Human beings require interaction with others: socialization is a collection of memories thus
the person you are is based on one’s socialization
Virtually every person over 50 years old suffers from cognitive decline even if it is only a mild case of memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease however, is more than a loss of memory. It is a common form of dementia, a neurocognitive and psychological disorder that is marked by the loss of cognitive abilities such as vision and speech in addition to memory loss which occurs in stages from reduced short-term memory to little or no long-term memory.
Similar to the rate of memory loss, the decline in the condition of an individual’s brain together with the severity of the symptoms may be signs of Alzheimer’s disease. There are 7 stages of Alzheimer’s ranging from no impairment (first stage); mild to moderate decline (second to fifth stages) then severe or very severe decline.
Although stress and ageing may affect people similarly, Alzheime’r symptoms to look out for are difficulty in sleeping and disorientation – in addition to memory loss. A combination of lack of judgment, the ability to reason, and confusion with topics or stories that were once easily discussed, aggressiveness, heightened emotional changes or the inability to control behavioural responses under normal circumstances, are signs observed by persons who share their experiences with those affected by the disease.
“At the first stage, persons with no impairment are easier to deal with since they hardly experience any memory problems and do not show signs of dementia but when Alzheimer’s gets to the severe stage they can be challenging – they forget almost everything,” states Sophia Mitchell-Brown, a Nurse’s Assistant/Patient Care Assistant from New York. Sophia shares that the majority of the elderly patients assigned to her care struggle with Alzheimer’s – some are unable to have conversations due to severe cognitive decline.
“They ask the same questions over and over, especially about their parents being missing from home when in reality they have long passed. Also, as with a child, some patients are unable to control their bladder and bowel movements.
Knowing the Risk Factors
According to Dr. William S. Graham, a consultant neurologist at Neurodiagnostics Limited, gender was one of the determining factors, “Being female confers a slightly greater risk in some studies” (The Gleaner). While there are no specific statistical data on the prevalence of Alzheimer’s among Jamaicans, World Life Expectancy ranks the disease 49th out the top 50 causes of deaths in Jamaica with approximately 25% of deaths resulting from it.
Individuals who use a combination of drugs and abuse alcohol and cigarettes are at increased risk due to the damage done to the brain over time. While it is taken for granted that the disease is typically known to attack the elderly, occasionally adults under 60 years old have been reported to have early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. These cases are linked to genetic inheritance, and environmental stimuli – and detected in persons who suffered neurological-related injuries such as strokes.
Fortunately, the younger a person is when diagnosed with the disease the easier it is to understand and manage
the likelihood of degenerative symptoms. One of the characteristics of the disease that persons find hard to come to terms with is that Alzheimer’s only worsens and it is NOT a disease that can be cured once it progresses.
How to Cope with Symptoms>/h4>
The first diagnostic step is to confer with a doctor who may counsel or refer the person affected for a mental-state examination and if necessary further investigations through brain-scanning techniques. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the most a caregiver can do is provide emotional support and medication if it is within their financial capacity. “The first thing to pay attention to is the impact of the disease on the person. Human beings require interaction with others: socialization is a collection of memories thus the person you are is based on one’s socialization.
A person with Alzheimer’s loses everything until they become an empty shell. This is devastating for the person who is losing a sense of self and though emotional responses in general are limited they do express emotions such as hopelessness,” noted Dr. Geoffrey Walcott, Consultant Psychiatrist. “For the caregivers, the person dissolves in front of them – they become someone that is recognized physically but not emotionally.”
Subsequently Alzheimer’s affected persons experience the effects on their physical state and are likely to become easily agitated and at times combative. They may also lose trust in persons who they have known all their lives to the extent of psychosis; their increased anxiety also makes them restless and in some cases depressed. Nicky Soltau recalls, “My grandmother was in her 70s when our family realized that something was wrong – then a visit to a General Practitioner confirmed it was Alzheimer’s disease. Now she is 84 years old.” But how did the Soltau family identify the possibility of a neurocognitive disorder that has a subtle onset?
“She started to repeat herself, accusing family members of moving around or removing her things. It was discovered early and she is on medication – but everything my grandmother speaks about today is from the past although she is good at covering up because she knows something is wrong and becomes defensive and asks ‘so don’t you forget things too?’.”
For the caregivers, the person dissolves in front of them-they become someone that is recognized physically but not emotionally
Unfortunately the medication required is expensive and therapeutic treatment options are geared toward slowing down the rate of progression. “Once medication is discontinued, the rate of deceleration is worse than if the individual didn’t begin taking medication. One cannot reverse changes only slow these changes down,” Dr. Walcott explained. “The percentage of the population it affects is in their twilight years. The reality is, living in a country with scarce health care resources, especially for those persons considered as not having many years left. The greater investment is geared toward treating younger age groups – thus medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s is not subsidized.”
The occurrence may be prevented or the rate of progression may be delayed by boosting brain activities through promoting participation in sports; reading or practising games such as Sudoku that test calculative abilities; keeping healthy in general by eating properly and exercising daily even if it means an hour of light stretching. So, even though you may not be able to beat the disease, you can definitely take measures to deal with the effects.
Share this post:
Human beings require interaction with others: socialization is a collection of memories thus
the person you are is based on one’s socialization
Virtually every person over 50 years old suffers from cognitive decline even if it is only a mild case of memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease however, is more than a loss of memory. It is a common form of dementia, a neurocognitive and psychological disorder that is marked by the loss of cognitive abilities such as vision and speech in addition to memory loss which occurs in stages from reduced short-term memory to little or no long-term memory.
Similar to the rate of memory loss, the decline in the condition of an individual’s brain together with the severity of the symptoms may be signs of Alzheimer’s disease. There are 7 stages of Alzheimer’s ranging from no impairment (first stage); mild to moderate decline (second to fifth stages) then severe or very severe decline.
Although stress and ageing may affect people similarly, Alzheime’r symptoms to look out for are difficulty in sleeping and disorientation – in addition to memory loss. A combination of lack of judgment, the ability to reason, and confusion with topics or stories that were once easily discussed, aggressiveness, heightened emotional changes or the inability to control behavioural responses under normal circumstances, are signs observed by persons who share their experiences with those affected by the disease.
“At the first stage, persons with no impairment are easier to deal with since they hardly experience any memory problems and do not show signs of dementia but when Alzheimer’s gets to the severe stage they can be challenging – they forget almost everything,” states Sophia Mitchell-Brown, a Nurse’s Assistant/Patient Care Assistant from New York. Sophia shares that the majority of the elderly patients assigned to her care struggle with Alzheimer’s – some are unable to have conversations due to severe cognitive decline.
“They ask the same questions over and over, especially about their parents being missing from home when in reality they have long passed. Also, as with a child, some patients are unable to control their bladder and bowel movements.
Knowing the Risk Factors
According to Dr. William S. Graham, a consultant neurologist at Neurodiagnostics Limited, gender was one of the determining factors, “Being female confers a slightly greater risk in some studies” (The Gleaner). While there are no specific statistical data on the prevalence of Alzheimer’s among Jamaicans, World Life Expectancy ranks the disease 49th out the top 50 causes of deaths in Jamaica with approximately 25% of deaths resulting from it.
Individuals who use a combination of drugs and abuse alcohol and cigarettes are at increased risk due to the damage done to the brain over time. While it is taken for granted that the disease is typically known to attack the elderly, occasionally adults under 60 years old have been reported to have early onset of Alzheimer’s disease. These cases are linked to genetic inheritance, and environmental stimuli – and detected in persons who suffered neurological-related injuries such as strokes.
Fortunately, the younger a person is when diagnosed with the disease the easier it is to understand and manage
the likelihood of degenerative symptoms. One of the characteristics of the disease that persons find hard to come to terms with is that Alzheimer’s only worsens and it is NOT a disease that can be cured once it progresses.
How to Cope with Symptoms>/h4>
The first diagnostic step is to confer with a doctor who may counsel or refer the person affected for a mental-state examination and if necessary further investigations through brain-scanning techniques. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, the most a caregiver can do is provide emotional support and medication if it is within their financial capacity. “The first thing to pay attention to is the impact of the disease on the person. Human beings require interaction with others: socialization is a collection of memories thus the person you are is based on one’s socialization.
A person with Alzheimer’s loses everything until they become an empty shell. This is devastating for the person who is losing a sense of self and though emotional responses in general are limited they do express emotions such as hopelessness,” noted Dr. Geoffrey Walcott, Consultant Psychiatrist. “For the caregivers, the person dissolves in front of them – they become someone that is recognized physically but not emotionally.”
Subsequently Alzheimer’s affected persons experience the effects on their physical state and are likely to become easily agitated and at times combative. They may also lose trust in persons who they have known all their lives to the extent of psychosis; their increased anxiety also makes them restless and in some cases depressed. Nicky Soltau recalls, “My grandmother was in her 70s when our family realized that something was wrong – then a visit to a General Practitioner confirmed it was Alzheimer’s disease. Now she is 84 years old.” But how did the Soltau family identify the possibility of a neurocognitive disorder that has a subtle onset?
“She started to repeat herself, accusing family members of moving around or removing her things. It was discovered early and she is on medication – but everything my grandmother speaks about today is from the past although she is good at covering up because she knows something is wrong and becomes defensive and asks ‘so don’t you forget things too?’.”
For the caregivers, the person dissolves in front of them-they become someone that is recognized physically but not emotionally
Unfortunately the medication required is expensive and therapeutic treatment options are geared toward slowing down the rate of progression. “Once medication is discontinued, the rate of deceleration is worse than if the individual didn’t begin taking medication. One cannot reverse changes only slow these changes down,” Dr. Walcott explained. “The percentage of the population it affects is in their twilight years. The reality is, living in a country with scarce health care resources, especially for those persons considered as not having many years left. The greater investment is geared toward treating younger age groups – thus medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s is not subsidized.”
The occurrence may be prevented or the rate of progression may be delayed by boosting brain activities through promoting participation in sports; reading or practising games such as Sudoku that test calculative abilities; keeping healthy in general by eating properly and exercising daily even if it means an hour of light stretching. So, even though you may not be able to beat the disease, you can definitely take measures to deal with the effects.
Share this post: