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Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

January 10th, 2009 by admin | Filed under Alzheimer's


Learn the Basics About the Most Common Cause of Dementia

Recognized by many as “the long goodbye,” Alzheimer’s disease is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States. An estimated 5 million people in the United States are now living with Alzheimer’s disease, and someone is diagnosed with the disease every 72 seconds.

Most people with Alzheimer’s disease is the age of 65 years or more, but at least 200,000 people under 65 years living with early onset of the disease. In 2030, the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease could be closer to 8 million, if scientists can not find a way to cure or prevent Alzheimer’s disease, the number could be between 11 million and 16 million in 2050.

Alzheimer’s versus Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is progressive, degenerative disease of the brain that leads
dementia. The terms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are often used interchangeably, but there is a clear difference between them.

Dementia is a term much more than Alzheimer’s disease and relates to all stroke syndrome to problems of memory, orientation to the executive work, and communication.

Other Causes of Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia — according to the Alzheimer’s Association, 60% to 70% of dementia cases are due to Alzheimer’s. However, many other diseases can cause dementia, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Some infectious diseases can also result in dementia, such as HIV or the extremely rare Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

When individuals are diagnosed with mixed dementia, more than one disease process is causing the dementia. For example, a person might have dementia due to both Alzheimer’s and a stroke.

Reversible Conditions that Resemble Alzheimer’s
Sometimes symptoms that look like Alzheimer’s are actually due to a reversible medical condition, such as depression or delirium. These conditions aren’t types of dementia — they’re reversible problems that mimic Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
People with Alzheimer’s exhibit different symptoms as the disease progresses, but most symptoms are either cognitive or behavioral.

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s
No single test can prove that a person has Alzheimer’s disease, although imaging technology is rapidly becoming more precise. Still, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, experts estimate that a comprehensive evaluation by a skilled physician can pinpoint the cause of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms with over 90% accuracy.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, but several drug and non-drug treatments are available. Cognitive symptoms are treated with one or more of the four FDA-approved prescription medications for Alzheimer’s disease. Behavioral symptoms are sometimes treated with medications, but non-drug approaches such as behavior management are often just as successful.

Sources:
Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s Association. 2007.
Basics of Alzheimer’s disease: What it is and what you can do. Alzheimer’s Association. 2005.
Journey to discovery: 2005-2006 progress report on Alzheimer’s disease. National Institutes of Health. 2007.




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