Read 44 times since Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Alzheimer's disease is a very common illness of the elderly, and is said to affect over 45% of the population at the age of 85 and up. It is the leading cause of dementia at this age, causing loss of short and long-term memory, confusion, lack of orientation and eventually inability to perform daily life activities due to severe brain cell damage caused by the disease.
The cause of Alzheimer's disease has yet remained unknown. One thing is sure. This severe illness is not a result of only one factor. The scientific world believes that there are not only various genetic sources for the disease, but different environmental factors that can "push the trigger" and eventually cause it.
Over the years Alzheimer's disease has been studied thoroughly, and although it is common knowledge this is an incurable illness, a lot of clinical attempts have been made to find treatment that will assist in preventing the progressive deterioration patients experience over a relatively short period of time.
Nowadays it is known that some treatments can in fact benefit with the patient's quality of life by limiting the disease's progression up to a certain point.
To get a better understanding of the physiology of the disease you should know that the end result of Alzheimer's disease is defected brain cells that become inactive and small, after undergoing physical atrophy.
This is known from research performed on brain tissue biopsies, pathological samples and brain imaging techniques, such as: CT-scan, PET-CT and MRI. These pathologic findings can explain to us why this disease cannot be completely cured, and why it is so difficult to prevent it from fast progression.
When talking about disease prevention you should take into consideration some of the factors that have been found to increase the chances of acquiring the disease, such as: high blood pressure, high level of cholesterol in the blood and uncontrolled diabetes. This should be the focus of prevention.
Some studies surprisingly showed that "training the brain" is a method that assists in preventing disease progression, and that people who have been more mentally active throughout their lives will have smaller chances of getting sick. This finding is supported by the fact that people with higher education have been found less prone to having Alzheimer's, perhaps due to the same protecting factor of frequently "using the brain".
Today there are several nutritional supplements that have shown to benefit patients in some clinical studies. Vitamin E has been found to slow down progression of Alzheimer's in clinical trials however it is not commonly used due to its side effects, and the fact it has been found to increase death from cardiovascular causes.
Other products such as Ginkgo and Huperzine A must be carefully administered due to the adverse reactions caused when they are been taken in combination with other medications. Maria Gonzales, a health writer for Medico.com, interested in: participatory health, mal de alzheimer, enfermedad de parkinson, menopausa, neurology and other diverse health topics.
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