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Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain. The destruction of nerve cells responsible for the transmission of impulses between brain structures causes irreversible memory impairment. A person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease loses basic skills and loses the ability to self-care.
It is Alzheimer’s disease that is recognized as the most common form of dementia (dementia) that develops in old age. Statistics say that Alzheimer’s disease accounts for about 35-45% of cases of senile dementia. Pathology is gradually becoming epidemic in developed countries.
Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
Severe symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease occur gradually.
In most cases, memory loss becomes the first sign of dementia, but not the only one:
Memory impairment: the patient does not learn new information, repeats himself when talking, is forced to use diaries, organizers and notepads for memorization;
Inability to cope with everyday activities: a person loses the skills of interacting with household appliances, is unable to perform elementary arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction);
Difficulties with spatial and temporal orientation: the patient does not recognize his location, is unable to name the current season, day of the week, month, time of day;
Visual disturbances: the patient is unable to calculate the distance from himself to the object, is constantly exposed to the threat of injury from a blow or fall, sees a “stranger” while looking in the mirror;
Lack of memory of committed actions: the patient constantly loses things, does not remember where the necessary items are. Related to this are allegations of theft and deceit that Alzheimer’s patients often make against their environment;
Difficulties in communication: a person is unable to find the right words, confuses the names of things (for example, replaces the word “felt pen” with the phrase “subject for drawing”), forgets about the topic of the conversation in its midst;
Refusal of hobbies: the patient loses interest in the activities that once fascinated him, completely refuses them;
Mood fluctuations: the patient shows hypertrophied distrust, falls into confusion, demonstrates indifference or excitement, sinks into depression, ignoring what is happening around;
Neglect of personal hygiene: a person completely ignores the need to brush their teeth, take a bath and perform other hygiene procedures. If no one cares for him, he takes on a sloppy look;
Inability to choose and make decisions, loss of financial skills.
The development of the symptoms listed above can take several years – it is difficult to indicate the exact sequence of their appearance. Initially, the patient and his environment take alarming signs for fatigue, age-related memory impairment, but the signals of the disease become pronounced. As a result, a person who develops Alzheimer’s becomes unable to care for himself. It cannot be left unchecked for a long time, since “forgetfulness” and other disorders pose a threat to life and health – for example, the patient leaves the gas stove on.
Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
Modern medicine attributes Alzheimer’s disease to a multifactorial nature, calling heredity the main cause. There are also other risk factors, which are divided into non-correctable, conditionally correctable and correctable.
Uncorrected factors
This group includes the genetic or acquired characteristics of the patient’s body, as well as a number of life events:
Age over 65 years (the results of studies in this area show that of all people who celebrated their 90th birthday, signs of dementia are present in 42%);
Belonging to the female sex (women are more likely to experience a disease, which has not yet been fully explained by medicine);
Transferring severe depression, deep psychological shock;
Getting a traumatic brain injury (this category also includes injuries acquired in infancy or during childbirth);
Lack of full-fledged intellectual activity (the entire life period is considered);
Low level of education (graduation from a university is a positive factor).
Conditionally correctable factors
This group includes various disorders that can lead to oxygen starvation of brain cells:
Diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, causing general oxygen deficiency;
High concentration of lipids in the blood;
Atherosclerosis of the vessels of the neck and head;
High blood pressure;
Diseases associated with excessive concentration of glucose in the blood (for example, diabetes mellitus).
Timely treatment allows you to eliminate the factors of this group, “pushing” the body to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Adjustable factors
This group includes threats that a person can cope with on their own, only by making changes in their lifestyle and taking care of their health closely:
Lack of physical activity;
Excess weight;
Insufficiency of intellectual activity;
Addiction to alcoholic beverages, smoking;
Excessive love of drinks containing caffeine.
[Video] Dr. Berg – The Real Cause of Alzheimer’s. Prevention of dementia: