Celebrating Alzheimer’s month |08 September 2020

Source: https://www.scisnack.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/a-medical-illustration-of-a-healthy-brain-and-one-with-Alzheimers-disease-original.jpg

Learning more about Alzheimer’s

As we continue to celebrate Alzheimer’s month, it is essential to go back to the basics and learn a bit more about the disease itself.

What Is Alzheimer's?

It is an irreversible, brain disorder that progresses with age. It causes the destruction of memory and thinking skills, and eventually, the person with Alzheimer’s is not able to carry out even a simple task like paying a bill. Symptoms usually appear in people in their mid-60s.  It is very rare before that, but it can happen.

The disease, named after Dr Alois Alzheimer, was discovered in 1906, when the doctor noticed some changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Before her death, she had been diagnosed with language problems, unpredictable behaviour and memory loss. Examination of her brain showed many abnormal clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (now called neurofibrillary, or tau, tangles).

These plaques and tangles in the brain are still considered some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. Another feature is the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain. As a result, messages between different parts of the brain, and from the brain to muscles and organs in the body are not transmitted.

It is in the hippocampus, the part of the brain which is important in forming memories, that the changes start to occur. As neurons die, other parts of the brain are affected. By the time a patient has reached the final stage of Alzheimer’s, damage is widespread, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.

A person who has Alzheimer’s will have:

-       Memory problems, especially the recent past

-       Difficulty finding the right words

-       Vision/spatial problems

-       Issues with reasoning or judgment

-       Trouble doing everyday things like driving a car or cooking a meal.

S/he will ask the same questions over and over, get lost easily, lose things or put them in odd places, and find even simple things confusing. As the disease progresses, some people become worried, angry, or violent.

If you have any of the above symptoms, or know anyone who does, go to the Seychelles Alzheimer’s Foundation website (www.seychellesalzheimersfoundation.org) and download our questionnaire. Follow the instructions on the questionnaire to send to one of our medical professionals. You may also call our helpline: 2817878 if you have any queries.

Source: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health