Looking For Tomorrow - With the Mind of Yesterday (Part One)
Looking for tomorrow with the mind of yesterday may seem like a strange title for an article, but in the world Alzheimer's that is how many live their lives.
The memories of yesterday seem vivid and clear, while things of today and tomorrow are vague and unreal.
We are aware that as we age, our brains change.
We may get a bit slow on the draw, when trying to understand a joke's punch line, or we forget a date, a person's name or why we are standing in front of the refrigerator.
These are normal functions of our brain, these things happen to the best of us and are not cause for worry.
However, serious memory loss, confusion and other major changes in the way our brain functions are not a part of the normal processing of aging.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a slow disease it starts with mild memory loss and gradually ends up with serious brain damage.
The speed in which the disease takes over the brain varies from person to person.
It actually is an individual disease and the average a person can live from 8 to 10 years with it and some have managed to survive for up to 20 years.
It is not choosy about age groups either, though it usually begins after the age of 60, it has been known to hit 30, 40 and 50 year olds also.
As many as 5 million Americans are living with the disease.
Alzheimer's disease is brain disorder named for the German physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in November 1906 at a scientific meeting.
It appears a family brought him a female patient in 1901.
She was suffering from memory problems and confusion.
She had difficulty in speaking, was certain her husband was being unfaithful and had problems understanding what was being said to her.
Her symptoms grew worse and she eventually died in 1906.
It is hard to remember, but back in those days people did not live much beyond 50 or 60 years of age and it was unusual for anyone to develop what was considered a mental condition.
Dr.
Alzheimer obtained the family's permission and performed an autopsy on the brain of the woman and found some serous problems.
He first noticed dramatic shrinkage in the cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain that is involved in memory, thinking, judgment and speech.
Looking further, under a microscope, he noticed fatty deposits in small blood vessels, dead and dying brain cells and other abnormal deposits in and around cells.
These findings were noted in medical literature in 1907 and in 1910, a noted psychiatrist named Emil Kraepelin, proposed the disease be named after Dr.
Alzheimer.
What is Alzheimer's? It is a progressive and fatal brain disease and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
It is the most common form of dementia, which is a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities.
There is also vascular dementia, which is caused by reduced blood flow to parts of the brain.
A person can have both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia together.
Are there other causes of dementia besides Alzheimer's? Yes, there are many conditions that can cause disruptive memory and mental functions.
Such things as depression, medication side effects, excessive use of alcohol and thyroid problems can create problems.
Poor diet, vitamin deficiencies and some types of infections can also be added to the list.
If you or anyone in your family seems to be suffering from any of these, please, run do not walk to your nearest doctor for treatment.
Many things caught early enough can be treated completely.
What is the difference between Alzheimer's and normal memory changes? Someone with Alzheimer's (AD) will forget whole experiences, while a normal memory change may forget a part of it.
An AD person will not remember the experience later, while a normal person will recall what they forgot.
A person with AD will gradually become unable to follow written or verbal directions.
A normal person can.
An AD individual will gradually not be able to use notes to help them remember.
Normal people use grocery lists and other notes to refresh their memories.
Eventually an AD person will not be able to care for himself or herself, while a normal does not have a problem.
What are the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease? Memory loss - forgetting recently learned information is one of the common early stages.
Difficulty in performing normal everyday tasks.
Forgetting words when talking or putting in words that make little or no sense.
Finding it difficult to go from one place to another, even though it has been part of a normal everyday routine.
Showing poor judgement such as wearing the wrong type of clothes for the current weather, giving inappropriate things away or not realizing how to handle money.
Problems with thinking, using numbers like in balancing a checkbook or doing simple addition.
Misplacing things or putting things in the wrong place such as putting the clock in the refrigerator.
People with AD suffer mood changes - the mood can change from happy to mad in a moment.
Personality changes a happy person may become fearful, suddenly dependent on another person or extremely suspicious.
No ambition - loss of initiative, they become very passive and will sit for hours or sleep.
How does Alzheimer's happen? Our brain operates like a tiny factory, there are 100 billion nerve cells comprising our brain and each has a job to do.
These cells form a communication network that receive supplies, generate energy, construct equipment and gets rid of waste.
Some cells help us see, smell and hear, while others tell our muscles to move.
Other cells are involved in our thinking, learning and our memory.
All this takes cell coordination, large amounts of fuel and oxygen.
Scientists think that people with Alzheimer's disease have a factory breakdown in how the cells communicate with each other.
How it actually happens we still do not know.
In the last 15 years many strides have been made in trying to solve the mystery, there is a worldwide effort being made to find ways to prevent it from developing.
We are learning of ways to treat the disease and to delay its onset.
Currently through the help of autopsies, scientists have found that there are structures called plaques and tangles that maybe the culprits causing the problems.
These plaques and tangles were found in the first autopsy that Dr.
Alzheimer did in 1906, although he called them by different names.
Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between the cells.
Tangles are another form of protein that appear as twisted fibers called tau.
Tangles form inside the dying cells.
It is known that we all have some plaque and tangles in our brains, but people with AD have many more.
Exactly how this all plays a role in AD is not known at this time, however, many scientists feel they block the communication between the nerve cells and disrupt the activity needed for the cells to survive.
Is it possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease? At this point there is no known preventative, we are living longer and with age comes the unknown.
Our look into the disease so far has been baby steps, at first it was thought that aluminum might be the cause, but extensive studies have failed to nail that as the culprit.
Age seems to be the leading factor along with genetics, if it is in your family, you can possibly develop it.
There is one gene that has been identified and a rare gene has also been identified, but both so far have not been proven to be the primary cause.
What can you do as a possible preventive? There seems to be a strong link that head injuries can contribute to AD, so wear your seat belt, be careful when you fall, wear a helmet when playing sports or riding bicycles or motorcycles.
Eat a healthy diet, avoid tobacco and excess alcohol and exercise your mind and body.
Some of the strongest links to AD are associated with heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
So the important thing here is keep these things under control, do your best to work with your doctor.
In another article I will touch upon how you find out it is Alzheimer's, how to cope with the diagnosis, the different stages of the disease, current treatment available and places where you can go for help and information if needed.
The memories of yesterday seem vivid and clear, while things of today and tomorrow are vague and unreal.
We are aware that as we age, our brains change.
We may get a bit slow on the draw, when trying to understand a joke's punch line, or we forget a date, a person's name or why we are standing in front of the refrigerator.
These are normal functions of our brain, these things happen to the best of us and are not cause for worry.
However, serious memory loss, confusion and other major changes in the way our brain functions are not a part of the normal processing of aging.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a slow disease it starts with mild memory loss and gradually ends up with serious brain damage.
The speed in which the disease takes over the brain varies from person to person.
It actually is an individual disease and the average a person can live from 8 to 10 years with it and some have managed to survive for up to 20 years.
It is not choosy about age groups either, though it usually begins after the age of 60, it has been known to hit 30, 40 and 50 year olds also.
As many as 5 million Americans are living with the disease.
Alzheimer's disease is brain disorder named for the German physician, Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in November 1906 at a scientific meeting.
It appears a family brought him a female patient in 1901.
She was suffering from memory problems and confusion.
She had difficulty in speaking, was certain her husband was being unfaithful and had problems understanding what was being said to her.
Her symptoms grew worse and she eventually died in 1906.
It is hard to remember, but back in those days people did not live much beyond 50 or 60 years of age and it was unusual for anyone to develop what was considered a mental condition.
Dr.
Alzheimer obtained the family's permission and performed an autopsy on the brain of the woman and found some serous problems.
He first noticed dramatic shrinkage in the cortex, which is the outer layer of the brain that is involved in memory, thinking, judgment and speech.
Looking further, under a microscope, he noticed fatty deposits in small blood vessels, dead and dying brain cells and other abnormal deposits in and around cells.
These findings were noted in medical literature in 1907 and in 1910, a noted psychiatrist named Emil Kraepelin, proposed the disease be named after Dr.
Alzheimer.
What is Alzheimer's? It is a progressive and fatal brain disease and is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
It is the most common form of dementia, which is a general term for the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities.
There is also vascular dementia, which is caused by reduced blood flow to parts of the brain.
A person can have both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia together.
Are there other causes of dementia besides Alzheimer's? Yes, there are many conditions that can cause disruptive memory and mental functions.
Such things as depression, medication side effects, excessive use of alcohol and thyroid problems can create problems.
Poor diet, vitamin deficiencies and some types of infections can also be added to the list.
If you or anyone in your family seems to be suffering from any of these, please, run do not walk to your nearest doctor for treatment.
Many things caught early enough can be treated completely.
What is the difference between Alzheimer's and normal memory changes? Someone with Alzheimer's (AD) will forget whole experiences, while a normal memory change may forget a part of it.
An AD person will not remember the experience later, while a normal person will recall what they forgot.
A person with AD will gradually become unable to follow written or verbal directions.
A normal person can.
An AD individual will gradually not be able to use notes to help them remember.
Normal people use grocery lists and other notes to refresh their memories.
Eventually an AD person will not be able to care for himself or herself, while a normal does not have a problem.
What are the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease?
These cells form a communication network that receive supplies, generate energy, construct equipment and gets rid of waste.
Some cells help us see, smell and hear, while others tell our muscles to move.
Other cells are involved in our thinking, learning and our memory.
All this takes cell coordination, large amounts of fuel and oxygen.
Scientists think that people with Alzheimer's disease have a factory breakdown in how the cells communicate with each other.
How it actually happens we still do not know.
In the last 15 years many strides have been made in trying to solve the mystery, there is a worldwide effort being made to find ways to prevent it from developing.
We are learning of ways to treat the disease and to delay its onset.
Currently through the help of autopsies, scientists have found that there are structures called plaques and tangles that maybe the culprits causing the problems.
These plaques and tangles were found in the first autopsy that Dr.
Alzheimer did in 1906, although he called them by different names.
Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between the cells.
Tangles are another form of protein that appear as twisted fibers called tau.
Tangles form inside the dying cells.
It is known that we all have some plaque and tangles in our brains, but people with AD have many more.
Exactly how this all plays a role in AD is not known at this time, however, many scientists feel they block the communication between the nerve cells and disrupt the activity needed for the cells to survive.
Is it possible to prevent Alzheimer's disease? At this point there is no known preventative, we are living longer and with age comes the unknown.
Our look into the disease so far has been baby steps, at first it was thought that aluminum might be the cause, but extensive studies have failed to nail that as the culprit.
Age seems to be the leading factor along with genetics, if it is in your family, you can possibly develop it.
There is one gene that has been identified and a rare gene has also been identified, but both so far have not been proven to be the primary cause.
What can you do as a possible preventive? There seems to be a strong link that head injuries can contribute to AD, so wear your seat belt, be careful when you fall, wear a helmet when playing sports or riding bicycles or motorcycles.
Eat a healthy diet, avoid tobacco and excess alcohol and exercise your mind and body.
Some of the strongest links to AD are associated with heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
So the important thing here is keep these things under control, do your best to work with your doctor.
In another article I will touch upon how you find out it is Alzheimer's, how to cope with the diagnosis, the different stages of the disease, current treatment available and places where you can go for help and information if needed.
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