INTRODUCTION:
Alzheimer’s disease is a mental disorder caused by a neurological condition that impacts your cognitive function and memory. This disease alters your behavior and ruins your life because you won’t be able to perform the daily asks. In this mental disorder, people also had the symptoms of dementia, which affected their daily lives. The pathophysiology of this disease is that in the brain, the buildup of aberrant proteins such as beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles creates obstruction in the brain cells and affects their functionality. The brain cells start deteriorating, and communication among the cells is highly affected due to this. The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are unknown, but genetics, environment, physiological, and neurological factors play a crucial role in it. The world population as a whole suffers from this disease due to various factors, which are discussed below.
CAUSES
Complex mental disorder that affects the person’s personal and professional life as a whole. There are various factors that contribute to this disease. Some of the most important are as follows:
Genetic Factors: Family history significantly affects the likelihood of having this disease. Alzheimer disease runs from family to family, which shows the deep-rooted link between genes and the development of the disease.
Beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles are two examples of the aberrant proteins that accumulate in the brain and cause the disease. The accumulation of these proteins makes people more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease.
Age: People with the age of 65 and older are more prone to this disease, which shows that this disease is linked with the age factor of humans. Our cells, with the passage of time, deteriorate or their working ability is also affected, which causes many diseases.
Lifestyle Factors: Some lifestyle factors, such as smoking, unhealthy food, alcholism, and much more, are the real cause behind developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Cardiovascular Health: By reducing blood flow to the brain, the chances of the disease take a steep rise. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and other nephro-related issues raise the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), in particular, have been related to an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Environmental Factors: Although more study is required in this area, exposure to specific environmental chemicals can cause Alzheimer disease and affect brain functionality.
SYMPTOMS:
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological condition in which a person’s brain cells aren’t able to perform well and do their work in the expected way. Alzheimer’s symptoms range from mild to severe and affect the daily life of the person. The following list of typical signs of Alzheimer’s disease includes:
Memory Loss: The most important and foremost symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is memory loss. A person wouldn’t be able to recognise the place, the person, or the most important thing. It is impossible for him to recall the memory and live like a normal human being. They used to forget all the things that happened to them in the past.
Problem-Solving Difficulties: Alzheimer disease affects the cognitive function of the brain, which shows that the person will have many cognitive-related issues like problem solving, decision-making, and thought processes. They totally depend on others for their own daily work.
Confusion Regarding Time and Location: People may feel disoriented and won’t be able to recognise the person and the place. When you ask them about time and place, they will not answer you or tell you if they are able to give you the answer. The answer will be wrong or totally contradictory to reality.
Task Completion Difficulties: Commonplace actions like making a meal, going to the washroom, doing laundry, and much more This seems like a hard task for them because their cognitive function is paralysed and they are not able to do their own work.
Finding the appropriate: They used to say inappropriate words for the everyday item and have the issues to have the discussion and explain their feelings. words for everyday items or having issues explaining their feelings.
Putting items in odd locations: People with Alzheimer’s may put items in odd locations, like a phone in the bathroom or a hairbrush in the kitchen.
Reduced judgement: One typical sign of lzheimer’s is that they aren’t able to count money or save it on their own. First, they forgot where they were, and second, they had a hard time counting.
Withdrawal from Social Activities: This illness makes a person useless because they wouldn’t be able to perform the failed activities, which results in unemployment and dependency on others.
Changes in personality and mood are frequent, as are mood swings and an increase in impatience.
Loss of Initiative: There may be apathy and a decreased desire to enjoy the daily activities that they used to enjoy in the past.
The intensity of these symptoms might vary, from mild to severe, and affect the person’s life according to their severity.
TREATMENT:
There is no cure for the treatment of this disease, but we have a variety of therapies and medications that lower the risk rate and severity of the disease. Patients, through proper treatment, got a chance to live a healthy life with stability. There are the following treatments that help a patient recover in the best way:
Medications: A number of drugs are available to treat cognitive problems and enhance memory and thought processes. We all know that Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder for which medication is required for a smooth recovery process.
Behavioural interventions: Non-drug approaches can help control agitation. There are several therapies, like CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and group therapy.
Task Completion Difficulties: Commonplace actions like washing the clothes and cooking all took a long time to complete.
Exercise: Studies have suggested that you go for regular exercise because it provides a good supply of oxygen to the brain, through which it is nourished.
Occupational therapy: Occupational therapists can help people overcome the difficulties of everyday life.
Speech and Language Therapy: Speech therapists may assist those who have trouble speaking, but it should be kept in mind that this is a long journey.
Supportive Services: Support groups, respite care, and home health services are the crucial ways to recover soon. With emotional support, people can maintain healthy relationships and cope with daily tasks in the best way possible.
Advance Care Planning: As Alzheimer’s disease worsens, people may lose the ability to decide how they will be cared for. For this, there is advance care, through which a patient will get individual attention.
Clinical Trials: Taking part in clinical trials can provide you access to experiments through which we can measure the speed of patients recovery.
While there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s, these therapies can greatly improve a person’s quality of life and help them to live a better life.
CONCLUSION:
Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible neurological disorder in which the neurrons of the brain degrade and are not able to work well. This causes changes in the human neurological system, due to which a person won’t be able to identify time and place. The decision-making skills, thought process, and all cognitive abilities were altered. There are no known causes, but there are a mix of factors from genetics, environment, and neurology that play a part in Alzheimer’s disease. There is no way back to a normal life, but we have alternative therapies and medication that help a person maintain stability in their life. Good treatment and early intervention help people maintain their quality of life and live their best.
