Bismillahirahmanirahim
, Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder and irreversible that
slowly destroys memory (memory) and the ability to think, and ultimately impair
the ability to carry out simple tasks everyday. In most people with Alzheimer's
disease, the first symptoms appeared in the mid-60s.
Alzheimer's is a
disease which is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. Dementia is
a loss of cognitive function; thinking, remembering, and reasoning and the
ability to behave in such a way that interfere with a person's life or daily
activities. Dementia appears in various stages; ranging from mild, when only
slightly impaired brain function and has just started, can lead to the most
severe stage, when a person can no longer self-sufficient and must rely
entirely on others for simple daily activities.
History of Alzheimer.
Alzheimer's disease is
named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer see changes in the
brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms
include memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behaviour. After he
died, Dr. Alzheimer examine his brain and found many abnormal clumps (now
called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibres (now called
neurofibrillary, or tau, tangles). Plaques and tau in the brain is still
regarded as a major sign of Alzheimer's disease. Another sign is the loss of
connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. We know that neurons
transmit messages between neurons with each other in our brain, and distribute
the signal from the brain to the muscles and organs of the body, it does not
run smoothly on Alzheimer's disease.
Recognize the symptoms
of Alzheimer
Impaired memory is one
of the first signs of cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease.
In general, people who have mild memory disorder known as mild cognitive
impairment or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At MCI, the person has memory
problems more severe than normal according to the standard of his age, but
symptoms are not to interfere with daily life. Parents with MCI are at greater
risk for developing Alzheimer's. If this happens, Alzheimer's disease memory
disturbance would disrupt daily life. The first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
varies from person to person. For most people, the initial symptoms can include
memory lost, but others that first appeared precisely the aspect of non-memory,
such as a problem with the pronunciation of words, vision / spatial issues, and
impaired reasoning or judgment.
What is the difference
with ordinary forgotten?
Become a normal thing if someone occasionally
forget about something. The more we age, the more decreases a person's ability
to remember words or names, or forget to put something. Occasionally forget not
necessarily indicate dementia or Alzheimer's, Or senile dementia caused by
Alzheimer's disease will show an unnatural forget, like do not recognize the
face or the previous name is familiar, difficulty performing common tasks (such
as using the telephone or the way home), or not being able to remember
information just given.
What is the Cause ?
The cause of Alzheimer
Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer's disease in most
people. Alzheimer's disease that strikes young people, usually caused by
genetic mutations. While Alzheimer's in the elderly in general arise from a
series of complex brain changes that occur over several decades. The cause of
Alzheimer's is a combination of genetic, environmental factors, and lifestyle.
Although the cause is not fully understood, but the effect on the brain clearly
visible. In Alzheimer damage or even killing brain cells.
Brain affected by
Alzheimer's disease has a number of nerve cells are less and the relationship
between nerve cells are also less, even cells surviving less than a healthy
brain. This condition causes the brain size is shrinking and of course its
function also decreased significantly.
How to diagnoses ?
Doctors use several
methods and special tools to help determine whether someone is experiencing
memory problems were suffering from "dementia is Alzheimer's" or
dementia may be due to other diseases.
To diagnose
Alzheimer's, doctors can do the following:
·
Requesting information from a family
member or someone at home about overall health, past medical problems, the
patient's ability to carry out daily activities, changes in behavior and
personality.
· Behavioral tests of memory, problem
solving, attention, counting, and language .
·
Conducting medical tests standards,
such as blood and urine tests, to identify other possible causes Doing a scan
of the brain, such as computed tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET), to rule out other possible
causes.
·
Various types of these checks will be
repeated to give doctors information about how a person's memory and other
cognitive functions change from time to time.
Treatment of
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's is a
complex issue, and it is impossible to just use one drug or intervention can
successfully treat it. The current approach focuses on helping patients
maintain mental function, managing behavioral symptoms, and slow or delay
symptoms of the disease. The researchers hope to develop therapies that target
the mechanisms of genetic, molecular, cellular and specific so that the actual
cause of the disease can be stopped or prevented.
Several types of
Alzheimer's drugs that are often used include: Cholinesterase inhibitors and
Memantine, besides that it is necessary also the management of the environment,
physical exercise, and nutritional aspects. Wallahuaklam.
