November has been designated National Alzheimer’s Disease
Awareness Month, and it is about time we recognize the 5 million
Americans living with this disease and the 10 million family caregivers
that make it possible.
Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that attacks brain cells diminishing a person’s memory and becoming fatal over time. It impairs memory, thinking and behavior and is responsible for more than 50 percent of all dementia cases. The onset of symptoms most often develop slowly and worsen over time, until they become severe enough to interfere with daily life.
The fear of Alzheimer’s may be in part due to the fact that there is no cure and the treatments that exist for Alzheimer’s are not extremely effective in slowing the progression of the disease.
Current drugs for Alzheimer’s help to subdue the symptoms for only half of those who try them and, on average, the drugs are only effective for a year.
The Alzheimer's Association says early diagnosis and evaluation can bring the following benefits:
Called a pare-clinical stage, the proposed criteria for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, would not necessarily rely on clinical symptoms of dementia, but would iinclude episodic memory impairment with at least one positive biomarker shown on a brain scan or in test called a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.
While we wait for these proposed guidelines to become reality, and in support of families everywhere who are fighting this disease, consider stepping in and helping out by becoming an advocate, making a donation to Alzheimer’s research, or by offering support to a patient or family caregiver.
source: health.news
Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that attacks brain cells diminishing a person’s memory and becoming fatal over time. It impairs memory, thinking and behavior and is responsible for more than 50 percent of all dementia cases. The onset of symptoms most often develop slowly and worsen over time, until they become severe enough to interfere with daily life.
The fear of Alzheimer’s may be in part due to the fact that there is no cure and the treatments that exist for Alzheimer’s are not extremely effective in slowing the progression of the disease.
Current drugs for Alzheimer’s help to subdue the symptoms for only half of those who try them and, on average, the drugs are only effective for a year.
The Alzheimer's Association says early diagnosis and evaluation can bring the following benefits:
- Treatment of reversible causes of impairment.
- Access to drugs that help treat symptoms.
- Inclusion in clinical trials that give expert care.
- Avoiding drugs that can worsen cognition.
- Letting others know of a need for help managing medicines and daily life.
- Easing anxiety about the cause of symptoms.
- Access to education, training and support services.
- The ability to plan for the future.
Called a pare-clinical stage, the proposed criteria for a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, would not necessarily rely on clinical symptoms of dementia, but would iinclude episodic memory impairment with at least one positive biomarker shown on a brain scan or in test called a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis.
While we wait for these proposed guidelines to become reality, and in support of families everywhere who are fighting this disease, consider stepping in and helping out by becoming an advocate, making a donation to Alzheimer’s research, or by offering support to a patient or family caregiver.
source: health.news
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