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  • Alzheimers
    Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder (disorder of the nervous system) in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. 
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 11 September 2015

What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder (disorder of the nervous system) in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. The disease starts mild and gets progressively worse.

Mostly, it’s the neurons (nerve cells) that are destroyed in Alzheimer’s disease. Our thoughts and memories move through nerve cells as electrical charge. Alzheimer’s disease disrupts electrical charges within the cell and also the activity of neurotransmitters that carry messages from one cell to another. Plaques also build up between nerve cells. 

Alzheimer’s usually affects people over the age of 65. Over time, the patient may forget how to dress themselves, feed themselves, and use the toilet. They may not recognize their loved ones.

A person can live with Alzheimer's disease for just a few years or for a few decades. More often, however, people live with it for about 9 years. About 1 in 8 people aged 65 and over has the disease. Women are more likely to have it than men.

To understand how to disease progresses, please read here

Signs and Symptoms: http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/alzheimers/signs-symptoms

How can you manage the condition http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/alzheimers/management

Treatment options : http://www.patientsengage.com/conditions/alzheimers/treatments

 

Condition

Stories

  • Alzheimer's patients can still feel emotion long after memories have vanished
    A new University of Iowa study further supports an inescapable message: caregivers have a profound influence -- good or bad -- on the emotional state of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Patients may not remember a recent visit by a loved one or having been neglected by staff at a nursing home, but those actions can have a lasting impact on how they feel. The findings of this study are published in the September 2014 issue of the journal Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology. "Our findings…
  • "Our first clue that something was wrong was in 2012, when she started saying the same thing again and again"
    It may not seem like much, but for Maya, the daily battle over the bath is a sign of further deterioration as her 69-year-old mother slips deeper into her dementia, her personality changing, her memories fading, and simple everyday tasks becoming insurmountable hurdles.  http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/wellness/world-alzheimer-s-day-lack-of-help-care-in-india-for-patients/article1-1266659.aspx
  • Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of Dementia
    In a population-based study of its kind, a team of researchers has found a link between vitamin D consumption and the risk of developing dementia. Older people who do not get enough vitamin D could double their risk of developing the condition. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/280704.php
  • Powerful Self-Portraits Reveal Artist's Descent Into Alzheimer's Disease
    Utermohlen's self-portraits provide a stark look at the devastating effects of Alzheimer's. As the artist struggled to keep in touch with the world around him, his works became flatter, more abstract, with a new loss of details and spatial sense. By 2000, Utermohlen's memory and technical skills had deteriorated to the point where his heartbreaking portrayal of himself was simply a scribbled skull and the barest shadows of facial features. http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/william-…