Dementia
Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease
Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease remains incurable. Science continued research on the disease and in recent years have developed some drugs and treatments discussed below. Finally, note that the scientific community is optimistic face this disease can be controlled in a relatively short time.
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors
These drugs inhibit the enzyme that destroys acetylcholine, which is one of the main neurotransmitters in the brain, increasing the availability of the same in nerve transmission. Among these is Tacrine, this agent was the first to be approved for commercial use and although it has therapeutic effects, which has numerous undesirable effects (especially liver) have made has been displaced by new drugs that produce a low toxicity, such as donepezil and rivastigmine. Read the rest of this entry »
Alzheimer’s Disease: Progress and Diagnosis
How Alzheimer’s disease progresses?
Alzheimer’s disease tends to evolve, deteriorate and leads to death within seven to ten years. However, the evolution of the disease varies greatly from person to person. In some cases, the disease can develop slowly over many years, while in others it develops rapidly.
It’s hard to talk about an onset of symptoms, as they appear progressively, we can graphically likened its evolution to the changes you are experiencing a baby to grow, but in reverse.
At first there is a disturbance of recent memory, but sometimes the disease may start with symptoms of depression, anxiety, fear and personality changes. Gradually deteriorates language (trouble finding the right word, use the wrong word), there is disorientation in time and space becoming more pronounced (the patient does not know where or on what date live). Read the rest of this entry »
Alzheimer’s Disease
What is Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system and is the leading cause of dementia in people over 60 years.
It produces a degeneration of brain tissue with loss of neurons and decreased response to neurotransmitters (chemicals that act by transmitting electrical signals in the brain). In the brain affected accumulations appear as plaques and produce a growth of cavities that exist within it (ventricles) and a thinning and loss of consistency of the cerebral cortex. Read the rest of this entry »