Alzheimer's Disease Information....

"Your Guide to Understanding
  and Living With Alzheimer's Disease..."

...The very curious will be wondering just how this disease came to be named something as strange as Alzheimer's... and Alzheimers Disease symptoms .

As you might expect the term Alzheimer's refers to a condition discovered by a doctor whose name was Alois Alzheimer.

Dr. Alzheimer contributed the first information on Alzheimer's disease to medical textbooks in 1907.  He based his findings on a woman of 51 years who had died of dementia.  His research included examining the woman's brain under the microscope for identifiable abnormalities. 

Tangled Tissue

This examination showed physical changes in the brain that he had never before been observed. In some sections of this particular brain the tissue was tangled together. 

These neurofibrillary tangles are a fine fiber found in cytoplasm signaling an abnormality of the hippocampus and neurons of the cerebral cortex that occurs especially in Alzheimer's disease.

In other areas there was a "clumping: of brain matter.

As time went on, the doctor discovered more "younger" people who had died of dementia and had the same brain abnormalities. This condition of the brain became known as Alzheimer's disease.

Identical Abnormalities

As research continued it was soon noted that the same type of dementia, with many of the same symptoms, occurred much more frequently in older people.  Here again, when the senior brains were examined under a microscope they showed the same abnormalities as the younger victims. 

In this early stage of discovery only younger people were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  Dr. Alzheimer's findings were based on examining the disease in younger people, so it was accepted that the disease was confined to that age group. 

During this period older people were diagnosed with pre-senile dementia or Senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT).

This differentiation, by age, between those suffering the disease complicated the diagnoses. 

Fast forward to the present day and as a matter of convenience most all dementia is now commonly referred to as Alzheimer's disease, with no consideration to the age of the patient.  It's important to watch for early signs of Alzheimers .

Dementia

The term "Alzheimer's disease" can't possibly convey the complicated set of symptoms that make up this condition.  You only understand that if you have personally have spent time with someone who suffers from this form of dementia.

Many agree that one of the best descriptions of Alzheimer's is "a living death".  A test for Alzheimer helps to give early warning.

A more medically refined description is: "The slow onset of memory loss with a gradual progression to a loss of judgement and changes in behaviour and temperament.

A more complicated and definitive definition from the Royal College of Physicians describes Alzheimers disease as:

"Dementia is the global impairment of higher functions, including memory, the capacity to solve the problems of day to day living, the performance of learned perceptuo-motor skills, the correct use of social skills, and the control of emotional reactions in the absence of gross clouding of consciousness.

Performance of learned perceptuo-motor skills means how a person unaffected by Alzheimer's carries out normal, daily learned responses such as washing, dressing and eating.
 
We have just scratched the surface of Alzheimer's disease here.  These definitions are only guides to the whole complicated medical condition known as Alzheimer's disease.  How To Prevent Alzheimers is the subject of continuing research.

Medical research continues to search for the cause of Alzheimers Disease.

This is just step one in gathering Alzheimer's disease information.  You will  learn much more as you browse through the pages on the Web site.

How To Prevent Alzheimers >>

HOT ALZHEIMER'S HEALTH NEWS HProblems with walking,difficulty balancing and a weak hand grip are all early indicators of Alzheimer's disease researchers found.  This finding might indicate a connection between physical functioning and cognitive functioning. *** Healthy fats may halve the risk of developing motor neurone disease, the Journa of Neurology reported.  A diet rich in fats like vitamin E, omega 3 and omega 6, which are found in fish and green leafy vegetables, cut the risk of developing ALS by 60%.  Previous studies showed that polyunsaturated fats also cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and Parkingson's disease. *** Blood clots on the brain could provide early detection warnings for Alzheimer's disease and other senile dementia.  Reasearchers have noted that 40% of Alzheimer's patients showed spontaneous brain clots, while only 14% of the nonafflicted elderly population did. *** A mediterranean diet rich in fruit vegetables and cereals and light on dairy and red meat may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by up to 40% according to the Annals of Neurology. *** Women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol - betwee a drink a week and 2 daily - had better performance on cognitive tests than those who didn't drink at all according to Columbia University.  The result was not the same for males ** Women who have one or more ovaries removed by age 38 are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia in old age, while women who had both ovaries removed by the age of 46 had a 70% increased chance of dementia.  Mayo Clinic researchers think the drop-off in estrogen production may accelerate aging. *** Anti-blood presure medicines may help lower the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that hypertension medicines may cut the risk of Alzheimer's. Surprisingly, the greatest effect was on those who were also taking diuretics.

Alzheimer's Disease Information

Contact   Privacy Policy   Site Map  Medical Disclaimer