Alzheimer’s disease: causes, symptoms and treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative pathology, which affects coherent thinking, memory and behavior of patients, leading over time to the impossibility of carrying out daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in people over 65 years old.

Content

Alzheimer’s disease: causes, symptoms and treatment 1

What is Alzheimer’s disease? 1

Why does Alzheimer’s disease occur? 1

What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease? 2

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease 2

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Why does Alzheimer’s disease occur?

The studies carried out until now have demonstrated the existence of protein deposits at the level of nerve cells that determine the progressive neuronal destruction with the loss of brain volume. These changes at the brain level are manifested in the form of:

Beta amyloid plaques that form in the free spaces between nerve cells and interrupt interneuronal communication;

Your neurofibrillary tangles that appear inside cells and affect the transport of nutrients to neurons, thus favoring their irreversible loss.

These brain changes normally accompany the physiological aging processes of the central nervous system, but in the case of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, they appear in a considerably increased number. The role and involvement of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques in the initiation and evolution of the disease are not known exactly, but it is considered that their presence determines the interruption of interneuronal communications and the physiological processes necessary for the survival of nerve cells.

What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?

Frequently, a person with Alzheimer’s disease presents as the first symptom in the early stages of the condition, difficulty remembering conversations, events and actions recently performed or memorizing newly acquired information (recent memory loss). The progression of the disease over time leads to the appearance of other symptoms represented by:

Temporal-spatial disorientation;
Mood (depression, apathy) and behavior (aggression) disorders;
Unwarranted panic attacks;
The emergence of unfounded suspicions towards people around (family, caregivers);
Difficulty speaking, swallowing and maintaining a sitting posture.
Certain skills acquired during life such as reading, singing, dancing, drawing (and practicing various crafts), recounting events from the distant past are maintained until the last stages of the disease, because they are controlled by areas of the brain that are affected later in the evolution of Alzheimer’s dementia.

Depending on the progress and the age at which it begins, Alzheimer’s disease presents 5 stages:

Stage I preclinical Alzheimer’s disease: the disease is asymptomatic but can be diagnosed through specific analyzes to identify amyloid deposits and genetic predisposition;
Stage II or slight cognitive decline manifested by wrong estimations of time, loss of recent memory and impairment of quick decision-making capacity;
Stage III or mild dementia is recognized by: the patient’s repetition of the same questions, the appearance of behavioral changes, the difficulty of expressing thoughts, the loss of the ability to manage finances and plan events;
Stage IV or moderate dementia causes the appearance of temporal-spatial confusion, the feeling of family alienation (the patient does not recognize his family members), the impossibility of carrying out various daily activities (washing, dressing, cooking);
Stage V or severe dementia is manifested by the loss of the ability to speak, eat and swallow, the loss of mobility and the function of the muscles involved in maintaining posture (the patient cannot move and cannot maintain the sitting position without support).

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

The diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is interdisciplinary and involves:

Physical and neurological examination of the patient;

Paraclinical laboratory investigations to rule out vitamin deficiencies and thyroid dysfunctions; genetic tests to establish a positive family history of Alzheimer’s disease;

Carrying out specific neuropsychological and cognitive tests;

Imaging examination with the help of nuclear magnetic resonance or computer tomograph with positron emission to assess the extension of the condition at the brain level and exclude other pathologies that can cause cognitive decline and memory problems in their evolution.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease

The treatment methods currently applied for Alzheimer’s disease aim to reduce the patients’ symptoms, but they cannot stop the evolution of the disease. Antidepressants, sleeping pills, anxiolytics and vitamin supplements are used to improve depressive states accompanied by sleep disorders, but also to improve the function of the remaining neurons by slowing down the progression of the disease.

Adopting a balanced diet and a lifestyle that includes daily physical exercises, reading and practicing various regular social activities can slow down the progression of the disease and help maintain these skills as long as possible.

Find out more:

Alzheimer’s disease – https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-47536-001

Alzheimer’s disease – https://www.nature.com/articles/461895a

Alzheimer disease – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/194892