Finding Out Early On About Alzheimers

Alzheimers is an extremely debilitating disease. Presently, there are no known cure or treatment for this irreversible threat to a mature person's mental and personal health. Once a person has been diagnosed with Alzheimers, the duration and course of the disease will vary from five up to twenty years.

Within the course of the disease, the sufferer will go through a whole range of deterioration from slight short term memory loss to the loss of normal bodily functions that cause complications and infections that then turns into death.

While the prospect of Alzheimers disease is truly grim, there continues to be steady breakthroughs from experts that help hope persist that eventually, prevention and cure for Alzheimers may be found. Before that though, there are lot of questions to be answered and the race to find the cure continues.

Despite this, it is important to take note of the early signs of Alzheimers, for friends loved ones and yourself. Taking note of the early signs of Alzheimers will help everyone involved prepare and understand all that is entailed in arranging for care and what to expect as the illness progresses.

It is important to be on the lookout for early signs of Alzheimers if you or someone you care for is nearing the age of 65 or if there is known cases al Alzheimers in the family.
Below are some early signs of Alzheimers to look out for.

Downscale

While memory loss is commonly mentioned as the one of the early signs of Alzheimers, it has been noted that unexplained and sudden weight loss usually occurs within individuals who suffer from Alzheimers. They have found that the weight loss happens way before any actually memory loss begins.

If you or someone you care about begins to lose weight unexpectedly, consult your doctor for probable cause and if there are no reasons found then you should have tests for Alzheimers done.

Forgetfulness

The most common early sign of Alzheimers is the loss of short term memory. More often than not, at the very early stages, this short term memory loss often goes unnoticed so it is important to pay close attention and see if it is normal memory loss or is it an early sign of Alzheimers.

While everyone will forget something once in a while, but Alzheimers sufferer never recall back what has been lost. So pay attention for peculiar incidences of short term memory loss that result in the distress, however much slight, in everyday routine.

Disability

Alzheimers will rob one of the ability to do the things that used to come second nature to them. It is as if the individual with Alzheimers can no longer remember or are familiar with tasks or actions that used to be part of their everyday routine. Watch out for this telltale sale that is quite an indicator included in the early signs of Alzheimers disease.

More Changes

Another early sign of Alzheimers is the increasing problem of communication. Often, people with Alzheimers will have a difficult time communicating because they begin to lose their ability to handle language. They begin to forget simple words and terms and their sentence construction begin to be difficult to understand.

There can also be a change in behavior or mood that is not normal for the person with Alzheimers disease. Over and above moodiness, a person with Alzheimers can switch moods or behavior without reason.

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Living With Alzheimer's Disease

When someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, those around should not think that it is the end of the world. The best thing to do is help the one who is suffering from it until the person dies.

There are drugs in the market that can help ease the pain but not reverse the process or stop the disease from spreading. The only thing it can do is slow down the process that could buy enough time until a cure has been found.

Family members should give this or hire a caregiver to do that when no one is able to take care of the person.

In time, the sufferer may not even recall the name of the children. One way to help the one living with Alzheimer's is through the use of visual aids. The name and the picture of the person can be shown in a card and someone can conduct memory exercises on the individual.

It will also be a good idea to talk as often as possible with the patient. The person should be within the line of sight of the individual and must say each word slowly in order to understand each word being said.

The best place to treat someone with Alzheimer's is in the home. The people who are there should make sure that there is order in the house and it is quiet at all times because noise will just aggravate the patient.

Living with someone who has Alzheimer's can be compared to taking care of a toddler. This is because the person will touch anything in sight and might even get hurt in the process. The best thing to do is to take make sure there is no clutter in the house and items that are deemed unsafe are hidden from view.

Alzheimer sufferers are known to wander off. The person can lock the doors but should the patient manage to get out, it is best to have either a bracelet or a pocket card inserted in the clothing. This must have the name, address of the patient as well as the contact number where someone can be reached to pick up the wanderer.

Studies show that those who are suffering from Alzheimer's disease really get worked up in the evening. This can be prevented by coming up with evening rituals such as washing the dishes, watching television or walking around for a while to make the patient calm and sleep tight.

Those who are suffering from Alzheimer's aside from the medicine prescribed by the doctor also need exercise. It doesn’t have to be anything extraneous but just enough to keep the strength up. An early morning walk or lifting small weights are just a few examples to promote a certain level of fitness for the patient.

It is not easy living with someone who has Alzheimer's disease because the task of taking care of someone is both tiring and frustrating. People have to understand that no one wanted this to happen but the reality is that the problem is there.

It is a good thing there are support groups out there that can help family members and patients cope with this disease. The people can also live closer because it won't be long before the inevitable will happen and this person will go off to a better place.

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Keeping people with Alzheimer's busy

Keeping people with Alzheimer's busy

Alzheimer's disease is considered the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2004. The death toll continues to rise every year. The disease is the third most costly in the U.S. Heart disease and cancer are the first and second most costly respectively.  It is recorded that there 24 million people with dementia worldwide, the figure will more than double by 2040.

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that is irreversible with no known cause or cure. The disease affects two major types of abilities. Alzheimer's affects the very simple everyday activities such as dressing, eating, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, and even walking. One needs to be assisted in order to accomplish such tasks.

The other ability affected by the disease are the performance of more complex tasks like managing finances, driving a car, preparing and cooking meals and working in a job. It is normal for people with the disease to experience problems with complex tasks first which later on move to the more simple everyday jobs as the disease progresses.

Treatment is vital for people with Alzheimer's disease. Treating a patient requires the conglomeration of the expertise of a family doctor and various medical specialists like psychiatrists or neurologists, psychologists, therapists, nurses, social workers, and counselors. Because the disease affects not only the patient but the whole family as well.

It is very important that family members work closely with the doctors in administering the treatment. The family should be informed of activities that are dangerous for people with Alzheimer's disease. Some of these activities include driving or cooking.

Treating dementia related symptoms of Alzheimer's vary. But such treatments can only be effective if the dementia is caused by factors like medications, alcohol, delirium, tumors, depression, head injury and infections. There are, however, some treatments that are being used to "cure" the well being of a person afflicted with the disease.

Activities like playing music, personal interactions, playing videotapes of family members, walking and light exercise and pet therapy have been found to be successful in helping people develop friendship, mutual support and spiritual connectedness with the people around them.

However, one should remember that such activities can be beneficial to one but could be detrimental to another patient. The best activity for a person with Alzheimer's varies. Former hobbies or points of interest of a person could also be used to help people with the disease and their families to cope.

One could assist the person to engage in activities like supervised gardening, singing, cooking, painting and drawing as long as routine is established. It is very important to engage in these activities on a regular basis for this could help the person establish a sense of stability.

Some therapies combine various activities and have proved to be fairly successful and garnered some favorable results. Such programs combine music, exercise, crafts and relaxation which obtained the best results.

Some even add various structured sessions like meditations, sensory awareness and guided imagery in their attempts to calm and pacify the already unstable behaviors of patients with Alzheimer's.

Aside from daily physical exercise and social activities, some of the things that you also need to consider in treating a patient are proper nutrition and health maintenance; daily activities that will give the feelings of accomplishment for the individual; keeping the patient out of harm's way; and knowing the physical and emotional limitations of the patient, the care giver team and the family.

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Activities for people with Alzheimer

Activities for people with Alzheimer

Alzheimer’s is one disease that people dread to be diagnosed with. Who can blame them?

It is one of the most debilitating disease known to man and it affects not only one area or one system but all. Of course, since it is a progressive disease, effects on the various systems of the body does not happen at one time.

As the disease progress, the effects become wide-range.

Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the best-known disease under Dementia, a disorder that affects the mental processes. It is characterized by the progressive loss of memory that may lead to inattentions and inability to focus at a task, language problems and behavioral changes.

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease for instance may initially find themselves at a loss for words or unable to remember some bits of facts that happened the day before. But as the days progress, they will find themselves starting to forget important things like their addresses, their age and sometimes even their names.

Patients who are in the later stages of Alzheimer’s will start to forget how to do routinary things like brushing their teeth, taking a bath or using their utensils. Some may not speak altogether because they will often forget the words that they should be using or saying. Some will also behave differently, brought on by the frustration of not being able to do the things that they used to do. Often times, patients at the later stages will become dependents, acting like children who do not know what to do with themselves.

Although there are medicines that can slow down the progress of the disease especially if discovered early on, there is no solution to the problem. Once it settles into the system, it would be there for life and there is no chance of it ever disappearing.
Like medicines, there are activities that according to scientists can slow down the progression. Below are just some of them: 

Read

Something as simple as reading the newspaper everyday and keeping your mind informed with the latest news is already something that can prevent the disease from settling in. Just make it a point to use your brain. Be an analytical reader and raise questions and do not just absorb the texts and then forget about it. Being an active reader and allowing your imagination free reign will go a long way for exercising the brain. In fact, studies have shown that people who love to read are less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Answer puzzles

Another mental exercise that people with Alzheimer’s do to help slow down the process is to answer puzzles such as word hunts, cross words and even Sudoku. The more that you use your brain, the better will be your prognosis. Answering word games will also make sure that you practice words and increase your vocabulary, making it less likely for you to forget words and language.

Attend classes

Being old does not mean that you cannot learn. Patients with Alzheimer’s should make it a point to learn something new. This will exercise their brains. Creative tasks such as arts and crafts is another way to tap into the brain’s resources without tiring them out. Learning a new thing also gives people with Alzheimer’s the sense of purpose that they have lost since they were diagnosed with the disease.
   

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Finding caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s disease

One of the most dreaded diseases in old age is Alzheimer’s disease. Although unlike cancer and heart problem, this is actually not fatal. In fact, people with Alzheimer’s can live for a long time with proper care. That is actually the problem most of the time.

With Alzheimer’s disease, the patient need to be taken cared of all the time. This is because the memory loss will often render the patient incapable of thinking and reasoning. Some will even forget how to do the simplest of tasks, like brushing their teeth and even eating with a spoon and fork.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive and degenerative disease that affects the brain. The problem often leads to massive memory loss not only in terms of one’s memories but also one’s learning. Patients will forget everything that they have learned even routinary tasks that they have learned when they were just tots. Some people will also find it hard to learn new things and may even lose their language abilities. They will have difficulties in their speech and in their writing.

Because of this, caring for a patient with Alzheimer’s disease can be extremely difficult. It is actually like caring for a newborn babe but while a baby will slowly learn to function independently, patients with Alzheimer’s will lose what they have learned and will slowly become more and more dependent with their caregivers. Thus, it is important to find a caregiver that is both professionally-capable and caring as they will determine the progress that the patient will have as well as their over all condition and behavior.

Here are some tips in finding a good caregiver for an Alzheimer’s patient.

Choose a professional

It is good to look for a person that is already well experienced in caring for people with Alzheimer’s. Not only will their experience come in handy when it comes to dealing with the patient’s medicines and medical routines, they will also be more patient because of prior knowledge.

One problem though in hiring these kinds of people is the money that you will shell out for their salaries. Private nurses and caregivers are expensive enough as it is without adding the burden of a specialization. If you just cannot afford to hire someone with enough experience, try one who has worked with old people and then give him or her materials that will make them familiar with the basics of the disease.

Choose someone you know

Nothing beats hiring someone that you already know or someone that you have already seen working. Patients with Alzheimer’s will have a lot of quirks and behavior that can be extremely irritating and difficult to deal with. Thus, it is important that you choose someone that you know will have a lot of patience and care.

Of course, if a member of the family can spare the time for the patient, that is good. If not, you can ask for recommendations from people that you know. Chances are they know someone who can take care of a patient with Alzheimer’s.

Choose someone strong

Although this is actually not a major issue, it is also important that you choose someone who can deal with the patient and the often back breaking tasks. Remember that because the patient is full- dependent on the person, they will sometimes need to carry them or guide them when walking.

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Treating Alzheimer's By Play Theatre

Many Alzheimer's patients newly diagnosed after entering the phases of stress. They realized it was memory lose, while they know that if it has been like that, then it will no longer be able to care for themselves.

The research team from Chicago, to test new ideas through theater games without a script than affect the health of patient Alzheimer.

"Improvisation is all about a moment, for someone with memory loss is  very safe place,"said Mary O'Hara, a social worker at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.


"Perhaps remembering the past makes people less anxious or even a bit sad because they have failed. But by thinking about the future too much can also stimulate anxiety. So at this moment is a safe and good place for them," explains O'Hara, told NPR.
Researchers working at Northwestern won the Tony Award from Lookingglass theater company. There is already a program that uses improvisational theater to Alzheimer's patients at later stages of the disease, but this is a unique collaboration because this could be the first step in healing the patient.

"It takes experience to do so, there is a script and they do not need to memorize it," he said.

Hara added that they do to develop their creative potential. And they are very successful doing that.

One initiator of improvisation to be perfect if it collaborates with people with dementia. So something that is important here is that whatever answer someone comes here, we will all do the job, "said Christine Mary Dunford, leader of the Lookingglass group of novice players.

Researchers do not expect a game like this is useful to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, but they are investigating whether to involve the creative ability, an early stage in the process of healing the patient.


Before and after the program runs for eight weeks, participants and their families held a series of questions, to check and see how it changes and what their answers.

"We ask people to tell us how they feel about their physical health and their moods," says Darby Morhardt, associate research professor at Northwestern.

"When we think about people living with Alzheimer's and dementia, we think about the people who lost their skills every day. But here, they also learned some new things," concluded Dunford. 

This can give them confidence that they are able to achieve this. Because of their opportunities to successfully perform sesuata in Alzheimer's condition is not much.

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Detect the Alzheimer's By Blood Test Methods

A new blood test method developed by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) can be used to detect the symptoms produced by Alzheimer's disease is much faster than before.

Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects higher cognitive functions, including memory, logic reasoning, and so on. This is a form of dementia and indirectly can be fatal if not detected and treated early.

Scientists are struggling to find ways to treat it, but also to find out how to detect this disease as quickly as possible. They must have the ability to do so because it will contribute to reduce the costs associated with the treatment of dementia.

The UMDNJ researchers say that the new approach that they employ is an excellent step on the solution of the problem. They explained that the devices using the human protein microarrays, which could allow scientists to identify antibodies specific to Alzheimer's disease in the human body. Similarly, as reported by Softpedia.
"The most remarkable is that this approach is capable of detecting chemicals with amazing accuracy in just a few minutes," said the team, which has a detection method with 96 percent accurate.

By using it, doctors can find a change in state of the body for years before memory loss of memory, bad judgments or behaviors that develop erratic. Often the first symptom was the beginning of neurodegenerative disorders.

Another important aspect of the new approach, that it can easily distinguish between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which is associated with neurodegenerative disorders that cause symptoms similar to Alzheimer's.

"There is an urgent need for an accurate diagnostic test, which is relatively unobtrusive and inexpensive to Alzheimer's," explains Robert Nägele, PhD, founder Technologies Inc..

"A test that can not only diagnose the disease in individuals who show symptoms or signs, but may also detect the disease years before symptoms appear, so it will make the therapy as early as possible," added the scientist.

"This will be an important breakthrough for the pharmaceutical companies are currently working hard to develop new drugs that can stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer's," concluded Robert.

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