Alzheimer's, the condition and prognosis

It is estimated that 5.2 million in the United States of America suffer from Alzheimer's of which 2/3 of the diagnosed cases are women. In the UK the numbers are about 750,000.

Alzheimer's is generally seen as a disease of the developed West due to the number of people impacted by the disease. This is mainly because of a larger elderly population as well as lifestyle conditions. Researchers have however warned that by 2020 the developing world in particular China, Latin America and India will be heavily impacted by the disease.

Alzheimer's is a debilitating brain disorder named after the German Physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first identified it. The nature of the disease affects both the patient and those closest to them. It is not easy to have a loved one become childlike and totally lose their memory. I volunteered in a senior facility five years ago with an Alzheimer's wing, with the aim of understanding the disease. I did it for six months and it was the most humbling experience of my life.

There is a saying from where I come from that your creation is not complete until you die. Surely Alzheimer's disease epitomizes this saying because among the residents were people who were great men and women in their times and included, engineers, pilots, music teachers,and some millionaires. Yet the disease had made that irrelevant to them because they could not remember or relate to it.

Symptoms
The symptoms for one developing the disease may first be noticed by those closest to the person. It may start with lapses of memory and difficulty in finding the right words for every day objects as well as mood swings. These symptoms by themselves are also common symptoms of aging but with Alzheimer's, a pattern of symptoms emerge in a period of six months or more as follows:

1) Routinely forgets recent events, appointments, names and faces,

2) Difficulty in understanding what is being said

3) Becomes confused

4) Becomes distant, irritable,, or apathetic

5) Suffers mood swings

Late Symptoms: As the disease progresses the person may develop more serious symptoms requiring 24/7 care like;

1) Getting up in the middle of the night as well as wondering away from home and in the process getting lost. This may result in sundowner syndrome whereby the Sufferer experience periods of extreme agitation and confusion during the late afternoon or early evening hours, leading to irritability towards caregivers or hospital staff.

2) Losing inhibitions and social skills and my undress in public or make inappropriate sexual advances. Some people develop a crude language like cursing when this maybe totally contrary to their nature before the disease.

3) Eventually the person loses their personality and even the ability to swallow and is totally dependant on the caregiver. The person may be bed bound before death.

The disease is occasioned by damage to the brain cells and nerves by a disruption to the chemicals that transmit instructions around the brain. Two abnormal structures called plaques and tangles are prime suspects in damaging and killing nerve cells. “Scientists are not absolutely sure what role plaques and tangles play in Alzheimer’s disease.

Causes and Risk factors connected with Alzheimer's

The exact cause of Alzheimer is not known although it is linked to a specific gene. Cases that can be traced to genes are however not many leading to the assumption that it is more of an environmental and lifestyle disease. Studies show that smokers are more than twice as likely to develop the illness than people who have never smoked. A chemical in tobacco, nornicotine, naturally present in tobacco, maybe partly responsible for Alzheimer's as well as accelerating the aging process.

Having type 2 diabetes has also been shown to increase a person’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s by up to 65%. A research from the Rush University, Chicago in 2004, identified the risk in a five year study of more than 800 people. Professor Clie Ballard, director of Research at the Alzheimer’s Disease Society stated that “ diabetes along with other conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are well recognized risk factors for Alzheimer”.

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