Dealing with the Alzheimer’s Disease

Dealing with the Alzheimer’s Disease
Introduction
Alzheimer’s disease affects many families around the globe leaving many families in untold pains and misery. Most families have had to deal with Alzheimer’s disease, its understanding, its effects, and the statistics of the Alzheimer’s disease. These are the significant factors for an individual to know and comprehend.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological illness affiliated with the brain, which leads to irreversible loss of intellectual abilities and neurons in the brain. This means that vital areas of the brain such as memory and reasoning get affected and become severe. The disease is also known as Alzheimer’s or Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type (SDAT) (Lau, Brodney & Berg, 2008). Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common types of dementia. It is much more of a general term for indicating not only memory loss, but also other intellectual disabilities that are serious enough to impede with daily life routine. It is accountable for close to 55 to 90 percent of reported dementia cases globally. Many people relate Alzheimer’s disease as a common part of aging, but this is not entirely the case. However, it is true that the utmost known risk cause is increasing age, with the majority of people being affected ranging from the age of 65 and above.
Close to 5 percent of people bearing the disease get an early onset Alzheimer’s, this is also known as, Younger-Onset. It often appears when the affected is in their 40s or 50s. The common aspect of Alzheimer’s disease is that it gradually worsens over time, thus the illness has a progressive nature. Dementia symptoms continue to increase gradually within the years (Lau, Brodney & Berg, 2008). During the early stages recorded, memory loss aspect is mild, but the late stages record worse states of memory loss. The individual loses the ability to respond to their immediate environment and to hold an eligible and continuing conversation. However, diagnosis requires complete approval by certified medical personnel. There should be a full brain scan, mental assessing, various neurological tests and physical examination.
Alzheimer’s disease has no present cure, though treatments for visible symptoms are accessible and available. In as much as the treatments do not stop the disease from developing, they temporarily slow down the deteriorating symptoms of the dementia. This improves the life quality for the parties affected and their caretakers. Currently, there is a global effort that is underway to find better treatments, which not only slows the symptoms, but also prevents it from developing (Lu & Bludau, 2011).
The most common symptoms of the disease include traces of confusion, loss of touch with the environment, mood/behavior changes, the affected start arousing suspicions of their immediate family/caretakers, daily routine becomes a problem to those infected, difficulty experienced in remembering, and difficulty in walking and talking (Lu & Bludau, 2011). Most infected people show signs of depressions in the early stages, which lead to isolation and withdrawal.
Research shows that close to 4.5 million to 5.5 million of American citizens contract the disease. The trend is likely to increase over the years, with the presence of the current baby boom generation. The older generations, those with 65 years and above, record the highest amount of infection. The number is estimated to double within the upcoming twenty years, with the infected citizens amounting to 20% of the population (Kaplan University, 2012).
Conclusion
Research shows that people with active lifestyles have a higher chance of slackening the progression of the Alzheimer’s disease. Active people free of the disease record lower chances of acquiring the disease or developing any dementia. Thus people should indulge to active lifestyles.
References
Lau, L.-F., Brodney, M. A., & Berg, S. (2008). Alzheimer’s disease. Berlin: Springer.
Lu, L. C., & Bludau, J. H. M. D. (2011). Alzheimer’s Disease. Westport:
ABC-CLIO.
Kaplan University. Research on Alzheimer. 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012, from
<http://library.kaplan.edu/content.php?pid=150035>

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