TITLE: FORGET NOT ALZHEIMER’S


 


 


One of the most challenging medical conditions probably is Alzheimer’s disease since like cancer there is still no certain cure for the condition and scientists and researchers continue to face the struggle in findings ways to ward off the disease. Furthermore, among older people Alzheimer’s disease or AD is considered the most common form of dementia or a disorder of the brain that hinders a person from doing the ADLs or activities of daily living for older people (60 years old and above) [Medline Plus available at www.medlineplus.com (Accessed at 06/03/2008)]. The disease is progressive and begins slowly and the parts of the brains that are affected are those that control thought, memory, and language. Aside from these, Alzheimer’s disease causes more than simple forgetfulness and it may start with slight memory loss and confusion, but it eventually leads to irreversible mental impairment that destroys a person’s ability to remember, reason, learn and imagine [Mayo Clinic available at www.mayoclinic.com (Accessed at 06/03/2008)].


            Alzheimer’s disease was named after a German neurologist Dr. Alois Alzheimer. He was responsible for examining a woman’s brain in 1906 who died after suffering of progressive dementia for years. His findings showed the presence of clumps or now referred to as plaques and knots or tangles which are considered characteristics of the disease. Common signs and symptoms of AD include increasing and persistent forgetfulness, difficulties with abstract thinking, disorientation, difficulty finding the right words, loss of judgment, difficulty performing tasks, and personality changes. Moreover, the risk or predisposing factors that lead to the development of the condition are age, heredity, sex, lifestyle, education levels, toxicity, head injury, and hormone replacement therapy.


As of 2007, according to the findings of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, more than 26 million people worldwide are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease and by the year 2050 the number is expected to increase by four times unless there will already be available treatment for the disease. Because of this, scientists continue to discover ways to prevent the condition or delay it from occurring and one is through the engaging in mentally stimulating activities.  Moreover, according to the research conducted at Columbia university’s College of Physicians & Surgeons that those seniors who engage in activities doing crosswords puzzle, playing cards, reading books or newspapers, or attending adult-education classes may be more likely to hold off Alzheimer’s disease as they age however, once Alzheimer’s is diagnosed, their mental abilities and memory may decline faster than those who were less likely to engage in such leisure activities. Those are the conclusions of an ongoing study of seniors with Alzheimer’s living in New York.


On the other hand, there is also a large new study in France which believes that risk of having Alzheimer’s can be lowered by eating a varied diet rich in fish, fruits and vegetables. Consuming fruits and vegetable daily and of fish weekly were all linked to a decreased risk of dementia but omega-6 oils, on the other hand, the kind of fats commonly found in packaged foods, at the expense of omega-3s, found in fish, walnuts and other nuts, could increase the risk of developing memory problems, the researchers report.


Lastly, there are many other ways that are thought to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or delay it but what is important is the knowledge of the disease itself and how to deal with it with it becomes inevitable.


 


REFERENCES


 


 


“Alzheimer’s disease” at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alzheimersdisease.html


 


“Alzheimer’s disease” at http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/alzheimers- disease/DS00161/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print


 


“Mentally Stimulating Leisure Activities May Ward Off Alzheimer’s” http://www.alzinfo.org/newsarticle/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=259&zoneid=4


 


“Alzheimer’s Cases to Quadruple Worldwide by 2050” http://www.alzinfo.org/newsarticle/templates/newstemplate.asp?articleid=231&zoneid=4


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 



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