Alzheimer's disease: symptoms, causes and treatment

Definition of Alzheimer's disease

What is Alzheimer's disease?

The definition of Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease characterized by a decrease in memory, thinking ability, and changes in behavior in carrying out daily life.

So called because this disease was discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer's in 1906 in women with unusual brain tissue damage.

Although it develops slowly, this disease can damage brain tissue over time. In fact, in some cases it can lead to death due to complications.

Many think that this disease is the same as dementia. Please note that the two are related, but they are different things. The difference between Alzheimer's disease and dementia is that Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common types of dementia.

So, it can be concluded that dementia underlies Alzheimer's disease and other types of diseases that cause damage to brain tissue.

In addition, this disease is also not the same as dementia. The reason is, senility is a condition that makes people forget easily, usually occurs due to aging.

Indeed, senility is one of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, not everyone who experiences it means suffering from this disease. There are many other factors that cause senility in a person.

How common is this disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a disease that generally affects people aged 65 to 74 years. Usually, the first symptoms appear in the mid-60s. In rare cases, symptoms appear earlier, that is, over the age of 30,

Signs & symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

The following are common symptoms of Alzheimer's disease:

Senile

Senility (forgetfulness) is a typical early symptom of Alzheimer's disease. People with this disease usually have difficulty remembering events or conversations that they have recently had.

Over time, these symptoms will worsen, making a person's ability to perform activities poorly.

In addition to difficulty remembering, people who have Alzheimer's disease are very likely to experience the following:

• Often says repeated words or sentences and forgets the promises he made.
• Often misplaces items, sometimes puts them in an unnatural location.
• Lost in a familiar place.
• Forget the names of family members and objects around them.
• It is difficult to find the right words to identify objects and express thoughts.

Difficulty concentrating and making decisions

The next characteristic of Alzheimer's disease is difficulty concentrating, especially about abstract concepts such as numbers. This condition makes it difficult for them to manage their finances or pay their bills on time, sometimes unable to recognize numbers.

They also find it difficult to make judgments and determine decisions faced in everyday life. For example, choosing clothes that are not suitable for the weather at that time and appearing careless in doing something.

In severe cases, people with this disease have difficulty doing activities such as bathing or cleaning the house.

Personality and behavior change

Changes in brain tissue cause Alzheimer's disease patients to experience symptoms that can change their mood and behavior, such as:

• Depressed and indifferent to your surroundings.
• Withdraw from various social life.
• Moods are volatile and irritable
• Experiencing delusions (discontinuity between thoughts, imagination, emotions, and reality).

The rate at which symptoms of Alzheimer's disease develop varies from person to person, but generally symptoms will develop slowly over several years. There may be other symptoms that are not listed. If you have questions about signs of illness, consult a doctor.

When to see a doctor

If you experience signs or symptoms as mentioned above, consult your doctor immediately. Every body acts differently from one another. Always discuss with your doctor to find the best solution regarding your situation.

Causes of Alzheimer's disease

The cause of Alzheimer's disease is not known with certainty. However, some scientists theorize that the possible cause of Alzheimer's disease is a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect brain organs over time.

In essence, there is a problem with brain proteins that fail to function normally, thus interfering with the work of brain cells (neurons), and releasing a series of toxic substances. As a result, neurons will suffer damage, lose their connection with each other, and eventually die.

The damage most often starts in the region of the brain that controls memory, but the process begins years before the first symptoms. The loss of neurons spreads in a predictable pattern to other areas of the brain. In the later stages of the disease, the brain shrinks in size.

So far, researchers who are still investigating the causes of Alzheimer's disease have focused on the following two things:

The presence of plaque in the brain

Beta-amyloid is a residual fragment of a larger protein. When these fragments come together, they have a toxic effect on the neurons and interfere with cell-to-cell communication.

The collection of these effects eventually forms larger deposits called amyloid plaques which can cause damage to brain tissue.

The tangled protein threads

The tau protein plays a role in supporting neurons and the transportation system to carry nutrients and other essential materials to the brain.

In Alzheimer's disease, the tau protein changes shape and organizes itself into its wrinkled structure. This condition disrupts the transport system and is toxic to brain cells.

Dementia risk factors

Some of the factors that can increase your risk of Alzheimer's disease are:

• Age is the strongest risk factor, especially after age 65.
• Family history of the same disease.
• People with mild cognitive impairment.
• Head injury.
• Unhealthy lifestyle such as lack of physical activity, smoking, eating little fruits and vegetables.
• Have cardiovascular disease, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or increased homocysteine ​​levels.
• Low levels of formal education, boring work, lack of activities that train the brain such as reading, playing games, playing musical instruments, and lack of social communication.

Diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

The only sure way to diagnose someone with Alzheimer's disease is by examining brain tissue after death. However, your doctor may use other examinations and tests to assess your mental abilities.

The doctor may start by asking for a history of medication. In addition, the doctor will also ask questions about:

• The symptoms experienced ..
• Your family medical history
• Health conditions that you are currently dealing with or have been dealing with.
• Medications that you are currently taking or have been taking.
• Lifestyle, diet, and drinking habits.

From that examination, your doctor may perform several tests to determine whether you are an Alzheimer's patient.

Alzheimer's disease screening

There is no definite test to check for Alzheimer's disease. However, your doctor may perform several tests to determine a diagnosis. The examination can be in the form of mental, physical, neurological, and imaging tests.

The doctor will probably start with a mental status test. This can help them assess your short-term, long-term memory and orientation to place and time. For example, your doctor may ask you some trivial questions to provoke your memory skills.

Next, the doctor will conduct an examination. For example, your doctor will check your blood pressure, rate your heart rate, and measure your temperature. The doctor may also ask for samples of your urine and blood for testing in the laboratory.

In addition, doctors can also perform neurological examinations to rule out other possible diagnoses, such as acute medical problems, such as infection or stroke. During this exam, they'll check your reflexes, muscles, and speech.

Your doctor may order brain imaging studies. Because of this, your brain imaging will be checked through:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI can help show key symptoms, such as inflammation, bleeding, and structural problems.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan. A CT scan takes X-ray images that will help your doctor see abnormal characteristics in your brain.
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan. This test can help doctors detect plaque buildup. Plaque is a protein linked to Alzheimer's symptoms.

Other tests your doctor may order include blood tests to check for genes that may indicate you have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease.

What are the treatment options for Alzheimer's disease?

According to the Mayo Clinic page, how to treat Alzheimer's disease that doctors usually recommend is:

Take medicine

Alzheimer's disease cannot be cured. However, some Alzheimer's drugs can help patients to slow the progression of the disease.

Medicines for Alzheimer's disease that are usually used are cholinesterase inhibitor and memantine type drugs.

Memantine can block the effects of excess glutamate, a brain chemical released in higher amounts in people with Alzheimer's, damaging brain cells.

This can help patients keep levels of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter to maintain memory) high in the brain.

The types of cholinesterase inhibitor drugs that are usually prescribed are donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Razadyne), and rivastigmine (Exelon).

In addition, your doctor may prescribe additional sedatives, such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, or antipsychotics. This additional medication is also prescribed by doctors to help treat symptoms associated with Alzheimer's. These symptoms include:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Aggression
• Agitation
• Hallucinations.

Provide a safe and supportive environment for the patient

Alzheimer's disease will make it difficult for people to adapt to the new environment so you should not try to change the environment around the patient (home, caregiver, etc.) if it is not really important.

You will need to write down various information and post it in several places in the home to help the patient remember important things.

More specifically, the various things you need to do to create a safe environment for patients include:

• Always keep your keys, wallet, cellphone and other valuables in one place in the house, so they don't get lost.
• Store medicines in a safe place. Use medication use records to monitor dosage.
• Make sure the patient has a cell phone with a location tracking program and enter the phone numbers of you and your family on speed dialing to make communication easier.
• Make sure objects or furniture in the house do not make it difficult for the patient to do activities.
• Reduce the number of mirrors installed in the house. People with Alzheimer's may find the image in the mirror confusing or frightening.
• Long photos or objects that have a special attachment to the patient around the house. For example, wedding photos or family photos.

Home care for Alzheimer's disease

Various lifestyle changes or medications that can treat Alzheimer's disease are:

• Eating healthy food with balanced nutrition.
• Quit smoking and limit your alcohol consumption.
• Trying to get the ideal body weight.
• If possible, exercise or do physical activity regularly.
• Look for people who can support and care for you. You or a family member may need home care to get better care.
• Try to simplify your daily routine and living space.
• Enjoy life and should not think negatively about the disease it has.

Some people believe that vitamin E can help prevent mental decline, but more research is needed to prove this. Be sure to ask your doctor before taking vitamin E or any other supplement.

This can interfere with some of the drugs used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease prevention

Alzheimer's disease is a preventable disease. Even so, you can reduce the risk as a way to prevent Alzheimer's disease, namely by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

A healthy lifestyle is associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, which is also associated with other diseases that attack the brain, including Alzheimer's disease.

Preventive measures for Alzheimer's disease that you can take include:

• Diligent exercise, at least 30 minutes every day.
• Eat vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, and foods that contain healthy fats, such as fish, avocados, and walnuts.
• Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.
• Participate in social activities, such as taking cooking classes, community book lovers, or activities where you can interact with other people.