Alzheimers Disease
A permanent and debilitating disease

Alzheimer's Disease and it's Symptoms

From the German psychiatrist who first diagnosed the disease, Alzheimer's is a fatal disease that has neither a known cause nor a cure. There are treatments that help prevent the disease from developing into its complete form. Plus, medications already exists which enable and assist patients in managing their agitation, depression, hallucinations or delusions which usually manifest themselves during the later stages of the disease.

Memory Loss

There are a number of symptoms which help diagnose the disease. The most prominent of which is memory loss. What seems to be a simple lapse in memory could be the start of Alzheimer's disease. Loss of memory in Alzheimer's is manifested from the more than unusual fluctuating forgetfulness to short-term memory loss. Later, the patient will start to forget familiar things and well-known skills. They will start to forget names, objects, and persons even those that are close to them.

Alzheimer's memory loss is often accompanied by aphasia, disorientation and disinhibition. Aside from forgetfulness and amnesia, some refer to Alzheimer's related memory loss as memory decay, memory decline, or memory impairment (Loring, 1999). One, however, should not conclude that all memory loss is caused by Alzheimer's disease. There are two basic causes of memory loss, namely normal or age related memory loss, and the abnormal type. It is normal that middle age and older people begin to forget a number of things. Their ability to remember is often times measured on a standardized scale.

Testing is necessary

If their tested memory scores fall within the designated cutoff, their memory loss is due to normal and age-related causes. Meanwhile, if they fail to pass the scores it means that their memory loss is caused by not mere age-related reasons but by abnormal, or age-inappropriate, memory disease or impairment instead. At this stage, you need to have medical professional isolate and determine if the patient has Alzheimer's.

Aside from the early symptom of memory loss, Alzheimer's in the early stage could also change the patient's behavior. As the disease develops, the patient will loose more and more control over body functions which effect the way the person thinks and respond. With the affects on the brain's cognitive functions, the patient will have trouble talking, will find skilled movements troublesome to do and hard to accomplish, and will start slowing down in terms of movements. The patient will become indecisive and will start having trouble in the decision-making processes and planning stages of human activities.

Cognitive functions and mood swings

These losses of memory and cognitive functions are related to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The two lobes becomr disconnected from the limbic system due to the disease. Also, part of the symptoms of Alzheimer's is mood swings and outbursts of violence or excessive passivity. The later stages will be more unsettleing. People with Alzheimer's will later on start to loose bowel movement as well as muscle control and mobility. Alzheimer's usually develops and become fatal within approximately 7 to 10 years.

There's still no cure, but...

Since Dr. Alzheimer diagnosed the disease in 1901, there have been many medical discoveries with tons of results from research studies and medical investigations that were found to be beneficial in preventing or delaying Alzheimer's disease. Studies hssve found that exercise helps lessen the risk of contracting the disease. Scientists have found significant findings which indicate that having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and low levels of the vitamin folate can increase one's risk of acquiring Alzheimer's disease.

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