Alzheimer Disease
Introduction
With a rapid increase in the world’s population, the number of people with dementia has risen. The cases are expected to surge by approximately 50% percent by 2030. Dementia is mainly a disease of the aged. In the US, about 10 percent of the elderly aged 65 years and above suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most prevalent cause of dementia. It accounts for approximately 60 t0 80 percent of dementia cases. Other types of dementia include Parkinson’s disease, vascular dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy Body dementia.
Psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer first identified the first case in 1901 in a woman aged 50 years old. Alois Alzheimer was interested in her case, and he devoted to her disease until she passed on in 1906 when he announced it. Henceforth, the disease was named after him—Alzheimer’s disease. With time, the term was adopted in the medical codification.
According to research by the commonwealth, Alzheimer’s disease is at position six in the world’s leading death-causing condition. A person with the illness lives for about four to eight years after the diagnosis of the disease. This poses a challenge to the dementia caregivers nursing homes. However, if well maintained and depending on other factors, a person can live for up to 20 years. Being among the leading disease in the cause of US deaths, there is a lot of research and efforts today that seek to find better ways in which the disease can be treated or how it can be prevented from occurring.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive ailment that affects brain cells. It leads to a steady decrease in one’s memory as the brain cells lapses. The condition involves the brain’s region that controls language, thoughts, and memories and can affect a person’s ability to carry out their daily tasks. This paper discusses what is known about the illness. The causes, symptoms in the different stages, and treatment of the disease.
Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s is brought about by several risk factors such as environment, ones’ lifestyle, and sometimes family genetics. There is a high risk of developing this disease if a relative has this disease. According to research, these genetic factors are complex, and they remain unexplainable. For example, a family with the apolipoprotein E gene is more prone to developing this disease (Morley, Farr & Nguyen, 2018). The good thing is, this is a rare factor and accounts for less than one percent of people suffering from the disease.
Poor lifestyle is also a contribution to the risk of developing the disease. According to research, obesity, high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, lack of exercise, and smoking increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. All these factors cause conditions that affect the functioning of the brain. The brain proteins start to fail slowly and worsen with time, leading to a loss of memory.
Two main brain proteins lead to Alzheimer’s, that is, Plaques and Tangles (Bondi, Edmonds, Salmon, 2017). Plaques are sticky and toxic deposits of amyloid-beta between the brain neurons. When the proteins build up, they breach the communication between the brain nerve cells. This disrupts the transmission of short-term anamnesis to long term anamnesis leading to cognitive impairment.
On the other hand, tangles refer to the abnormal accretion of an abnormal protein called Tau in specific brain regions. Tau is a healthy insoluble fiber that helps in the movement of nutrients and information from the body cells to the brain (Congdon & Sigurdsson, 2018). However, abnormal chemical alters in the body get the fibers twisted up and unstable. This may weaken the entire neuron transport system and stop communications between the neurons.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
Several signs and symptoms accompany Alzheimer’s disease. The primary symptom is the loss of memory, speech difficulties, struggles in making decisions and judgments, decreased personal hygiene, anxiety, illusions and delusions, difficulty in concentration, and social withdrawal (Bondi, Edmonds, Salmon, 2017). The symptoms are different, and they vary as the disease advances through the various stages.
Alzheimer’s Stages
Alzheimer’s progress in stages and the symptoms continue to deteriorate over time (Kumar & Tsao, 2019). Depending on the factors mentioned above, the pace at which the diseases aggravates varies. The brain ability change in seven stages that range within three main categories. Early-stage, middle stage and late stage. in the early stage, the individual will experience symptoms such as: Forgetting a very invaluable word in a sentence, Struggle in coming up with the correct words, difficulty in remembering new people’s names and Straining while making decisions or planning for things.
In this early stage, symptoms of Alzheimer’s cannot be proven real, but the doctor can diagnose if a person is at risk for Alzheimer’s. The patient can operate independently and perform their duties without any assistance from family and close friends. It lasts for an average time of 2 to 4 years.
In the second stage, the middle stage requires a greater level of attention, supervision, and care from family members (DeFina et al., 2013). Usually, this is the longest stage and can last from 2 to 10 years. The person can perform some simple tasks but with some assistance. The symptoms’ are diagnosable and include memory loss of one’s past or present situations such as their telephone number. Other signs include reduced awareness of the happening events, struggle in managing bills and finances, temperamental, disengagement, especially from social activities, trouble controlling bowels and bladder, an inclination to wander, and general physical, behavioral changes such as repeating monotonous behavior.
Finally, in the last stage of Alzheimer’s, the symptoms are acute and severe and require daily care. During this stage, the individual’s speech reduces and is limited to only fewer words. The doctor or caregiver may need to repeat questions for them to respond. It includes symptoms such as stiff and painful body movements, vulnerability to diseases such as pneumonia, and inability to initiate conversations. Nonetheless, the person with the last stage Alzheimer’s is likely to benefit from the conversation around them could be either through music or receiving compassion and reassurance.
Diagnosis
There is no specific diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease. However, the disease can be diagnosed by putting into consideration the medical history, behavioral observations, and family genes (DeFina et al., 2013). Through this, the doctor can rule out other dementia conditions using selective ancillary testing before concluding. Unfortunately, the gold ideal diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is a post mortem pathological examination (Korolev, 2014). It clearly defines the condition and the stage of the disease.
In a typical clinical setting, the accuracy of the diagnosis is approximately 70 to 90 percent. Advanced diagnosis can be conducted by taking medical images such as CT scan, single-photon emission computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or positron emission tomography. Imaging may be useful in ruling out other conditions such as brain tumors or cerebral hematomas. An Examination of intellectual functioning helps in further characterization and explanation of the disease.
Treatment
There is also no single cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, certain medications and treatments can be used to help alleviate the symptoms as well as decrease the rate at which the disease progresses. The doctor may prescribe medicines that target improving the brain’s neurotransmitter system . Prescriptions such as Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors aid in the functionality of the memory (Korolev, 2014). Memantine is also an approved drug that is used for acute cases. It belongs to the glutamate classing assists in inhibiting the effects of excess glutamate. Glutamate is a chemical in the brain that, when released in excess, damages the brain cells.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the US has approved three cholinesterase inhibitors. Rivastigmine for early to middle stages, Galantamine for early to middle stages and donepezil for late stages. In some cases, the doctor may recommend treatments for symptoms related to Alzheimer’s disease, such as depression, agitation, and hallucinations treatments.
CONCLUSION
Alzheimer’s disease is a common developing condition with a high predicted increased prevalence rate. The progression of the disease is not reversible. Luckily, studies and experiments conducted towards improving the disease preventative measures are gaining stability. Advancements have been made since the description of the first case by Alon Alzheimer. Neuropsychological tests and examinations play an essential role in the early diagnosis of the disease. It also plays a vital role in the differentiation of differential diagnosis of healthy aging and differentiation of different types of dementia.
Technological advances have enhanced the therapeutic and diagnostic choices available for the management of Alzheimer’s disease. The medical expert’s ability to find a cure for this dementia in the future relies on not only having a factual view of the biological processes but also on having excellent biomarkers that will facilitate early diagnosis and prompt therapeutic interventions.
Fortunately, having no cure for the disease as at now, researchers recommend several measures that may help to prevent the occurrence of the Alzheimer’s disease such as, maintenance of an active and healthy social life, maintaining a healthy diet that is plant-based, practicing regular exercise, participating in a cognitive training exercise, consumption of more antioxidants, and quitting smoking.
Health care specialists can propose, support, and advise patients, their families, or their caregivers regarding the patients’ daily functioning. The daily demand for a person who has Alzheimer’s disease requires commitment. Both physically, emotionally, and financially. It remains a common disease that people have to put up with as researchers and experts continue to set the pace in understanding the biology and clinical aspects of the disease.
REFERENCES
Bondi, M. W., Edmonds, E. C., & Salmon, D. P. (2017). Alzheimer’s disease: past, present, and future. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 23(9-10), 818.
Congdon, E. E., & Sigurdsson, E. M. (2018). Tau-targeting therapies for Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Reviews Neurology, 14(7), 399-415.
DeFina, P. A., Moser, R. S., Glenn, M., Lichtenstein, J. D., & Fellus, J. (2013). Alzheimer’s disease, clinical and research update for health care practitioners. Journal of aging research, 2013.
Korolev, I. O. (2014). Alzheimer’s disease: a clinical and basic science review. Medical Student Research Journal, 4(1), 24-33.
Kumar, A., & Tsao, J. W. (2019). Alzheimer disease.
Morley, J. E., Farr, S. A., & Nguyen, A. D. (2018). Alzheimer Disease. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 34(4), 591.