Alzheimers – The Sad Disease
In only a very short space of time, Alzheimer’s disease has become a major player in diseases affecting the elderly; currently the most prevalent type of age related dementia affecting the elderly today. Alzheimer’s is estimated to affect 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 causing problems with the memory centers of the mind, causing people to forget short and longterm memories.
The problem in the past has been the accuracy of diagnosis which has gradually improved and is now up to 94 percent accurate. Discovered in 1906 by German physician Alois Alzheimer, the world’s focus on this disease is only about 30 years old; even though it has been scientifically studied for many years, knowledge surrounding this disease is minimal.
Studies show that your greatest risk of acquiring Alzheimer’s is advancing age. 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; this can be difficult for friends and relations who do not know what the problem is, or what actions or care they should take.
Alzheimer’s disease is currently treated exactly the same as other forms of dementia. Despite the studies, there is no permanent treatment for the condition but there are a number of drugs which can help with the condition. The three main medications currently approved for treatments of Alzheimer’s disease are: Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine; all of these have been shown to improve the cognition by about half a year.
Another drug, Memantine, a relative of the older anti-influenza drug Amantadine, is proving successful at slowing down the mental decline of sufferers; it is now usually prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients who are already using Donepezil. Memantine is the first medicine to show such positive results with sufferers with few problems associated with its use; because four fifths of it is passed out in urine unchanged by the kidneys, patients do not risk having their bodies retaining it in large quantities.
Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be a major public health challenge because the average age of the industrialized world’s population is increasing. this disease has risen to the status of fourth most lethal killer in America. The economic cost of treating and providing care for those with this type of aging disease another issue to be addressed; with an annual cost of 40 billion US dollars. This number is expected to rise in future years.
This is destined to create financial problems everywhere, and the cost of care and treatment is only expected to rise in the future. According to the National Institute on Aging, nearly half of its annual budget is spent on research into this awful condition; there are currently hundreds of substances being tested for treatments around the world.
To help you reduce the chance of contracting dementia, it’s important to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Although not full proven yet, researchers studying Alzheimer’s patients have noticed that those who stay healthy and cheerful have slowed down the rate of decline. At the moment, the disease is still primarily affecting the aged; nevertheless, there have been occasional incidences of people contracting it before the age of 60.
