What Is Alzheimers

What Is Alzheimers - Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease characterized by progressive decline of cognitive functions and memory, in particular, that involves an increasing difficulty to perform common daily activities, up to the complete loss of personal autonomy.

Causes

The exact causes that trigger and sustain the degeneration are unknown despite the significant amount of studies made in over a century since its discovery.
Many of the hypotheses advanced (viral, toxic, autoimmune), in fact, have not yet been confirmed and only the idea of a possible genetic origin seems to resist.
At avvalorarla there are the trend of the disease to occur more easily in individuals of the same family and its association with specific genetic variants (of chromosomes 14, 19 and 21).
We know, however, that the symptoms are due to widespread destruction of neurons, caused mainly by the betamiloide, a protein that, settling between neurons, acts as a kind of glue, including plaques and tangles "tangles" and by a strong decrease of acetylcholine in the brain a neurotransmitter essential for communication between neurons, and thus for memory and other intellectual faculties.

What Is Alzheimers

Symptoms

Disease onset is usually insidious because early symptoms are subtle and difficult to distinguish from common distractions and troubles of a healthy person who is just getting old.
Memory problems, for example, are the most characteristic of Alzheimer's and often the first to appear, but within certain limits can be considered "normal" in the elderly or be caused by other types of problems more or less serious and curable with appropriate therapies.
However, since only a careful visit and any other exams can remove the doubt between normal and pathological aging and possibly exclude different problems from Alzheimer's disease, it is important to understand when you go to the doctor.
If you want to know in detail the early symptoms of Alzheimer's read this article.
According to the American Alzheimer's Association there are ten symptoms that pay attention:
forgetfulness and memory disorders, particularly for the most recent facts (phenomenon that physicians indicate the term of anterograde amnesia);
difficulty performing tasks known as tie their shoes or button that does not depend on physical disabilities (apraxia);
fix to recognize objects and their functions (agnosia);
fix to give a name to the common things that are recognized (anomia);
spatial disorientation (family sites are confused) and temporal (err the month, season or year);
loss of judgment and assessment of social and environmental context;
difficulty in performing logical operations or relatively simple mathematics (acalculia) which may involve for example the fact of having to count and recount the money; tendency to lose things continually dimenticandole in the strangest places (keys in the refrigerator, kitchen linen); -sudden changes of mood or personality; and, finally, loss of initiative and interest in oneself, others and the environment in General.

When you go to the doctor

Each of these symptoms taken alone does not necessarily indicate the existence of a dementia and the appearance should not therefore scare, but rather sound like an alarm bell so go to the doctor, especially if there are precedents in family of degenerative brain diseases or if we are not experiencing a moment of stress or tiredness are particularly frequent or disturbing, tend to persist or worsen to add that gradually appear.

Diagnosis

Even when you recognize the pathological character of some behaviors and get to a safe diagnosis is not easy even for the doctor.
First you have to exclude all other diseases that may have a similar symptomatology: the certainty of diagnosis of Alzheimer's can be had only by detecting typical signs of the disease, amyloid plaques and tangles, Hanks in brain tissue, and then only with biopsy or postmortem autopsy.
However, you can get to a diagnosis possible or likely even through the history of the patient and family, the analysis of symptoms and other laboratory and instrumental examinations: blood and cerebrospinal fluid to verify the possibility of anemias, biochemical or brain infections deficit; electroencephalogram; CT or MRI to observe possible anatomical alterations (cortical atrophy or expanded ventricles).
The hinge still remains and cognitive neuropsychological assessment through a series of tests aimed at assessing several functions: short-term memory (of numbers, words, phrases), long-term memory (voluntary and incidental), attentive, perceptive, and prassiche, and General cognitive functions. Among these one of the most well-known and used is the Mini Mental State Examination.
The presence of lag disorientation, memory deficit, acalculia, anomie or agnosia (particularly for animated objects) makes the clinical picture compatible with the diagnosis of Alzheimer-type dementia.

Course

Unfortunately at present there is no treatment that can stop and heal the brain degeneration of Alzheimer's dementia.
However the symptomatic treatment and care continues with a targeted rehabilitation it slows progression while maintaining a good quality of life for as long as possible especially if implemented early to appearances of the first symptoms.
The course is slowly progressing to a stage where the seriousness of the insane framework increases the chances of contracting other organic diseases and reduces considerably the life expectancy, about 5-10 years after the onset of the disease.

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Three New Gens Associated With Alzheimer's Diseaseas

Three New Gens Associated With Alzheimer's Diseaseas - Group of scientists, among which there are Spaniards, have been found 3 new genes associated with Alzheimer's disease is a welcome addition to the best-known, the APOE4, as significant risk factors for the most common cause of Alzheimer's.

The discovery, considered one of the most important in the last 15 years, will allow to reduce the proportion of people who develop the disease by 20%, provided that is achieved to reduce the harmful effects of these genes with treatment.

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Julie Williams, Professor of Genética Neuropsicológica and his colleagues at the Centre of the Council of medical research in Cardiff on genetics and genomics neuropsychiatric, Wales (United Kingdom), conducted a comprehensive study of Association, reviewing the entire genetic map about 16,000 people in eight countries. The team identified two new genes--called Clusterin and PICALM-, which increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

A second study of the genome by Philippe Amouyel and colleagues at the Pasteur Institute of Lille, in France, looked at more than 6,000 people with Alzheimer's and nearly 9,000 healthy in France, Belgium, Finland, Italy and Spain. They identified the Clusterin, as well as a third gene called CR1.

The researchers said that the Clusterin could account for 10% of cases of Alzheimer's disease; PICALM, around 9 percent, and the CR1, 4 percent. In comparison, between 20 and 25 percent of the cases are related to the APOE.

According to scientists, it is still difficult to quantify risks associated with each gene disease, since the three are relatively common. In addition, they stressed that also a combination of unknown genetic factors and other external cause Alzheimer's. But I have clear is that identify genes can help researchers to understand the causes of disease and designing drugs to combat it.

For its part, the Spanish Confederation of sick of Alzheimer's and other dementias (Ceafa) has welcomed the news with "optimism", but also "caution".

Jesús Rodrigo, executive director of Ceafa, sample "wide" of people with which you conducted the work enables thinking that it would provide "consistent results" in the medium term. However, he adds, "we must be cautious", because this does not mean to spend time from now until the arrival of the cure of the disease, which affects about 3.5 million people, including patients, families, and caregivers in Spain.




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Test Alzheimer - Alzheimers Test

Test Alzheimer - Our brain is somehow comparable to a car engine that, if kept well oiled, works well, working with synergy with mechanical, hydraulic and electrical. But is not always noticed a problem, at least until something breaks down and it becomes necessary to intervene by opening the engine, to discover the fault.

Fortunately, as in mechanics, Neurology today were made great strides and thanks to modern neuro-imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the multichannel Electroencephalogram (EEG), SPECT, magnetoencephalography (MEG) and infrared spectroscopy (NIRSI), we are able to observe, from the outside, our motor running.

Modern investigation techniques

Neuroimaging techniques measure the changes in local blood flow, increasing cellular activity and then. MEG and EEG recording neuronal activity conducted in the form of electromagnetic radiation, the PET, SPECT images and fMRI images indirect return of neuronal activity.

Test Alzheimer - Alzheimers Test

These techniques are used only in special conditions in laboratories and specialists able to comprehend complex machinery to verify the presence of a pathology, thus providing a vision of the brain in action, not in normal life, but in a laboratory test.

To stay on the subject is the measurement of engine compression ratio or do power tests the engines test bench and not on the road.

Returning to our brain, we don't have images and we don't know how to behave in our real life, such as what happens when we work, we talk to a friend, watch TV, eat. These are very important data to assess the health of our "engine".

In recent times, however, there have been important technological innovations. Very soon we may be able to carry out alone and with our regularity "test-drive" by sending real-time results to the physician, to detect any early signs of destructive diseases like Alzheimer's.

The first interesting development is the new methods for the EEG. Have become so small and cheap enough to be sold as wearable devices, wearable devices. Measure the brain activity through waves is not trivial as it might seem. In fact, offers a lot of information about the brain health of a person.

The latest news

New research carried out at the Queen's University Belfast, in collaboration with the laboratory of dr. Gabriele Miceli of the University of Trento in Italy, showed that the cognitive decline can be detected in older people, with a test of measuring brainwaves of just 30 minutes, in the laboratory.

The tests involved 40 healthy adults aged 25 and 80 years and 10 people with various early forms of dementia (age-related cognitive decline) within a range of 60 and 70 years, and has been measured "brain age" to a healthy person based on how quickly responded to a Visual stimulus on a screen.

As for the rest of our body, the brain naturally slows with aging, but in case of presence of cognitive deficits, the brain shows to be older than the chronological age would suggest. These tests could be used in the future as the basis for a diagnosis.

Another team of researchers, in this case of Carnegie Mellon University, looked at the brain's reaction to the reading of a chapter of a book, specifically adapted from the best-selling "Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone" chose to make reading fun and catchy. Reading is a very demanding task: when we read we must recognize individual words, get their meaning from our "mental dictionary", sew those words into sentences and, again, keep track of different characters as the story unfolds. Finally, if the plot is engrossing, emotions come into play and we must strive to manage them.

In this work – led by dr. Tom Mitchell and Leila Wehbe – the researchers were able to observe processes and brain activity during a real task. Thanks to fMRI were isolated parts of the brain involved in the process, a complex and challenging reading. In this way, the researchers were able to track, in real time, of cerebral activity during an action of everyday life.

Both experiments could be used to detect early cognitive deficits and to measure the effect of drugs or other therapies. The memory and vocabulary are some of the earliest mental capacities which decrease with aging. The patterns obtained with the EEG "custom" and with the task of reading could help to devise the best way of addressing future research.

But the developments do not stop here. According to scientists, similar methods could be used to resolve language problems and specific learning as dyslexia, as well as to measure attention and emotional involvement in disorders such as ADHD and autism. Seen the development of wearable devices and "app", it is very likely that in a short time, these tools will become part of our daily lives.

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Stages Of Alzheimers - Alzheimers Stages

Stages Of Alzheimers - The course of the disease in stages meant solely to guide who takes care of the sick on the evolutionary characteristics of the disease in order to allow for adequate planning of care and a greater awareness of what can happen and how to tackle it. The disease varies from person to person. We can however identify 3 main phases of disease.

1. mild Dementia (average duration 2-4 years):
It is characterized by disorders of memory, how can we forget the names and phone numbers, but, given the serious nature of these signs, they may go unnoticed or be justified as natural consequences of age. The progressive loss of memory, especially recently, can interfere with the normal course of daily commitments. The person finds it difficult to orient themselves in space and time, for example, may have trouble finding their way home. Even the language begins to be compromise: appear difficult to produce appropriate phrases to support thinking, frequent breaks are used for inability to "find the right word." The mood becomes more depressed as a result of his progressive disability awareness, or the reaction can be characterized by aggressive demonstrations and anxious.

Stages Of Alzheimers - Alzheimers Stages

2. moderate Dementia (average 2-10 years):
is the phase time typically longer-lasting, and is characterized by a worsening of symptoms in the previous phase. The oversights are always more significant; increases the inability to remember the names of family members with the ability to confuse them, as well as topographical disorientation increases, spatial and temporal. At this stage the need of supervision and assistance with activities of daily living becomes more urgent, the patient tends to neglect their appearance, their diet and daily activities; the mood disorders and behavior become more relevant.
3. severe Dementia (average 3 years):
is the Terminal phase of the disease in which the patient is completely dependent and requires continual assistance and total to keep alive. It is characterized by a total loss of the ability to speak and understand, can however be maintained up to this stage the ability to express emotions through her face. The subject becomes totally unable to recognize their own family, to make acts of daily life such as dressing, eating, washing, recognize their belongings and their homes. The movement is now totally compromise until the enticement, there is no longer any sphincter control.

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Signs Of Alzheimer - Signs Of Early Alzheimer

Signs Of Alzheimer - Clinical signs, unlike symptoms that are reported by the patient or family, concern all those items that are detected by the doctor by clinic visit.

Signs Of Alzheimer

• Alzheimer established by clinical examination and assessment scales from investigating certain aspects of behavior or similar examinations and with confirmation of such deficit results to other Neuropsychological tests.
• Deficiency of 2 or more cognitive areas such as language, reasoning, judgment, etc.
• Progressive worsening of memory and other cognitive functions.
• Absence of consciousness disorders.
• Onset between 40 and 90 years, most often after 65.
• Absence of systemic diseases or other brain diseases responsible for cognitive deficits and amnesiacs of progressive type.

Probable Alzheimer's diagnosis is supported by results in the standard instrumental tests and laboratory tests such as: normal EEG and/or nonspecific increase of slow brain activity, brain atrophy, visible through a TAC and worsens visibly when further testing to time distance from one another, no infections in cerebrospinal fluid.

Signs Of Alzheimer - Signs Of Early Alzheimer

Alzheimer's Symptoms

The presence of typical symptoms of Alzheimer without other neurological, psychiatric disorders or systemic (e.g., Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, hydrocephalus ...) that can cause Alzheimer and changes in onset, presentation or in the clinical course.
Presence of a concomitant neurological or systemic enough to produce Alzheimer , but not considered the real cause of Alzheimer (other diseases coexist beyond that dementigena such as thyroid imbalance or a neuroendocrine disorder).
Some Alzheimer's disease:

Presence of clinical criteria for the diagnosis of AD.
Presence of assemblamenti of tau and beta amyloid in the brain (plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) and insoluble visible only through a auotpsia.

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How To Diagnose Alzheimers With A Blood Test - Diagnosing Alzheimers

How To Diagnose Alzheimers With A Blood Test - You can predict the onset of Alzheimer's? According to a new study, released recently on Genome Biology, would be possible thanks to a simple blood test that could allow to identify the first signs of the disease and the advance of beta-amyloid plaques, the toxic protein that Smothers neurons and makes the disease progress. All this before this condition may damage the brain, causing memory loss, loss of memories and affections.

Research

More than 200 people have been tested by analyzing microRNAs snippets 140 (parts of the genetic code) in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in healthy people. The comparison, made by German researchers at the University of Saarland, has made it possible to highlight 12 microRNAs present in larger amounts in people with Alzheimer's disease. The test results were very accurate with a percentage of accuracy equal to 93%. Predict Alzheimer's to 20 anniPer now it is just experimental studies, and the marketing of these blood test is still premature.

How To Diagnose Alzheimers With A Blood Test - Diagnosing Alzheimers

However, a group of researchers from various institutes and universities, the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona, Boston University and the University of Antioquia, they identified the "markers", diagnostic signs present in the blood that indicate a possible pathology, which could reveal as early as 20 years if you become ill with Alzheimer's.

The Lancet Neurology research has made it possible to discover a "spy" genetics, mutation of the gene called presenilin (PSEN 1) 1, which anticipates the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, familial form what can be "inherited" by the genetic parents and that may occur after the 40 years with the first signs of cognitive impairment.

We hope that this technique, which could be extended to the most common Alzheimer's, can be used soon preventing the disease by administering drugs.


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Early Signs Of Alzheimers - First Signs Of Alzheimers

Early Signs Of Alzheimers - The onset of Alzheimer's disease is subtle. Begins with recent memory disorders, difficulty to find commonly used words in the language, loss of interest in daily activities, frequent forgetfulness, reiteration to ask questions... Sometimes they are relatives or people in your environment the first who appreciate these problems, and very often that the patient refusing even these early in the disease.

In its initial phase, the disease is not limiting for everyday life, but we have a degenerative disease that causes, also gradually, an inability to perform most everyday tasks and just creating dependency, which is - as well as a problem of health - a social problem, the intensity that interferes in the lives of the people in their environment.

Early Signs Of Alzheimers - First Signs Of Alzheimers

Despite efforts in research, today, the complex mechanisms by which Alzheimer's disease is triggered are still a great unknown to the scientific community, so that we do not have a curative treatment. However, we have a broad array of treatments that help slow down the process of Neurodegeneration that occurs during the illness. But to apply them effectively, it is essential to diagnose the disease in its earliest phase.

Early signs of alzheimers

Here are ten warning signs that should lead to the neurologist consultation:

1. Memory loss that affects the ability to work
2. Difficulty carrying out daily tasks
3. Problems with language
4. Disorientation in time and place
5. Poor or decreased judgment
6. Problems with abstract thinking
7. Things placed in wrong places
8. Changes in mood or behavior
9. Personality changes
10. Loss of initiative
11. Treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Along with drug treatment to try to slow the progression of the disease, has been shown that cognitive and physical stimulation of patients in specialised centres is highly recommended. Cognitive rehabilitation seeks to enhance mental functions affected by the disease, seeking to increase the neuronal reserve, as well as the number of connections between brain cells and the density of their networks.

This not only slows progress in the involvement of the memory, but improving the quality of life of patients.

Let us not forget that by "attacking" memory, destroys that which gives us a very important part of our identity: memories, to go progressively sowing our minds of blank pages...



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