Alzheimers

Alzheimers disease (AD) or also commonly known and called Alzheimer is a problem that leads to
dementia. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that starts slow only to worsen with time. The
early symptoms include short term memory loss or forgetting recent events. With time, the patient
starts to get lost easily, forgets names, problems with language or forget certain words, mood swings.
The patient too starts feeling depressed and demotivated. As time passes by, the patient withdraws
from both family and social life, this keeps on going for some time and then comes the most
devastating stage when the patient gradually starts to loose bodily functions and finally leading to
death. The average life expectancy after one is hit by the disease is three to nine years.

Stages
Though the early stages are often confused with aging and stress, people tend to forget more under
stressed conditions or when they face old age. They understand that it is something more when they
start forgetting the most basic things too. This is what leads to the more noticeable deficit, i.e. Short-
Term Memory loss where a patient faces difficulty in remembering recently learned facts and event.
He or She may even face difficulty in acquiring new information as well.

With time, things tend to get even worse, for AD does not affect every memory capability equally,
difficulties with language, executive functions, perception or execution of movements seem to be
more prominent than memory related issues. The older memories tend to retain like the facts
learned, implicit memory. These are less affected in most of the cases. Language problems however
showup the most and are signified by a decreasing vocabulary and shrinking word fluency. In this
stage, the person is usually not able to communicate properly, he or she is only capable of using basic
communicational methods or ideas. While performing basic motor activities of the body like writing,
drawing, reading, or even dressing, the patient might feel difficulty in coordinating and planning
certain movements. Then comes a time when the patient becomes unable to do common activities
independently. Difficulty in speech becomes regular for he or she keeps forgetting basic vocabulary.
Reading and writing skills are eventually lost with time. The risk of falling increases for the brain stops
coordinating complex motor systems. The advanced or final stages are the worst. Irritability and
wandering become common, unpremeditated anger or aggression, crying out loud without a reason,
resistance to care, all of these can be frequently seen too. Later on the patient becomes completely
dependent on their caretakers. Speeches now become only basic sentences, small phrases or even
words leading to complete loss of speech. Extreme exhaustion and apathy can be commonly seen,
aggressiveness is to be found at its peak. The cause of death is an external cause in most of the
cases.

Cure
As of now, there is no cure to the disease or condition, though there are a few medicines that can
ease some of the factors or symptoms faced by people.