Monday, March 19, 2012

Alzheimer’s Disease Its Causes And Symptoms

Alzheimer’s is a serious disease of the brain. While it typically affects older people, it is a progressive and generally irreversible disease which has serious consequences for the victims and their families and can also touch younger people even if it is very rare. Alzheimer’s disease is a very difficult condition not only for the patients but also for the family and loves ones around them. Today, we have still not find any successful treatments that can cure completely the disease. Let’s discuss some of the causes, symptoms and treatments for this devastating illness.

It is not generally known why some people become affected with Alzheimer’s. Genetics may play a role or even lifestyle. But if the disease does develop, it creates physical changes to the brain which has significant long-term impacts.

If someone is affected by Alzheimer’s, they generally gradual changes in mental function. The disease itself causes the brain cells to function in a degrading fashion and eventually causes them to wither and die. Over time the volume of the brain actually decreases with serious impacts.

In the early stages of the disease, the patient tends to exhibit bouts of forgetfulness. They may forget information like names, addresses or appointments. This is sometimes seen as having a senior moment. But as the disease progresses, the impacts become more severe.

Over time the person will forget more significant information such as their names, address, etc. Eventually they will not recognize loved ones or even who they are.

There is no cure for this difficult disease. However a number of treatments have been developed over the years to help to slow the progression of this disease. There are a number of drug therapies which have been shown to slow down the deterioration and help to retain a good quality of life to its sufferers for many years than previously thought.

And there are promising new developments which will hopefully provide an effective cure and prevent the degradation of mental functions which normally occurs from this disease even if as of today no final treatment has been found. A number of exciting clinical trials are underway and there is great hopes that in the coming year we will find an effective solutions for this very difficult disease which impact not only the mental health of individuals but can also affect all the people around them.

In the mean time other techniques are being employed to help to teach sufferers to challenge and optimize their existing mental capacities in order to provide the best quality of life possible. These may employ brain plasticity and help to reinforce and form new neural pathways.

The importance of diet and mental exercise is also applied to help to minimize the impacts of this disease and even avoid its formation.

So while this is very much a serious problem for many sufferers and their families, there are a number of promising treatments which may offer hope in terms of delaying the progression of the disease or even reversing its impact. There are many useful resources to help provide information and support to individuals and their families who are suffering from this difficult disease.

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