Symptoms Associated With Alzheimers
Alzheimer is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1901. Although each sufferer experiences it in a unique way, there are many common symptoms. The earliest observable symptoms are often mistakenly thought to be ‘age-related’ concerns, or manifestations of stress. The most commonly recognized early symptom is memory loss, such as difficulty in remembering recently learned facts. When a doctor or physician has been notified, and it is suspected, the diagnosis is usually confirmed with behavioral assessments and cognitive tests, often followed by a brain scan if available.
As the Alzheimer advances, symptoms include confusion, irritability and aggression, mood swings, language breakdown, long-term memory loss, and the general withdrawal of the sufferer as their senses decline. Gradually, minor and major bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Individual prognosis is difficult to assess, as the duration of the disease varies. It develops for an indeterminate period of time before becoming fully apparent, and it can progress undiagnosed for years. The mean life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years. Fewer than three percent of individuals live more than fourteen years after diagnosis.
The disease course is divided into four stages, with a progressive pattern of cognitive and functional impairment. They include predementia, early dementia, moderate dementia and finally advanced dementia.
The cause and progression of Alzheimer disease is not well understood. Research indicates that the disease is associated with plaques and tangles in the brain. Currently used treatments offer a small symptomatic benefit; no treatments to delay or halt the progression of the disease are as yet available. Since it has no cure and it gradually renders people incapable of tending for their own needs, care giving essentially is the treatment and must be carefully managed over the course of the disease
Peter Gitundu Researches And Reports On Health. For more information on Alzheimers, visit his site at
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