Alzheimer's Disease

By: Stephen Gauss

All people tend to forget certain things because of the hectic lifestyle of modern man. This is not unnatural since this does happen to everyone. However, there is a chance that one has Alzheimer's disease when an individual tends to forget even the simplest things. This indicates that there is something definitely amiss.

Alzheimer's disease is a disorder in the brain which commonly afflicts people above 65 years of age. In time, the patient will gradually lose both the intellectual and social abilities making it hard to do anything and even interact with others.

Currently there are around 4.5 million Americans that are diagnosed with this disease. It is projected that this number will increase as more and more of the population reach the retirement age.

As there is no recognized cure for Alzheimer's disease, the only thing we can do for now is make life comfortable for those who have just been diagnosed with the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is not simply dementia. This is because dementia is only one symptom of the disorder such as Alzheimer's disease. There are many symptoms for this disease which may begin with the person simply forgetting certain things. There is definitely a problem when the person begins to forget simple things such as their name and the names of family and friends.

A particularly disturbing symptom is when the patient experiences personality changes in the presence of family members and close friends. The affected person will sometimes change from focused and happy to confused, then upset and scared within a matter of minutes for no apparent reason at all.

A neurological scan is the most exact Alzheimer's testing method available. If a physician confirms the patient has this illness, the best way to treat it is through the use of prescribed drugs such as memantine and cholinesterase inhibitors. Alzheimer's research has shown these drugs can slow down the progressive symptoms of the illness and still other research is being done to find a cure for the disease.

How can family members help a loved one with this disease? Children can take turns watching over the patient. When this is not possible a caregiver must be hired to check on the patient. This specialist will usually stay in the home and make sure the person is safe.

Physical and mental exercises must be administered to keep the patient's strength up and even help depression, which is another symptom commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease. In the later stages of the illness, it is best for visitors to stay in the line of sight of the patient, speak slowly and even hold on to the individual so the sufferer can remember who he or she is talking to.

Stephen Gauss maintains alzheimers-forum.com - a web site devoted to support resources for the families of those affected with Alzheimer's disease. The latest news can be found at http://www.alzheimers-forum.com/news.html along with other resources on the site.

This is a brief overview of Alzheimer's disease and some of the symptoms that can be attributed to this illness.