Alzheimers Dementia - Characterisitics And Definition
Alzheimers Dementia can be a devastating diagnosis because of its unpredictable nature. The Alzheimers patient may live for a few years misplacing keys continuously and forgetting their loved ones’ names but suddenly deteriorate into utter confusion, suddenly unaware of who or where he or she is. There are some stories of people who live at home until they die ten years later, but there are other cases of people who require an Alzheimers home care to help them get through daily functions. With so many questions, a good starting point is to understand the disease and how it differs from other forms of dementia. Then coping skills and treatments can be examined.
Alzheimers Dementia is characterized by increasing and persistent forgetfulness. Alzheimers patients routinely forget names of loved ones, appointments, words to express themselves, or even entire events. Balancing the checkbook or cooking a meal suddenly becomes overwhelming. Emotional mood swings are common, as the Alzheimers patient struggles to deal with confusing emotions and frustration. Unfortunately, the causes of Alzheimers are not widely understood, although visible brain effects include tau protein tangles and beta-amyloid protein plaques. Inflammation and brain cell death are also triggered in the Alzheimers brain. The average person lives with Alzheimers Dementia for eight years before dying, so it’s important than caregivers and patients seek counsel on coping skills.
Unlike Alzheimers Dementia (which seems to be triggered by some sort of build up), Vascular Dementia is caused specifically by blood vessel blockage resulting in a stroke. In other cases, profoundly low blood pressure, brain hemorrhaging and blood vessel damage from arteritis can cause the confusion, agitation, impaired gait, problems with language and memory, as well as bladder issues commonly associated with Vascular Dementia. Approximately 1-4% of people over 65 suffer from this type of dementia. Many sufferers also exhibit signs of Alzheimers Dementia.
Currently, there is no way to prevent Alzheimers and no cure for Alzheimers Dementia, although researchers are actively looking for ways to halt mental decline at the very least. One research model is a TAU vaccine, which would come in the form of several injections and would stimulate antibody production in the brain, thus preventing deterioration. Other research centers can prevent the amyloid-beta peptide deposits in the brain, which create Alzheimers symptoms. However, researchers suggest they are still 5-10 years from human clinical trials.
For more articles and information about Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, go here: Alzheimer’s Disease
By Health Editor
