Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Have you all heard about this disease. It’s not common . And many of us wouldn’t have known about it. Even I came to know about this disease only from a real story . So let’s know about this unique disease.

Alzheimer is a type of dementia i.e., it is a disease related to brain function , in which memory, thinking and behavior of the patient is affected and altered. It is not always caused due to aging even if most people  above 65 yrs old are only affected. 5% of patients below 65 yrs are also affected. So, it cannot be considered as aging disease.

Alzheimer worsens over time. At early stages patient would suffer only mild memory loss but over time , they would not be able to respond to a conversation or to the environment. Survival range varies for different age groups and stage of AD they are experiencing.

Your likely to suffer from AD only if any of your close relative is affected with this disease or have gene linked to AD i.e., APOE epsilon4 allele. And the riskier groups are women, patients suffering from High BP for long time and patients having head trauma.

They symptom includes, loss of memory, difficulty in expressing emotional behaviors, changes in personality, altered perception , thinking and cognitive skills.

I would like to discuss about the different stages of  AD.

• STAGE 1: No impairment (normal function)

The affected person is normal and he/she does not experience any memory problem. They don’t show any of the above mentioned symptoms of dementia.

• STAGE 2: Very mild cognitive decline (may be normal age-related changes or earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease)

Patient might experience slight memory lapses of familiar words, objects and frequently visiting places. But no symptoms of dementia would be seen while examining the patient.

• STAGE 3: Mild cognitive decline (early-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some, but not all, individuals with these symptoms)

The patients would feel difficulty in remembering familiar word or name, won’t be able to perform any task individually, quickly forget what they have read just few minutes before, they would frequently loose or misplace a valuable object, trouble in planning and organizing.

Doctors and relatives can easily identify the symptoms of dementia.

• STAGE 4: Moderate cognitive decline(Mild or early-stage Alzheimer's disease)

Every one around the patient can easily identify the symptoms of dementia as they would forget the recent event and their won family history, loose ability to perform mental arithmetic i.e., count backwards from 100-1, they face difficulty in perform regular tasks like paying bill, planning for dinner etc., sudden change in behavior can be seen.

• STAGE 5: Moderately severe cognitive decline(Moderate or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)

They would have difficulty in remembering things and would require an assistant to help them through day to day routines.They would be unable recall their address, high school, telephone number, would get confused where they are now and what’s the day , yet they won’t require help in eating or using toilet.

• STAGE 6: Severe cognitive decline(Moderately severe or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease)

Memory worsens a lot, person would certainly need a assistance to do daily routine, loss of awareness of past experience and surrounding, they would remember their name but cannot remember their past, can distinguish familiar and unfamiliar faces but difficulty in remembering they spouse name , would forget how to dress, experience change in sleep patterns, would need help in handling details of toileting (for example, flushing the toilet, wiping or disposing of tissue properly), have trouble controlling their bladder or bowel, experience major behavior , thought and personality changes, are tend to get lost.

• STAGE 7: Very severe cognitive decline(Severe or late-stage Alzheimer's disease)

This is the last stage of AD , which includes lose the ability to respond to their environment, to carry on a conversation and, eventually, to control movement. They may still say words or phrases, individuals need help with much of their daily personal care, including eating or using the toilet. They may also lose the ability to smile, to sit without support and to hold their heads up. Reflexes become abnormal. Muscles grow rigid. Swallowing impaired.

Till now, there is no treatment found for AD, but medications are given to slow down the symptoms and to manage day to day activities by owns own self.

May be in future it might be a curable disease. Who knows except GOD.