Alzheimer's disease is not contagious, but rather a kind of syndrome with apoptosis of brain cells at the same time, so that the brain seems to shrink and shrink. Alzheimer's disease is also said to be synonymous with the parents.
Alzheimer's is not part of the normal aging process, but the risk increases with age. Five per cent of people aged between 65-74 years suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and nearly 50 percent of people over the age of 85 years have Alzheimer's disease.
Although this disease has no cure, treatment can improve quality of life for people with Alzheimer's. They were sentenced to Alzheimer need support and affection from friends and family to cope.
Causes of Alzheimer's Disease
None of the factors that appear to be the cause of Alzheimer's. Scientists believe that the disease is a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Alzheimer's damage and kill brain cells.
Two types of damage brain cells (neurons) that are common in people with Alzheimer 's:
1. Plaques
Clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid affects the communication between brain cells. Although there are no known cases of Alzheimer's that causes death, the facts show that the process of the abnormal protein beta-amyloid may be the cause.
2. Tangles / puzzler
Support structures in the brain cells depends on the normal function of a protein called tau. In people with Alzheimer's, threads of tau protein undergo changes that cause them to be of unsound mind. Many scientists believe that this is the destruction of neurons and can cause death for patients with Alzheimer's.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease may begin with slight memory loss and confusion, but in the end will lead to mental impairment which is irreversible and destroys a person's ability to remember, think, learn, and imagine.
1. Memory loss
Everyone has lapses in memory. Is a normal thing when you forget where you put your car keys or forgetting names of people that you rarely see. But the memory problems associated with long Alzhaimer and bad. People with Alzhaimer possible:
- Repeating something she had done
- Often forget the words and promises he does
- Often misplaced something, often put things in unusual places
- Eventually forget the names of family members and objects used in daily life.
Difficult for people with Alzhaimer to find the right words to convey their thinking or when they were deep in conversation. Will ultimately affect their ability to read and write.
3. Problematic when thinking abstractly
People with Alzheimer's have trouble thinking about something, especially in the form of numbers.
4. Lost the ability to judge
Resolve everyday problems is a difficult and becomes more difficult until the end is something that is felt to be possible for those who have Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's has characteristics very difficult to do something that requires planning, decision making and judgment.
5. Disorientation
People with Alzheimer's often lose the ability to remember the time and date, and will find themselves lost in the actual environment familiar to them.
6. Difficult to perform ordinary tasks
Difficult to perform routine tasks that require sustained steps in the process of completion, for example cooking. In the end, the person with Alzheimer's may forget how to do even the most basic things.
7. Changes in personality
People with Alzheimer's show:
- Mood swings
- Lost the trust of others
- Increasing stubbornness
- Depression
- Restless
- Aggressive
Risk Factors of Alzheimer's Disease
1. Age factor
Alzheimer's Disease usually affects people over the age of 65 years, but it also affects people under the age of 40. At least 5 per cent of people aged between 65 and 74 have Alzheimer's. In people aged 85 and above increased to 50 percent.
2. Men / women
Women are more susceptible than men, this is because women generally live longer than men.
3. Descent
Alzheimer's risk appears slightly higher if first-degree relatives - parents and siblings - has Alzheimer's.
4. Mild cognitive impairment
People who have mild cognitive impairment have memory problems worse than what might diekspektasikan on age and not bad enough to classify as dementia. Many of those who are in this condition persists has Alzheimer's disease.
5. Lifestyle
The same factors that make you are at the same risk of heart disease also increase the likelihood you will be affected by Alzheimer's disease. Examples are:
- pressure
- high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- less in controlling blood sugar
- keep your body to stay fit is important to you, you should be able to train the mind properly. Several studies have shown that active in training the mind and mental along your life especially in the elderly will reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
The study found an association between low education and the risk of Alzheimer's. But the underlying reasons are not known precisely. Some scientists theorize, the more often you use the brain more synapses you make a lot of reserves which will be available in the old days. It would be difficult to find Alzheimer's brains in people who train on a regular basis, or those who have a higher education level.