive in nature, which means that the symptoms worsen over time. The disease symptoms do not disappear and the person will not become better. The disease is not reversible. There will be changes in the afflicted individual’s behavior, cognitive ability and personality as the disease progresses. Alzheimer’s worsens in stages, usually at a slow pace that can take from 5 to 20 years to go from mild to moderate to severe dementia. The individual dies from complications of the disease, with the most common cause of death being that of infection.

There is still no definitive cause for Alzheimer’s disease although scientists are getting closer to understanding the disease better. There appears to be many factors involved in possible causes including factors that are environmental, and inherited. Scientists through studies have been able to identify the fact there are noticeable brain changes in those who are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. As the individual loses cognitive function it appears that their brain structure changes to include plaques. Nerve cells in different areas of the brain apparently shrink and die in those with Alzheimer’s.

Scientists have been able to identify two risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and they include age and family history. The typical time for Alzheimer’s to be diagnosed is age 65 and older with the risk increasing as the individual ages. If you have a family member with the disease, your risk to develop the disease increases. If you have environmental factors such as a previous head injury especially one that involved having a concussion, or if you only completed 6 years of education or less, or have a lower socioeconomic status; scientists believe that you will have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is treatable in that there are both medicated and non-medicated methods that are part of a treatment plan that can bring comfort as well as possibly delay the progression of the disease if treatment is started early on in the disease. Treatment is designed to address cognitive and behavioral symptoms of the disease.

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