Alzimers (Altzhiemers, Alsheimers) disease Alzheimers FAQ

Alzimers characteristic neuropathology (Alsheimers) was first dicovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimers, after whom Altzheimers (Alheimers) disease got its name.

Alzimers disease belongs to the more frequent dementia diseases in older patients. Alzhimers can typically have symptoms such as memory loss, slowly deteriorating language abilities and in general a growing mental functionality deterioration. Alheimers is a fairly common cause of dementia in older people, affecting nearly 5% of the population above 65 years of age. The risk of developing Alzeimers disease is larger for people over 65 and while there are several medications available for handling the effects of the symptoms of Alzehimers and to slow down the progression of the condition, we have today no functioning cure of Alsheimers.

What is Alzimers (Alsheimers or Alzheimers)?

Alzhimers is a disease that afflicts the brain and leads to dementia, a protracted deterioration of mental functions. Alzeimers is one of the most common causes of dementia in the west.

The Alzhemers (Alheimers) condition slowly destroys the memory as well as the ability to learn, reason and communicate.

Altzeimers (Alzhemers) medicine and treatment

There is no known cure or available medicines that will cure Alzimers disease now but there may be in the future. There are medications that can slow the progress down and help the patient by offering symptomatic benefits..

Some complications ans symptoms can be cured or at least treated with medicines. The number of Altzheimers medicines are expected to increase in the near future as a result of intense ongoing research.

Alzhimers (Altzhimers) disease development

Because Alzeimers disease usually affects vital brain functions such as memory, logical thinking and sensory evaluation, judgment and general understanding, a patient with Alzheimers symptoms will be more and more dependent on external help as the disease develops through its stages. After a couple of years and several brain lobes affected, an Alzehimer patient can usually no longer handle normal daily routines and will need assistance with everyday things and planning the day in detail. 

Alzheimers (Alheimers) stages

Alzheimers developes in stages; The first stage has characteristics like memory loss and speech difficulties. The second stage occurs 2-4 years after the start of the disease, typical symptoms are increased memory loss. Finally the third stage of Alzhemers occurs after about four years. The total span of Alheimers is usually around 10 years.

Alzhemers (Altzheimers) - brain cells damaged and lost

When memory and brain functions slowly degrade due to Altzheimers, there will be a lot of questions, anxiety and sometimes a twisted view on reality that has the potential to make the normal daily life difficult for surrounding friends and family. At the same time, from the patients viewpoint, it is often best if he is allowed to stay at home, living in an environment he knows well. The balance between the patients and the family's needs can be very difficult.

It is often the case that a married couple with one having Alzheimers, they can describe how it affects their life by gradually shifting them away from their normal network of friends and social contacts as the disease develops. One factor adding to that is that the patient often has a feeling of being or becoming an outsider. Alzehimers disease can lead to difficulties, not only for the patient himself, but also for closer friends and relatives. Withstanding this change as long as possible is important, by trying to keep the social networks still open at least to some extent in order to maintain the stimulation this can offer.

After the initial years when the condition appears only as memory problems, Alzheimers will slowly progress and later affect the ability to interpret signals from the senses which tents to affect the ability to act in many normal daily situations. The patient will probably encounter problems with previously minor things such as administering the household bills, reading the morning newspaper, watching evening TV, or in fact most simple tasks. The requirement of assistance from close relatives or nurses will develop as the condition develops. There are also cases where there have been hallucinations in where the patient has sensory impressions that doesn't exist in the real world.

This disease can not be treated by anything known today but there is medicine available that can treat some of the several signs and symptoms. In most of the cases, Altzheimers patients can remain in the home but the disease will slowly develop and get worse and eventually the person affected will find it more and more problematic to evaluate the signals from the world outside. Eventually even the most basic functions, such as eating will become very difficult even if there is some assistance and in the end, the whole body is so worn down that vital functions will fail due to the Alzimers symptoms and the progression through Alsheimers stages. Alzehimers summary.