FACTS ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S

What are some of the things to look for in a person or family member you think may have Alzheimer's.

Some change in memory is normal as we grow older, but the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease are more than simple lapses in memory.
People with Alzheimer's experience difficulties communicating, learning, thinking and reasoning - problems severe enough to have an impact on an individual's work, social activities and family life.

Some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease include:

Abstract Thinking -- Balancing a checkbook may be hard when the task is more complicated than usual. Someone with Alzheimer's disease, however, might forget what the numbers are and what needs to be done with them.

Disorientation -- It's normal to forget the day of the week or where you're going. People with Alzheimer's disease can become lost on the street where they live, forget where they are and how they got there, and not know how to get back home.

Initiative -- People often tire of housework, business activities or social obligations at times. However, a person with Alzheimer's disease may become excessively passive, sitting in front of the television for hours, sleeping more than usual or not doing usual activities.

Judgment -- No one has perfect judgment all of the time but those with Alzheimer's disease may dress without regard to the weather, wearing several shirts or blouses on a warm day or very little clothing in cold weather. Individuals with dementia often show poor judgment about money, giving away large amounts of money to telemarketers or paying for home repairs or products they don't need.

Language -- All of us have trouble finding the right word from time to time, but people with Alzheimer's disease often forget simple words or substitutes unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand. If a person with Alzheimer's is unable to find his or her toothbrush, for example, the individual may ask for "that thing for my mouth."

Misplacing Items -- Anyone can temporarily misplace a wallet or key. A person with Alzheimer's disease may put things in unusual places -- an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.

Mood Changes -- Everyone can become sad or moody from time to time. However, someone with Alzheimer's disease can show rapid mood swings -- from calm to tears to anger -- for no apparent reason.

Personality -- Personalities ordinarily change somewhat with age but a person with Alzheimer's disease may have a severe personality change, becoming extremely confused, suspicious, fearful or dependent on a family member.

When Alzheimer's begins in middle age, misdiagnosis may be more likely. Rare disorder affects work, finances and family.

My father was one of these, early onset Alzheimer's disease. We had never heard of Alzheimer's before, Rita Hayworth was just diagnosed with the disease in 1980 and then my father was diagnosed about the same time. Both Rita and my father was diagnosed with early onset of Alzheimer's.

Of all the people with Alzheimer's disease, only 5 percent to 10 percent develop symptoms before age 65. So if 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's, at least 200,000 people have the early-onset form of the disease. Early-onset Alzheimer's has been known to develop between ages 30 and 40, but that's exceedingly rare. It is more common to see someone in their 50s who has the disease.

It often runs in families. Many people with early-onset Alzheimer's have a parent or grandparent who also developed Alzheimer's at a younger age. A significant proportion of early-onset Alzheimer's is linked to three genes.

These three genes are different from the apo E gene, which can increase your risk of Alzheimer's in general. But you can have the apo E gene and never develop Alzheimer's. Conversely, you can have Alzheimer's and not have the apo E gene. The genetic path of inheritance is much stronger in early-onset Alzheimer's. If you have one of those three genes, it would be very unusual for you not to develop Alzheimer's before age 65.

Considerable research is being done to finally find a cure for Alzheimer through gene therapy. It has recently started and human trials are on. The research scientists have isolated the gene of the protein found in healthy brains known as nerve growth factor. The transplanted gene has been put in the brain of a woman who was in early stage of Alzheimer and one day gene therapy might be able to stop the growth of Alzheimer.

Other research is also being done,
There has been research on going in the field of medicine to develop drugs that help in combating the disease while lowering the side effects.Some of the drugs that are being tested have been able to improve the cognitive behavior patterns of people suffering from alziemers.Alzhiemers treatment also includes new drugs that affect neuron metabolic activity with lower side effects. Other drugs available have been aimed at modifing brain neuron metabolic activity.

The general mode of treatment for Alzhiemer is Cholinesterase inhibitors which help in improving the neuro transmittres of the brain. The generic name of the drugs are Donepezil , Galantamine which are marketed by the pharmaceutical companies with different brand names.These drugs have been found to delay the symptoms of Alhzimers for about 12 - 14 months but needs to be started early to deal with mild cognitive impairments like memory loss not related to age but is not as severe as dementia.