What is Alzheimers Disease?

Understanding the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease is an important factor, as in the early stages the symptoms of Alzheimer's can and are often mistaken as 'simply getting old' This, sadly is NOT the case, Alzheimer's Disease is not a case of 'just' getting old.

Alzheimer's disease is a physical, progressive disease affecting the brain. The main difference between Alzheimers disease and other dementia's is the actual destruction in the structures of the brain which only occur in Alzheimers disease.

Throughout, the duration of Alzheimers disease, physical blocks in the form of 'plaques' and 'tangles' develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells.

This in turn, destroys the pathways for messages, which would, normally, would be carried from area to area without any obstacles.

It is also known, that, people with Alzheimer's disease have a shortage of some important chemicals that are involved with the transmission of messages within the brain.

In Alzheimers disease, over time the 'tangles' and 'plaques' become more advanced and wide spread and as this happens, the symptoms become more severe.

Some symptoms may appear earlier or later in the progression of Alzheimers disease, or not at all.

The way individuals experience Alzheimer's disease will depend on many factors:

• Their physical make-up


• Their emotional resilience


• The support they are given by others

People with the early stages of Alzheimer's disease may display the following:

• Lapses of memory and have problems finding the right words.


• Increasing levels of confusion, frequently forget the names of people, places, appointments and recent events.


• Experience mood swings. They may feel sad or angry. Increasingly more scared and frustrated by their increasing memory loss.

As the Alzheimers disease progresses an individual will frequently withdraw from society as a whole, due to a loss of confidence or to increasing communication problems.
Eventually, the disease progresses, and individuals with Alzheimer's disease will need more support from those who care for them. Ultimately, they will need full time assistance with all their daily activities.
These mirror images of symptoms go a little way of making a diagnosis between the two extremely difficult.

Do I have Alzheimer's Disease or Dementia?
Let me explain about Alzheimers Disease and its relationship to Dementia

Alzheimers disease is a form of dementia, so it is understandable, that many of us get confused between Alzheimers disease and dementia.

You may be thinking, if Alzheimers disease is a dementia then why call it Alzheimers disease?

There are, infact,many striking similarities between Alzheimers disease and dementia, both destroy the brains ability to function over a period of time and how individuals decline in simular ways during the course of both diseases.

A Closer Look At Dementia

Dementia is used to describe the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and degenerative processes.

Traits of Dementia Include:

• Loss of memory, which like Alzheimer's disease, manifests itself in ways like: forgetting the way home from the shops, or being unable to remember names and places.


• Mood changes, as parts of the brain that control emotion are affected. Another similarity between dementia and Alzheimer's disease is that people will display feelings of sadness, fright or anger at what is happening to them, as they are not able to control their circumstances.


• Communication problems, once again both, in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease and dementia, the individual will experience a decline in the ability to talk, read and write.

Dementia is progressive disease, similar to Alzheimer's disease, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse over time.

Like Alzheimers disease, how rapidly dementia progresses, depends on the individual.

Each person is unique and will experience the symptoms of dementia in different ways and at different rates.

Many of the Alzheimers resources available are specifically for Alzheimers disease and will explore specifically, what you can expect to happen with Alzheimer's as a progressive disease.

These Alzheimers resources also look at ways of dealing with problems as they arise or simply putting strategies in place to 'smooth the path' for you & the alzheimers sufferer for as long as necessary.

A sad fact is that there is as yet NO known cure for Alzheimer's disease at this present time.

However, with over 4 million people that suffer from Alzheimer's disease research is ongoing, to try and break through this progressive brain disease.

Today, there is A LOT of practical, up to date information on steps to take, to help allieviate the problems thrown up by Alzheimers disease.

Think about working strategies, that, you and your families can consider using, to put in place for the Alzheimers disease sufferer to help with the more difficult aspects of behavior Alzheimers disease presents.

These are from 'on the ground' workers, who have lived with and through the experience of Alzheimers disease and the effects it can and will have.

Putting things in place to help:

So you will have some idea that these working strategies will be of use for everyone concerned in dealing with the problems Alzheimers disease throws your way.

But BE POSITIVE, there are many treatments that can be helpful with the progression of the Alzheimers disease as long as you remember they will no be a cure.

These are treatments that are beneficial for many patients and help them to live healthier and longer lives.

Another Alzheimer's disease fact is that this Alzheimers disease affects the suffers brain, and eventually, takes away the precious memories that they have accumulated over the years.

As the disease progresses, the sufferer is also going to loose their ability to make decisions on a daily basis: like finding locations, or remembering where they are or what they were doing.

Facts to consider:

Alzheimers disease is a progressive disease that will eventually take over a person's ability to function in every day life without assistance.

The main risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is old age. And, as people are living longer, the incidence of Alzheimers disease continues to increase.

Another fact is that Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and at present effects one in every ten people over the age of 65 and 50 % of those over 85.

Another fact is the number of individuals with Alzheimer's disease is expected to be 14 million by the year 2050.