Not a single case of a person being cured has been recorded: Alzheimer's disease
What is Alzheimer's disease?
The essence of Alzheimer's disease lies in the progressive atrophy of brain nerve cells, which leads first to impairment of their functions, and then to their death. The atrophic process gradually leads to a decrease in the overall brain mass. Such processes also occur during normal aging, but in Alzheimer's disease, they are incomparably more pronounced, and the lesions in the brain are characteristically located.
Brain of an elderly person in norm (left) and with pathology caused by Alzheimer's disease (right). Photo from Wikipedia.
The symptoms of the disease were first described in the early 20th century by the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer. A 50-year-old woman sought his help.
For 6 years, he tried to treat her, observing how she gradually lost mental clarity and memory. When the patient died, no other changes were found in her brain except for a significant increase in those changes that had previously been considered typical of the aging process.
Alois Alzheimer's patient, 1901. Photo from Wikipedia.
Alzheimer's disease is considered characteristic of old age, but in some cases, its manifestations begin quite early, even before the age of 60. The disease is diagnosed in 6-11% of patients over 60 years old, and in 35-45% of patients aged 80-85 years.
In recent decades, the diagnosis is being made more and more often, which is associated, among other things, with an increase in average life expectancy.
Famous people who suffered from Alzheimer's disease include former US President Ronald Reagan, one of the best footballers of the 20th century Ferenc Puskás, UK Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher, the first head of the Spanish government after the fall of Franco's regime Adolfo Suárez, actors Peter Falk (Lieutenant Columbo), Annie Girardot, Charlton Heston (Ben-Hur).
They suffered from Alzheimer's disease: Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Charlton Heston, 1981. Photo from Wikipedia.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data for 2017, approximately 28 million people worldwide suffered from this disease, and by 2030, the number of patients will increase three to fourfold.
According to official statistics, in Belarus in 2017, 2692 cases of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease were registered (or 28 per 100 thousand population), while about 16 thousand other types of dementia were recorded.
What are the features of Alzheimer's disease development?
The onset of the disease is difficult to notice. But patients increasingly begin to forget things that are significant to them. Depending on their profession, education, and social status, memory problems may manifest differently.
A housewife forgets the sequence of combining ingredients and preparing dishes she used to cook all the time, while a meticulous official forgets to perform assigned tasks.
More educated and intelligent people cope with memory impairments much better. They write down what they need to remember, use other methods that help them recall something. For several months or even years, their memory problems may go unnoticed by those around them. Patients may even continue to work in their specialty, using acquired skills to act in such situations, but the quality of their work constantly declines.
In the initial period of the disease, patients are aware that they have memory problems and often try to overcome them. Some try to hide their problems. Others do not hide this problem from loved ones from the very beginning and seek medical attention.
Patients also experience problems with orientation in time and space.
They repeatedly ask what day of the week it is, what time it is, and stop recognizing previously familiar routes. For example, they cannot remember the way from work to home, or to a store on a neighboring street.
At a later stage of the disease's development, the patient cannot understand or remember any new facts, although they remember some distant events well, for example, from their childhood.
Not understanding what is happening around them, the patient may become nervous and even aggressive. Because the patient forgets about certain things, such as turning off the gas, they become potentially dangerous to others and require constant supervision by another person 24 hours a day.
In the final stage of the disease, the patient remembers almost nothing, does not recognize their own children or other people around them.
The patient's speech becomes unintelligible, they can no longer stand up, sit down, or walk, and lose control over physiological needs. They cannot eat by themselves and even cannot swallow food.
The outcome of the disease is death due to co-occurring conditions: extreme cachexia (wasting), pneumonia, septic complications from bedsores, etc. From the first symptoms of the disease to death, usually 5-11 years pass.
What is the cause of the disease? How is Alzheimer's disease treated?
This disease still remains a mystery to scientists, although intensive research is being conducted worldwide. The exact cause of the disease is unknown today, so there are no medications that yield good results. The drugs currently prescribed can only slow down the development of the disease in its initial stage. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor as soon as possible if you experience memory problems.
Are there measures for preventing Alzheimer's disease?
Over the years of studying Alzheimer's disease, a number of conditions have been identified that are risk factors for its development. Not all of them can be corrected, as some are physiological processes.
Risk factors include:
- female sex (women get sick 2-2.5 times more often than men),
- elderly age,
- heredity (if there were cases of Alzheimer's disease in the family, the risk of developing it increases),
- prolonged stress,
- frequent or severe traumatic brain injuries,
- mental health problems (especially depression),
- work not associated with intellectual exertion,
- lack of higher education, etc.
In addition, it is currently believed that the development of Alzheimer's disease can be contributed to by certain other diseases (hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes, etc.), as well as alcohol abuse, excessive coffee consumption, overweight, and insufficient physical activity. Therefore, avoiding these factors can be considered a preventive measure. However, in cases of "bad heredity," people who did not belong to other risk groups also get sick.
How to care for a sick person?
Doctors believe that in the absence of effective pharmacological treatment, care plays a major role in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Caring for an Alzheimer's patient requires great love and patience from close relatives.
Caring for a seriously ill person is a difficult task, both physically and psychologically. Therefore, if it is not possible to hire a full-time caregiver, doctors and psychologists advise families of patients to at least occasionally give caregivers a chance to rest.
Doctors advise, in the initial and middle stages of the disease, as with other types of dementia, not to limit the patient's participation in their usual household chores.
On the contrary, the patient's usual activities should be encouraged. It is very useful if the patient engages in physical activity to the best of their ability: working in the garden or vegetable patch, doing something around the house, etc.
There are studies suggesting that one should speak to the patient in their native language, the language of their childhood.
It is important to remember that even with this disease, which is accompanied by the disintegration of personality, the sick person wants to preserve their dignity. Therefore, one should not discuss their condition in their presence or draw their attention to failures. On the contrary, try to smooth over such situations and praise and encourage the patient more (for example, for timely toilet visits, etc.). If the person is ashamed, for example, to wash naked, it may be advisable to keep intimate body parts covered.
Speak to the patient calmly, slowly, using simple phrases.
Try to maintain balance, laugh more together - but not at them.
If there is a risk that the patient may get lost, be sure to put a piece of paper with contact information in their clothing pocket. There are now devices that allow you to determine a person's location – perhaps such a device should be purchased.
A regular mobile phone, which should always be with the person, can also help. Do not scold the patient if they are found.
The patient dresses slowly - but try to let them dress independently as long as they are able to do so.
If the patient eats independently, the caregiver's task is simply to serve food on time. If they need to be fed, the food should be in pureed or liquid form.
Do not move the patient to another place unnecessarily, or change the interior of the house during their illness - a change in familiar surroundings can worsen their condition.
All items that could be dangerous in the patient's hands should be removed.
In Belarus, the diagnosis of "Alzheimer's disease" grants the right to receive disability benefits.
Depending on the degree of brain damage, the patient may be recognized as a disabled person of Group I or II. This allows for receiving medications at a subsidized price (10 percent of the cost), free travel with an accompanying person on public transport, and a discount on utility payments.
If necessary, the patient is provided free diapers and other hygiene products up to 1200 Belarusian rubles per year.
Group I disability (or the patient reaching the age of 80) also allows the person caring for the patient to receive special assistance - currently 216 rubles 9 kopecks. To apply for this assistance, one must contact the social security department of local authorities. Only an able-bodied adult who is not employed, not studying full-time, not a pensioner, and provides daily care can receive such assistance.
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