Lifestyle Blog

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Dementia is now a major problem amongst the older generation with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common progressive degenerative disorder. If you Watched a person with Alzheimer’s, you will see a gradual decay in their ability to remember especially with 10 percent of the population over 65 year’s old suffering from the disorder.

Even now, not that much is understood about this awful disorder. Studies into the disorder have shown you have a grater chance of acquiring Alzheimer’s the older you become. The problem of early diagnosis is often down to the sufferer, who refuses to admit that anything is wrong even when they start to experience some of the symptoms.

As far as treatment is concerned, Alzheimer’s disease is treated in the same manner as other types of dementia. There is no definitive treatment at present, but some drugs improve the symptoms or stall their progression. They have been approved for use by the FDA and have shown they can improve the cognitive abilities of the patient for up to six months.

It is normally given to those on Donepezil who are suffering moderate to severe Alzheimer’s. With more than four fifths of Memantine excreted through the kidneys, the side effects are low but it is the first drug to show a distinct effect on moderate to severe dfferers.

The average age of a person living in the industrialized world is increasing. That is not the only problem, the annual cost of treating and care for sufferers is in excess of 40 billion dollars and is expected to rise well beyond this in the future. Another large body, the National Institute on Aging spent almost half of its yearly budget on Research into the condition with scientists worldwide looking for a treatment for the disease.

One of the few factors that you can change to alter your risk of developing dementia is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Some researchers into the disease have found that patients who are happy and healthy with Alzheimer’s, slow down the rate of their mental decline. This disease is still almost exclusively and aging condition and incidences of younger victims are rare.