About Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is probably one of the modern age diseases that cannot be cured. The information that we have about it is limited, and there are only predictions, that we will be able to cure it with genetic modifications. That probably means, that we will not be able to cure it, but we will be able to prevent it.

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease, and as such it is the most common type of dementia. That also means that the health problems are connected with the aging process of the patients. There is a limited proof that some cases of it are caused by a gene that makes the chances of getting it much bigger. On the other hand, 5 to 10% of it are connected to a clear line in the family, but still most cases are sporadic, that means that they are not connected to any family past diseases.

The problems that are noted in the early stages can be obvious to the family members, so it is really important, that they are noted at an early stage. The most obvious are short memory loss and visual-spatial confusion. Another early sign of the disease are changes in the behavior, like the patient becoming less energetic or spontaneous. The patient in this stage is yet to be diagnosed with dementia, but the early signs, if they are recognized, can show that there is a change going on. They are most obvious when the patient is driving, because she cannot orient herself well enough or he is not able to drive the car in the same lane. The short term memory loss can be seen when the patient with Alzheimer's disease cannot move in familiar surroundings.

Later the signs become more obvious and the patient is diagnosed with dementia. In the middle stage the patient will still be able to perform simple tasks by himself, but he will need help with the more complicated tasks, like paying the bills. If the person had a history of violence, violent outbursts can also be a sign of the middle stage Alzheimer's disease.

The third and last stage is marked with muscle deterioration. Because of that the patient will not be able to get out of bed and move around at all. Also other muscles deteriorate, so that the person is not able to feed himself and incontinence is a regular side effect. Other health problems connected to muscle deterioration can also be noticed.

After the disease has been identified, the life span is normally around 15 years, with extremes from four to five and on the other side up to 21 years. There are measures that you can take, to prevent such health problems in your late age. Regular exercise is one of them and a regular social contact is the other that will prevent you from it. Low intake of high cholesterol food and alcohol will also benefit your health, not only to prevent Alzheimer's disease, but also in other aspects of your life.