What is Alzheimer's disease?
In people with Alzheimer's disease damage the brains slowly getting worse. The main symptom of the disease is dementia.
Alzheimer's usually occurs in people over seventy years. The cause of the disease is not known. Approximately one out of ten patients will receive it for his fiftieth year: the so-called young dementia. Disease in young people is probably inherited.
Alzheimer's is not curable. There do exist therapies that make the life of a person with dementia more comfortable.
What causes Alzheimer's disease?
In people with Alzheimer's disease brains touch the damaged. This is because a certain protein in the brains will clump together. Doctors call these clumps of plaques. After a while our brains work by the plaques worse. They can not properly process messages. Whereby the plaques develop is not known.
It may be true that people who get enough vitamin B6, B11 (folic acid) and B12 ingestion have a higher risk of Alzheimer's.
About one out of ten people with Alzheimer's disease is a genetic variant of the disease. They get before their fiftieth year disease. The genes that cause Alzheimer's disease are known. But it is not yet known how exactly they inherit.
How does the doctor dementia and Alzheimer's disease?
It is important that dementia and Alzheimer's disease early are discovered. The earlier the diagnosis, the better medicines and training can slow down the disease process.
Does the family practice dementia, then refers them to a specialist. The specialist (neurologist, geriatrician or psychiatrist) often gets all from talking to the patient and his family or friends an idea what is wrong. To know for sure that someone has dementia, the neurologist after a number of investigations.
She examines the learning ability and memory of the patient with psychological tests.
With a CT scan or MRI scan of the brain she seeks to brain disorders.
Also the electroencephalogram (EEG) of the brain is often abnormal in dementia.
From the brain scans show also usually what is causing the dementia. Is that Alzheimer's disease, then determines the doctor with a PET scan and a SPECT-scan how severe the disease is.
Treatment of Dementia
Dementia can only be cured if it is because of a thyroid, kidney or liver disease. In all other cases, dementia unstoppable.
However, there are therapies and medications for dementia patients. The drugs do not cure dementia, but they can make sure that people think better, speak and act. The effects of the medications are different for each individual.
Some examples of therapies:
- Reality Orientation Training (ROT) and reality orientation approach (ROB). These are forms of memory training, especially for people with dementia. ROT and ROB work best at the onset of dementia.
- Validation therapy. In this therapy move people into the world of dementia to teach him understand. The therapy is primarily intended to reduce the stress of demented people. More information can be obtained at Foundation Validation.
- Reminiscence. In this therapy get dementia in groups memories. They are calmer here and thus also have more contact with others.
- Snoezelen is a way to connect with people who can not or difficult to talk. When Snoezelen is not about talk, but to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. For example, people listen to music, or get them to smell good smells. They get soft things to stroke, whether they watch glittering stuff.
Dealing with someone with dementia
Someone demented, is often afraid, insecure, frustrated, agitated or angry. It can sometimes seem as if you are living with a stranger. How to get your demented partner, father or mother or neighbor to help?
- Create a fixed schedule.
- Do not change things in the house. Change something only if it creates dangerous situations. For example, place the heater too high and secure the stove.
- Berg valuables so they do not lose.
- Do not ask questions which the sufferer can not answer.
- Encourage him to take themselves and things take care of themselves.
- Show warmth and affection, think of cuddling and touching.
- Speak clearly and slowly.
- Set the demented comfortable when he's scared.
- Do not think at all 'it's dementia. Someone could just be ill, for example, pneumonia or heart disease. Eventually, many dementia patients die from these diseases.
Many dementia patients live far from home. They are cared for by their partner, children, friends or neighbors: the carers. After a while, often still need extra help, for example:
- Assistance from home care or help from volunteers.
- Help through a mental health center (MHC).
- Help from a psychologist.
- Day care or night care for older people in a care center or nursing home.
- Spare Care in a care center or nursing home.
- Child care on a care farm for dementia patients.
What if a person with dementia no longer can decide?
Someone who understands dementia at some point no more the consequences of his decisions. For example, he buys expensive things without considering that he has not enough money for that. It may be necessary that someone else looks after his interests by guardianship, leadership and mentorship to apply to the court.
- A mentor decides for dementia when it comes to care, nursing, therapy or counseling.
- An administrator controls the financial affairs of the person with dementia. All other decisions takes the dementia itself.
- In receivership may dementia almost nothing to decide.