Alzheimer’s Disease - Spotlight on Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a disorder of thinking in seniors that worsens over time. By far and away the most important risk factor for AD is age, and the frequency of AD clearly increases with age so that about 40% of individuals over 80 years of age have AD. A specific kind of memory deficit is the earliest and most obvious problem in AD. This is difficulty learning and remembering new information like a phone message or what was eaten for breakfast.
Patients often ask the same question throughout the day, forgetting that it’s been asked many times before, and frequently repeat themselves during a conversation. However, memory difficulty alone is not enough to say that someone has AD. Individuals with AD also have impaired language (poor word-finding when speaking, difficulty understanding), problems with visual perception (difficulty recognizing objects, getting lost in very familiar places), and impaired planning and organizing. Sometimes AD is associated with hallucinations, paranoia, agitation, and depression.
AD may be inherited, but this occurs only in a very small number of people. AD is not due to strokes, head trauma, vitamin deficiency, infection, or endocrine problems, although any of these can lead to memory difficulty. An experienced doctor can evaluate these and other problems that can cause memory and thinking impairments. Instead, proteins accumulate abnormally in the brain of an AD patient, and these proteins interfere with the functioning of brain cells or neurons.
While there is currently no cure for AD, treatments are being developed to prevent the brain cells from being attacked. These treatments should be available in the next 5 years. Several medications are available now that can help slow the progression of AD. These medicines are directed at helping some of the chemicals that allow brain cells to communicate with each other. Other treatments help manage some of the symptoms associated with AD such as paranoia, agitation, and depression.
AD is a progressive condition, and patients can become increasingly agitated and can wander. There may be difficulty sleeping through the night, often because patients are sleeping too much during the day. As the condition gets worse, patients eventually require care 24 hours a day for seven days a week throughout the year, becoming totally dependent on their caregivers for all activities of daily living.
Even with all of the love in the world, this is overwhelming for any one caregiver to manage alone. There are many services available in the area to help in the caring process, such as Adult Activity Centers and companions. The Alzheimer’s Association can provide information about these resources. The Alzheimer’s Association also sponsors free support groups throughout the area where more can be learned about AD.
Murray Grossman, MD, EdD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at the Penn School of Medicine and affiliated with the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, http://www.med.upenn.edu/ins/faculty/grossman.htm