Alzheimer's: A Debilitating Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a brain disorder. It is the most common form of dementia, and this terminal, progressive brain disorder has no known cause or cure. Vascular dementia, another common type of dementia, is caused by reduced blood flow to parts of the brain.

In mixed dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia occur together. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer's gets worse over time. Alzheimer's Disease Research (ADR), a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, seeks to avert this tidal wave by funding research to find a cure. As many as 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease! What a huge number.

Early symptoms can include: confusion, disturbances in short-term memory, problems with attention and spatial orientation, personality changes, language difficulties and unexplained mood swings.  

Alzheimer's has three stages:

1. Mild: This stage can last from 2 to 4 years. Early in the illness, those with Alzheimer's tend to be less energetic and spontaneous. They exhibit minor memory loss and mood swings, and are slow to learn and react. They may become withdrawn, avoid people and new places and prefer the familiar. Individuals become confused, have difficulty organizing and planning, get lost easily and exercise poor judgment. They may have difficulty performing routine tasks, and have trouble communicating and understanding written material. If the person is employed, memory loss may begin to affect job performance.
2. Moderate: This is generally the longest stage and can last 2 to 10 years. In this stage, the person with Alzheimer's is clearly becoming disabled. Individuals can still perform simple tasks independently, but may need assistance with more complicated activities. They forget recent events and their personal history, and become more disoriented and disconnected from reality.
3. Severe: This stage may last 1 to 3 years. During this final stage, people may lose the ability to feed themselves, speak, recognize people and control bodily functions. Their memory worsens and may become almost non-existent. Patients may become vulnerable to other illnesses and respiratory problems.

Risk factors include:

1. Age: The greatest risk of developing Alzheimer's is age. Approximately 5 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74, and almost half of those 85 years and older are estimated to have Alzheimer's.
2. Genetics: In some families, clusters of cases are seen. A gene called Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) appears to be a risk factor for the late-onset form of Alzheimer's. There are three forms of this gene: ApoE2, ApoE3 and ApoE4. Roughly one in four Americans has ApoE4 and one in twenty has ApoE2. While inheritance of ApoE4 increases the risk of developing AD, ApoE2 substantially protects against the disease.
3. Cardiovascular disease: Risk factors associated with heart disease and stroke, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, may also increase the risk of developing AD.
4. Type 2 Diabetes: There is growing evidence of a link between AD and type 2 diabetes.
5. Inflammation: Inflammation is a natural, but sometimes harmful, healing bodily function in which immune cells rid themselves of dead cells and other waste products. As protein plaques develop in AD.

Diagnosis: At present, the only way to definitely diagnose AD is through a brain autopsy. If the person exhibited Alzheimer-like symptoms while alive and the brain tissue contains the microscopic physical abnormalities typical of AD, then a definitive diagnosis of AD can be made. While a person is alive, physicians can correctly diagnose AD about 90 percent of the time based on several tools like: Questions about the person's general health, past medical problems, and ability to carry out daily activities, tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language, medical tests-such as tests of blood, urine, or spinal fluid, and brain scans.

Consult your doctor: If you are exhibiting symptoms that could potentially be a result of Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia, or if you believe someone close to you may be affected, consult a physician as soon as possible. Since current medications seem to be most effective in the first stages of the disease, early screening and diagnosis are important.

Treatment: Alzheimer's is a slow disease, starting with mild memory problems and ending with severe brain damage. On average, AD patients live from 8 to 10 years after they are diagnosed, though some people may live with AD for as many as 20 years. No treatment can stop AD. However, for some people in the early and middle stages of the disease, the drugs tacrine (Cognex, which is still available but no longer actively marketed by the manufacturer), donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), or galantamine (Razadyne, previously known as Reminyl) may help prevent some symptoms from becoming worse for a limited time.

See your health care professional to guide you in the right direction and remember you are never alone, there is always someone out there to help you and your loved ones.

(Sources: alz.org, ahaf.org, nia.nih.gov)