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]]> Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease

Article by Ethan Miller

Few things can rob a persons life as completely as Alzheimer’s can. It steals a person’s memories, family, and dreams.

It is a progressive, irreversible disorder with no cure. There are dozens of theories about the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, but none satisfies the medical community. It attacks without warning, and works slowly. The only thing that everyone agrees on is that Alzheimer’s is a fatal form of dementia.

Symptoms include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, disorientation, loss of language skills, and even a personality change.

At least 4.5 million Americans wil have Alzheimer’s disease and by 2050. Approximately, 350,000 new cases of Alzheimer’s disease are diagnosed each year and 59,000 patients die. Estimates put the number of people who currently suffer with Alzheimer’s disease at 18 million people.

Alzheimer’s hits every nation where life expectancy has increased until it is considered a commonplace disease This figure is projected to nearly double by 2025 to 34 million people.

Alzheimer’s Disease Research (ADR), a program of the American Health Assistance Foundation, funds research, and educate the public about Alzheimer’s disease. ADR has awarded .8 million to support research in diverse fields from molecular biology to epidemiology.

AHAF played a role in Dr. Stanley Prusiner’s Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1997 for his landmark research on prions. More than .2 million in research grants were awarded to Dr. Prusiner through the ADR program to develop his prion theory as a model for Alzheimer’s disease.

The brain does change shape after Alzheimer’s hits as shown in this diagram: http://www.ahaf.org/alzdis/about/BrainAlzheimer.htm

Alzheimer’s causes shrinkage of brain tissue. The grooves or furrows in the brain, called sulci (plural of sulcus), widen and the gyri (plural of gyrus) shrinks. The ventricles, or chambers in the brain that contain the cerebrospinal fluid, become enlarged.

Short-term memory begins to decline (see box labeled ‘memory’) first when cells in the hippocampus start to degenerate. Followed by the ability to perform routine tasks.

Alzheimer’s spreads through the cerebral cortex (the outer layer of the brain). Judgment declines, emotional outbursts may occur and language is impaired at this stage. Eventually, nerve cells die and resulting in more behavior changes, such as wandering aimlessly and agitation.

The victim cannot recognize faces or communicate in the final stages. Patients may lose bowel and bladder control.

The victim is complete dependent on care, sometimes for year, before they die. Diagnosis to death can span 4 to 20 years.

The Mayo Clinic lists some risk factors. Age is a risk factor as Alzheimer’s hits most patients after 65 years old, which also increases the incidents in women, because they live longer. However, there is also evidence that hormone treatments can reduce the risk factors.

The risk factors for cardio disease may also be risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Diabetes may also increase the risk of developing AD. The number of boxers who end up with AD leads some researchers to believe that head injuries can increase the risk of developing AD.

Education and mental activity appear to have a positive aspect. This is based on the fact that uneducated people are more likely to develop AD.

About the Author

Ethan Miller advises on improving your heath and reducing pain from his web site at http://www.alzheimerswatch.com He invites you to get his FREE health guide http://www.healthinsurancemonster.com

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]]> How to Choose a Senior Care Facility

Article by Allen Jesson

As a geriatric care manager, I frequently visit long-term care facilities. Because each facility offers a distinct setting and array of services, it is difficult to know which one is the best choice for your family member. Most families recognize that choosing a facility based on cost alone is not the wisest decision. Choosing a facility based on its proximity to the primary caregiver is often not the best choice either, even though it should be close enough for family and friends to visit often. Keep in mind that your loved one will be in the facility 24-7; the best choice is one that will provide your loved one with options for continuing her own life in her own way, not the one that’s easiest for everyone to visit. Here are some of the major factors I consider when evaluating long-term care facilities for a client. Every family will place a different value on each of these categories.

Factors to Consider

* Cost

* Location

* Activities

* Environment

* Staffing

* Medical Issues

* Ancillary Services

* Owner Information

* Discharge Criteria

Don’t Underestimate Activities

Activities are critically important. People are social, and we look to each other for cues on how to behave; social stimulation prevents isolation and depression, and may contribute to delaying the progression of dementia symptoms. The best facility for your loved one should have activities that require participation as well as some that involve only observing or listening. Also look for a facility that has current residents with interests, backgrounds or physical disabilities that are similar to your loved one ‘s. People have an innate need to belong.

One of the most important things to consider is the activity calendar. Ideally there will be something scheduled after dinner and on both weekend days. Ask about staffing hours. In some facilities, the main staff works Monday through Friday from nine to five, but in the better facilities, the staff rotates, taking different days off mid-week so that someone familiar is always present on weekends. A crisis is just as likely to occur in the evening or on the weekend as it is during the weekday, and the residents deserve an experienced professional to be present to manage their care. Ask if key employees, such as the administrator, have cell phone numbers that you can call when they are away from the facility.

Ask the Tough Questions

Find out whether the marketing people are on commission. Generally, those on commission will try to fill all the rooms, whether or not a resident is appropriate for the facility, so they can collect their commission. If they are commissioned, you must make a diligent effort to speak with residents’ families and the residents themselves. No one is more familiar with life in that facility than the residents!

Be sure to ask how medical emergencies are handled. Every company has a procedure that must be followed. Is the staff required to call an ambulance if your grandmother stubs her toe? Are they allowed to notify a family member and wait to make a decision? Is hospice care allowed in the facility, or will your loved one have to move into a different type of facility if he or she develops a terminal condition? Is there a physician who makes house calls in the building? Is there a staff or visiting nurse who sees patients who are hurt or ill? Some residents only leave their building for medical appointments. Life is more fun when the outings can be fun ones, not simply a medical necessity, so find out whether a podiatrist, dentist and eye doctor make regular visits to the facility; and whether a portable X-ray machine can be brought in to prevent a trip to the ER.

About the Author

Please visit the Gilbert Guide for the very best in Senior Home Care and for more information about Senior Care.

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]]> Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

Article by Don Merrill

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease

As a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease progresses in his or her condition, symptoms such as psychoses set in. In time, the person will require complete healthcare assistance, since the disease will disable the person permanently. Alzheimer’s will also make it difficult for the person to eat, sleep, speak, and swallow, and so on. The person is at risk of infections, which can cause complete disability. The person at this state is at risk of death and/or coma.

Once a patient is diagnosed with progressive Alzheimer’s disease, it restricts him or her to the point of immobility, at this stage, doctor’s estimate that the patient will not live longer than a few months. Once diagnosed the patient is expected to live a few short years.

Diagnostics: If a patient is suffering dementia symptoms, such as severe memory loss a doctor will consider Alzheimer’s disease. An autopsy unfortunately is the only way that doctor’s can determine if brain tissues and cells are degenerative, yet most times a doctor can note symptoms that make it apparent that Alzheimer’s disease is present.

Autopsy is the process of using microscopic tools to view the brain. If Alzheimer’s disease is present, the exam will show traces of neurofibrillary tangles, dead nerve cells, plaque senile, and so on. The senile plaques will often enclose amyloid. The examiner is able to see the condition by using microscopic tools, which also helps him or her to see where the amyloid is located. Usually, amyloid moves toward the temporal lobe, which is located in the brain. The temporal lobes are where new memories come alive.

The lobes within the brain comprise the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and the occipital lobe. The frontal lobe is where the personality develops, as well as the intellectual functions. In addition, the frontal lobe is where our motor speech develops.

The temporal lobe enables us to smell, taste, hear, and speak. Since amyloid targets the temporal lobe, we can assume that it also deteriorates the limbic system. The limbic system is where we pull up new memories. We also receive our stimulus that arouses our attention, as well as our responses come from the limbic system. In addition, we receive somewhat of our natural responses in the limbic system to the stimuli.

Recently experts are challenging new tests that may help them to see if Alzheimer’s underlying elements are present in the brain. The new tests are not in concrete, yet many studies are underway. In the future, we can expect quicker diagnoses, since doctors will not have to wait for autopsies to view the internally brain tissues and cells.

At present experts, rely on medical histories, which include meds, physical and mental condition, over-the-counter meds taken, etc. Doctors will also review mental stability, which includes assessing the sensory receptors. That is the doctor will ask the patient to recall a time and/or place, as well as check his or her understanding, ability to remember, and his or her way of relying the story. In addition, doctors will check motor skills by issuing memory tests, testing language, coordination, and so forth.

During testing, the expert will evaluate nutrition, pulse rates, and blood pressure. Balance, sensation, etc are tested as well to verify the condition of the central nervous system’s responses.

Brain scans are used in some instances, as well as laboratory tests. The tests assist the expert with seeing the cause. Urine and blood tests are frequent. The patient may also be requested to visit a mental health facility. Doctors often require an assessment of emotional or emotive factors, as well as mood condition that may relate to Alzheimer’s disease.

About the Author

Don Merrill is a freelance article publisher. For additional articles on the subject of Alzheimer’s disease please visit: http://www.ukandoit.us/Alzheimer/downwith.html

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