Alzheimer’s disease – Causes, Symptoms and Cures

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a generic form of dementia which does not have any cure and ultimately leads to death. Alois Alzheimer, a famous German neuropathalogist and psychiatrist described this disease during 1906. Generally the disease occurs in people belonging to age group of 65 and above. With the progress of the disease, symptoms could include mood swings, long-term memory loss, aggression, irritability and confusion.

Causes:

Family history and age are considered as risk factors of Alzheimer’s diseases. If you have a close relative like parent, sister or brother who have developed this disease, then chances are high for you to get this disease. Having particular combination of genes for proteins which are abnormal to Alzheimer’s disease can also enhance the risk. Head trauma or high blood pressure for long period can also result in AD. There are two categories of AD which is early onset and late onset AD. In early onset, symptoms are observed before age of 60 and disease progresses rapidly. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet known, but it is considered due to various environmental and genetic factors. Neurofibrillary tangle which involves twisted protein fragments inside nerve cells which clog up cells and senile plaques have considered resulting in AD. The destruction of certain nerve cells, then it impacts neurotransmitters which are involves in transmitting messages between brain cells and it impacts the normal working of the brain.

Symptoms:

The symptoms of the disease include impact in normal functioning of brain which affects abilities such as,

Perception

Memory

Language

Cognitive skills like judgment, abstract thing or calculation

Personality or emotional behavior

There is normal forgetfulness because of aging which is called mild cognitive impairment. People with AD will forget details about present events, their past life history and lose awareness of them. They find it difficult to read and write and make judgments. Also, sleep cycles are affected. They withdraw from social life and find it difficult to understand language. The other complications include,

1. Stroke
2. Brain Tumor
3. Thyroid disease
4. Intoxication from medication
5. Vitamin deficiency
6. Chronic infection
7. Severe depression
8. Anemia

Cures:

Unfortunately there is no permanent cure for AD. The diagnosis of the disease involves Magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain. There can be treatments to slow the disease progression and to manage behavioral problems, agitation, sleep problems and confusion. There are different categories of drugs like Donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine, memantine etc which are used to treat patients with AD. The medicines include sleeping pills, anti-depressants, pain killers, antihistamines etc. Also vitamin supplements are given to improve memory and consciousness.