A problem that is often debated nowadays in the medical field is Alzheimer’s disease. You may or may not be familiar with this term and know what happens when you develop it, but if you don’t… you came to the right place.
Firstly, let’s take a glance at what is and what happens when you have Alzheimer’s. It is a progressive neurologic disorder that causes the brain to shrink (atrophy) and brain cells to die. The damage initially appears to take place in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, parts of the brain essential in forming memories. As more neurons die, additional parts of the brain are affected and begin to shrink. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s, the damage is widespread, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly. The disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who in 1906 discovered that a woman died of an unusual “mental illness” and started studying it. It focuses on destroying memory and thinking skills, and in the end, it is going to intervene in the simplest daily tasks and the patient won’t be able to do them anymore. It is one of the most common forms of dementia (60%-70% of dementia cases are usually Alzheimer’s). Some researchers had shown that 1 in 3 patients with this disease dies, this number is greater than the one of the patients that had breast cancer and prostate cancer and died, combined. It usually gets worse in time, and ends in death, because the atrophied brain can’t function anymore. Talking about numbers, 6.2 million Americans (aged 65 or older) suffer from this disease. The number of cases grows extremely fast and it is expected that by the end of 2050, the number is going to double; this meaning the number is going to be around 12.7 million Americans. There is nothing that can stop the growth; no one has found a treatment yet. Sometimes doctors can prescribe medication that can slow the process but never stop it.
It is now time to discuss the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and the risk factors for developing this disease. As for symptoms, people usually experience memory loss (this the best-known symptom)- it can be forgetting birthdays, things you said you were going to do, conversations- getting lost in places you knew well, having trouble in finding regular objects, and always forgetting where you put your things. I know this can sound scary now because everyone experiences it almost every day. For example, I always forget where I put my glasses but this doesn’t mean I have Alzheimer’s. It is often said that you end up forgetting the name of your family members or the name of objects you use every day. Moving on, someone who has Alzheimer’s might find it difficult to concentrate or think about something, especially when it comes to mathematical operations; they also can’t make decisions or think that the right decision is the wrong one and vice versa (of course, this only applies when talking about decisions where you can tell what’s right and wrong without even thinking twice about it). You might observe changes in their behavior, such as developing depression, anxiety, mood changes, distrust, delusions, apathy. If you are concerned about having any of these or if you just want a specialist’s opinion, it might be helpful to see a doctor. Talking about the risk factors, it is often said that it can be genetic (epigenetics plays a key role in this, if you want to know more about this, you can check out the article about it) or because of age (it has been reported that most people over 65 years old develop it). However, air pollution, any previous head trauma, excessive alcohol consumption, poor sleep or bad sleep schedules, lifestyle, and sex can be at fault, too.
Unfortunately, it cannot be prevented but there are some factors that can lower the risk of developing it, such as changes in diet, exercising regularly, quit smoking, reading, participating in social events, etc.
To put the whole matter into a nutshell, Alzheimer’s disease is common and hard to handle. There is nothing we can do to stop it, all we have to do is hope that the scientists are going to find a cure for it. Until then…just live your life in the best way you can and stay safe!
Resources:
-https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet
-https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers
-https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
-https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm
-https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350447
Editor- Melissa Parv
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