Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

Alzheimer's Disease Treatment
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and incurable illness which affects the human brain. It leads to irreversible loss of intellectual abilities such as thinking and memory skills. The name of the disease relates to the German physician Alois Alzheimer who first described it in 1906 after noticing some unusual changes in the brain of a deceased woman who died of a mental illness. The Alzheimer `s disease usually affects people over 60 years of age.

Alzheimer `s disease is also called Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type. It slowly progresses, causing the death of the brain cells. Among the first symptoms there are memory loss signs which determine difficulties in remembering simple daily tasks. As the disease progresses, patients become irritable and aggressive presenting confusion, alternative mood chances and long term memory loss, finally leading to death. Affected personas are likely to live seven years after the illness installs in the brain and only a small percentage of patients carry the disease up to fourteen years, being the maximum live expectancy.

Doctors classify the Alzheimer's disease into 7 stages. The first step is pre - dementia. At this time there are no signs of memory problems. The second is Mild Alzheimer's stage. Patients show slight difficulties of remembering usual things. Normal people can't identify any problems regarding memory troubles, as they seem normal. Alzheimer it's usually identifiable at stage three when the patient has difficulties in organizing and remembering certain facts, presenting anxiety or depression and having troubles with learning and retaining general information. The Moderate Cognitive Decline is the stage when the disease's diagnostic is confirmed. The person still recognizes close family members or friends but has fewer memories about personal life. He/she denies that there is a problem regarding his/hers mental health, becoming interiorized. Stage five comes with advanced cognitive deterioration. The patient can't manage on his own getting more and more confused. Stage six is called Severe Cognitive Decline as the memory continues to fall. The person gets aggressive, feels that he/she is lost, repeats words etc. In the final stage called Very Severe Cognitive Decline, the patient can't speak, can't move his/her life depending of the care he/she receives.

Scientists still haven't discovered yet a treatment for the Alzheimer, although there are ways of slowing it down, helping patients to keep control over the illness for a period of time. There are some medicines that doctors prescribe to extend the life of a patient. For instance cholinesterase inhibitors like Aricept, Razadyne, Exelon treat problems related to memory, language or judgement. Medication such as Axura, Akatinol or Namenda deal with improving memory, language or attention, although they have some side effects such as insomnia, headache and dizziness. For people with advanced forms of Alzheimer's disease specialists talk about treatments with stem cells which are believed to help very much due to tests made on mice that showed improvement of brain cells. Yet, this disease has no cure treatment for the moment and unfortunately it ends with death.

Alzheimer's Disease Cure

Alzheimer's Disease Cure
Currently, there have been major scientific breakthroughs that give promise to preventing and controlling Alzheimer's disease, and perhaps eventually there will be an Alzheimer's disease cure in the future.

Alzheimer's disease is a very complex neurological disorder that most doctors who treat this condition believe that a cocktail drug similar to what is used to treat patients with AIDS could be the answer to controlling this disease.

Many scientists involved in the field of research for the treatment of this disease are receiving funding from The Alzheimer's Disease Association and have also obtained resources from various private and philanthropic companies.

Currently, research experts ascertain that a new series of treatments can evolve in to helping prevent, slowing down, or even reversing the detrimental affects of Alzheimer's disorder.

The most recent discover in the search for the Alzheimer's disease cure and control of progression has been discovered by researchers in the UK. A group of research scientists from the University Of Welsh School Of Pharmacy just finished up a study that shows how the disease process can be slowed down by the use of a small protein called Amyloid.

Amyloid is thought to be the same protein that is responsible for the disease, and could very well be the answer to controlling or slowing down the disease process of the disorder.

Researchers from UCLA have created a new brain imaging molecule that can reveal early detection of the disease by mapping out the tangles that cause the onset of cognitive interruptions and disturbances that are found in patients with Alzheimer's.

This discovery can lead to an early diagnosis of the disorder and can help in preventing, slowing down, or creating an Alzheimer's disease cure in the near future.

The drug Alzhemed has just recently been developed by a Quebec- based company that has proven to help slow down the progression of Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders. A trial of the drug will be administered within the beginning of next year.

The primary focus that researchers are working towards is to prevent Alzheimer's disease from slowly destroying neurological functioning within patients suffering from this disorder.

Today there are over twelve million people affected by the degenerating affects of Alzheimer's disease with an estimated cost of over a hundred billion dollars a year for treatment.

The research for finding an Alzheimer's disease cure has remained ongoing and is looking very promising in the future. Some of the strategies being looked into include how to maintain a healthy lifestyle as a key in preventing the onset of the disease.