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Alzheimers - The Sad Disease

Author: KayBrown Total views: 11 Word Count: 540

Dementia is now a major problem amongst retired people especially the type known as Alzheimer's disease; unfortunately, it often overshadows the other forms of dementia. If you spent time with a person with Alzheimer's disease, you will see a gradual decay in their ability to remember.

The problem in the past has been the accuracy of diagnosis which has gradually improved and is now up to 94 percent accurate. Alois Alzheimer a German physician first discovered the disease back in 1906 but it has only really been in the world's focus for just over 30 years; even though it has been scientifically studied for many years, knowledge surrounding this disease is minimal.

Studies show that your greatest risk of acquiring Alzheimer's is advancing age. The problem of early diagnosis is often down to the sufferer, who refuses to admit that anything is wrong even when they start to experience some of the symptoms; this can be difficult for friends and relations who do not know what the problem is, or what actions or care they should take.

General measures for treatment of Alzheimer's disease are the same as for all dementias. Stalling the progression and possibly improving the condition is about the best that can currently be achieved with drugs but no definitive treatment has yet been discovered. At the moment, three drugs are used routinely to treat sufferers of Alzheimer's, all of which have been approved by the FDA - Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine; improvements have shown to help the average sufferer's cognitive abilities by up to six months.

A new drug, Memantine is helping to slow down the mental decline during the later phases and is similar to the anti-influenza treatment Amantadine; patients with mild to severe Alzheimer's who are already receiving Donepezil are now given Memantine as an alternative. Memantine is the first medicine to show such positive results with sufferers with few problems associated with its use; as 80 percent of the drug is passed in urine unchanged there is very little left to cause any harm.

Owing to an increase in the life span of people around the world, Alzheimer's disease has become a major health issue; this disease is now the fourth largest cause of death in America alone. The economic cost of treating and providing care for those with this type of aging disease another issue to be addressed; the annual cost of treatment and care for sufferers is in excess of 40 billion dollars annually, and is expected to rise well beyond this in the future.

Looking after patients for care and treatment, is set to be a major problem. Last year alone, the National Institute on Aging spent nearly one-half of its funding on research related to this insidious disease; currently there are over 300 different compounds at various stages of development for its treatment.

One of the few factors that you can change to alter your risk of developing dementia is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Some researchers into the disease have found that patients who are happy and healthy with Alzheimer's, slow down the rate of their mental decline. Fortunately this disease is still mainly affecting people over the age of 60; incidents of younger victims contracting the condition do occur, although these are rare.

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About the Author

Kay Brown of Net Reports where you can find a growing volume of fine Niche Articles and very informative Digital Information Products

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