Alzheimer's disease onset: causes, progression, and prevention methods

Alzheimer's Disease: The Onset

As Alzheimer's diseases is believed to be the "dementing order" because of the recognized changes in the behavior and line of thinking of the person with the said disease. From the researchers' and the physicians' point-of-view, there is a possibility that anyone can get it, regardless of the age. More so, people should realize that Alzheimer's disease is not really a normal part of aging. It is not something that is inevitable. There are some people who reached the age of 75 and up who are not even suffering from any dementing disorder. Because of this, it should be considered that Alzheimer's disease is actually "an exception, rather than the rule, of old age" (Light and Lebowitz, 1989).

There are enough number of studies that show that not majority of the old-aged people suffer from Alzheimer's disease. In fact, only 1% from the population of 65-74 is with recognized dementia while 25% from those with ages ranging to 85 and above. However, there are other credible studies that show that in the U.S., almost half of the population in the nursing homes are suffering from dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other related diseases (Light and Lebowitz, 1989).

A related study revealed that in the U.S., enough government funding is allotted to the care of the people in the nursing homes, particularly those with recognized Alzheimer's diseases. An estimated $24 billion is spent annually to care for the people in nursing homes while $48 billion is spent for the direct costs spent to people with Alzheimer's disease. This is because the population is really getting older. "As the number of Alzheimer's patient increases, the costs of care also increase" (Light and Lebowitz, 1989).

The cure for Alzheimer has not been discovered yet, or so others thought that it is not curable. However, there are ways and means which can help people from trying to prevent themselves from acquiring such disease. These prevention methods will be done once the person concerned understands how Alzheimer can be acquired or who are the possible people prone to have such disease.

The Inconclusive Causes of the Disease

Researchers are still trying their very best to solve the puzzle behind Alzheimer's disease and find the clues that will connect to further development of any possible cure. Currently, there is one only way that most physicians prefer to diagnose the Alzheimer's disease and this is by having a through examination of the brain. By examination would mean undergoing through a brain scanning procedure and/or by allowing an autopsy to examine the brains, after of course, the death of a recognized Alzheimer's patient. Based on records scientist who have done some preliminary research and autopsy procedures had actually found some distinguishing damages on the brains of the dead Alzheimer's diseases sufferers (Taylor, 1990).

When scientists look at these sections through a microscope, they see nerve damage. Changes in the brain include what is called neurotic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Plaques can be clusters of "old" parts of nerve cells surrounding a protein in the brain known as beta amyloid. Tangles are twisted protein fibers inside the nerve cells (Taylor, 1990).

The damages found are still from unknown cause. Some scientists revealed that there could probably some substances in the environment that triggers the onset of Alzheimer's. One of the most widely studied substances but also the most controversial is aluminum. Pots and pans, cans, many foods, cosmetics, and even water contain aluminum. This conclusion is brought by the idea that there are significantly high levels of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's patients; however, others find normal levels (Taylor, 1990).

Others, on the other hand, thought that it is highly probable that the body itself is producing the substances that causes Alzheimer's to erupt. Scientists who supported the idea further revealed that the hormones, which are automatically produced by the human body, can be one of the possible factors causing Alzheimer's. Hormones help the body respond to stress however, they may also cause damage to parts of the body, including the brain (Taylor, 1990).

But all the results are still inconclusive. Until now, there is no definitive information that will provide answers as to how Alzheimer's disease can be acquired, much more information as how can it be cured.

What are the Attributes of Alzheimer's Patients?

Mary Ellen's friends thought she was the perfect mother, wife, friend, and hostess. Her husband George, a prolific author, counted on her to edit his work and manage his schedule. He was the first to notice that she was no longer able to remember her good friends' names, her children's birthdays, or the details of her busy life. During social occasions, she could be seen sitting on the sidelines, answering politely but vaguely if spoken to, but never engaged in meaningful conversation. She was no longer able to go shopping or pay the household bills as she had done for the past 30 years. George was bewildered and could not understand what had happened to his close companion of so many years" (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

This is what just normally happens to a person with Alzheimer's. It should be noted that Alzheimer's disease gradually starts within a person. The occurrence of the symptoms is very slow that it is highly unrecognizable especially on its initial stage (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

The typical attributes of people who may have been starting or who are already recognized with Alzheimer's disease do have problems on memory, particularly the so-called short-term memory. This can be observed when the routine of the person has been dramatically changing. Like for example, forgetting to close the door, missing the normal hours of taking in of the medicines, forgetting where some items were placed etc. Mild personality changes, such as less impulsiveness or a feeling of indifference and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions, may occur early in the illness. As the disease progresses, problems in abstract thinking or in intellectual functioning develop. The individual may begin to have trouble with figures when working on bills, with understanding what is being read, or with organizing the day's work. Further disturbances in behavior and appearance may also be seen at this point, such as agitation, irritability, quarrelsomeness, and diminishing ability to dress appropriately (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

As the day moves forward, the onset of Alzheimer also develops into something which is highly noticeable. In the later stage of the disease, the affected individuals may become confused or disoriented about what day of the year it is and be unable to describe accurately where they live or to name correctly a place being visited. Eventually they may roam around looking unease or lost, will show discomfort in engaging with conversation, seem distracted and will have mood swings, appear uncooperative, lose bladder and bowel control, and, in extreme cases, become totally incapable of caring for themselves if the final stage is reached (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

The final stage of the disease is what is inevitable to everybody - the death. The average course of the disease from the time it is recognized to death is about 6 to 8 years, but it may range from under 2 to over 20 years. Those who develop the disorder later in life may die as a result of other illnesses (such as heart disease) before Alzheimer's disease reaches its final and most serious stage (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

The behavioral and intellectual changes that may happen to a person with Alzheimer's may vary depending on the severity of the disease and the ability of the person to hold on to what is considered as normal behaviors. What is worth noting here is the fact that behavior disturbances, ranging in severity from repeated questioning to physical violence, are common (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

It is unclear whether Alzheimer's disease represents a single entity or several variants. Some experts believe that there are distinct subtypes of Alzheimer's disease, such as Lewy body disease (in which the signs of Parkinson's disease, visual hallucinations or alterations in alertness or attention, or all of these symptoms, are conspicuous) and frontotemporal dementia (in which disinhibition, misconduct or apathy, or all of these signs, are prominent). The well-established risk factors for Alzheimer's disease are age, a family history of the disease and Down syndrome (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).

Confusions about Alzheimer's Disease and the Need for Alternative Actions

There have been numerous studies conducted in relation to Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, there are a number of reports which revealed about the symptoms, treatments and/or prevention approaches that can be done for the disease. but, it cannot be denied that there are also a number of different disorders and illnesses which are closely related or are significantly similar to the qualities and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This is the very reason why it is perceived that Alzheimer's can normally be confused with other related diseases (Advisory Panel, 1992).

Because of the rising number of confusions, there is a call to have more and comprehensive clinical examinations to clearly differentiate Alzheimer's disease from the others. The three major components of the clinical evaluations must include at least (Advisory Panel, 1992):

thorough general medical workup neurological examination psychiatric evaluation that may include psychological or psychometric testing

Although the exact causes of Alzheimer's are not yet known, new diagnostic tools and criteria make it possible to obtain a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's with an accuracy of 85 to 90%. Scientists are continuously researching new, more effective diagnostic tests in an effort to make it easier to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in the early stages. Being able to recognize symptoms early and obtain an accurate diagnosis gives affected individuals a greater chance of benefiting from existing treatments and preparing for the future (Alzheimer's Association, 1994).

While there is no direct medicine to cure the disease, there are several approaches suggesting how people can handle and/or take care of the people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Progressively more, social and behavioral scientists are nowadays turning their attention to discovering the most effective methods of providing dementia-capable care, and family care research is becoming more rigorous and focused (Alzheimer's Association, 1994).

The Alzheimer's Association has developed training opportunities for care professionals, including nurses and activity directors due to the increasing research on the benefits of care-giving,. The Association has also developed a unique document called Key Elements of Dementia Care, which defines, describes and illustrates dementia-capable care throughout the range of residential care settings (Alzheimer's Association, 1994).

Caregivers who understand these behaviors and who receive appropriate training in Alzheimer's care are better able to effectively respond and redirect the resident in a compassionate and respectful manner. Communication skills become increasingly important as the disease progresses and residents resort to physical behaviors rather than words to express themselves (AM J. Psychiatry, 1997).

Basic to training is a clear understanding of the effect of Alzheimer's disease on communication. Imagine living in a strange land where you do not speak the language, people don't understand what you are saying and you don't understand what they are saying. Would you perhaps feel frustrated, sad or lonely? A resident with Alzheimer's disease lives in a land like this. It falls to the caregiver to find ways to improve communication verbally and nonverbally (AM J. Psychiatry, 1997).

When a resident's behavior becomes challenging, it could be a result of declining brain function, or it could be an expression of a need or feeling. The challenge to caregivers is to "enter the resident's world," by trying to understand the situation from the patient's point-of-view and figure out what he/she is attempting to communicate (AM J. Psychiatry, 1997).

Skill-based training for managing these behaviors allows the caregiver to minimize residents' discomfort and make their challenging behaviors less of a problem. This then implies that caregivers should be given strategies that help them cope effectively with such behaviors as wandering, agitation, aggression, paranoia and repetitive actions (AM J. Psychiatry, 1997).