com/alzheimers
consistent with what most people have heard before, such as consuming a good
balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, avoiding refined sugars, and relying on
water as a main source of hydration. While this type of lifestyle cannot serve as a
cure, it can prolong life without Alzheimers symptoms.
While not everyone will develop Alzheimers, those that will cannot prevent it.
There are ways to delay the on-set, but eventually symptoms will appear. The
symptoms range in severity, and that has led to three categorizations that
determine which stage an Alzheimers victim is in. The first is the mild stage. In this
stage symptoms are minimal, ranging from having difficulty coming up with the
right word in a conversation, to misplacing valuable items. Next, is the moderate
stage. In this stage symptoms are more prominent and noticeable. Victims
experience more confusion and are more likely to wander off. This is the longest
stage. The last stage, known as the severe stage, results in the Alzheimers patient
being completely dependent on others for everyday care. At this point victims are
no longer responding to their environment. As it is briefly mentioned throughout the
stages of Alzheimers, symptoms change throughout the disease. Some of the most
common symptoms displayed are the inability to reason and retain information.
Results of these inabilities are repetitive questions and conversations, as well as a
failure to notice threats to safety. One of the most devastating symptoms is the loss
of personality. Mood swings occur regularly, frustration and anger are easily
triggered, and the person you once knew is no longer the same.
Families are the first to notice symptoms. Their assistance allows the doctors
to form a diagnosis. Tests are also used in the diagnosis of an Alzheimers patient by
measuring the damage caused from the disease. A common test called MMSE
assesses a large range of mental abilities. The assessments can measure the
patients ability to understand instructions, measure their attention span, and much
more. The assessments can include activities such as repeating a list of words or
even writing grammatically correct sentences. Different scans such as CTs or MRIs
help rule out other possible causes of symptoms, such as brain tumors. EEGs can
help doctors in diagnosis by measuring brain activity. Once the patient has been
diagnosed, medications are generally prescribed to attempt to delay symptoms.
Over time scientists have been able to develop treatments, not to cure, but to
prolong an Alzheimers patients memory as long as possible. Razadyne and Aricept
are two common medications used today. These types of medications are currently
all that is available to help Alzheimers patients.
The only way to continue to develop new links and medications that have
stronger effects are to conduct clinical trials. Each trial starts off with a question. By
creating a chain of questions, scientists are able to pick up information and expand
it. Currently there is a trial focusing on a medication called solanezumab. The goal is
for this new medicine to delay Alzheimers by destroying the amyloid before it
destroys the brain tissue. If this medication proves to be a success, science will
have made a major leap into identifying Alzheimers as a whole.
Alzheimers has spread dramatically over the last decade. Many more people
are affected by it every day. Over 44 million people in the entire world have been
diagnosed with Alzheimers or some other form of memory impairment. This does
not include the seventy five percent that have not yet been diagnosed. Studies
suggest that as a result of the baby booming age the amount of Alzheimers victims
in the future are expected to grow rapidly. Two thirds of the victims diagnosed are
women, and predominantly African American and Hispanic. With such a rapid
growth of the disease expected in the near-by future, a cure could not come fast
enough. Different organizations have been put into place to advocate for research
and funding, the most common being the Alzheimers Association. While this
organization plays a huge role in supporting research, they also provide services for
those who have been affected by the disease. They offer services anywhere from
providing coping mechanisms to counseling sessions. These groups help victims and
their families cope with this devastating disease. While a cure is not available, the
support helps those affected in tremendous ways.
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"Alzheimer's Statistics." Alzheimers.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.alzheimers.net/resources/alzheimers-statistics/>.
Frisoni, Giovanni B. "Alzheimer's and Lifestyle Risk Factors." YouTube. YouTube, 10
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MacGill, Markus. "Alzheimer's Disease: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments." Medical
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