Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease can also be referred to as a type of "Dementia" or degenerative brain disease because it slowly damages the brain tissues, thus destroying a person's memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, converse, and carry out daily activities. People who are suffering from this disease may also experience changes in personality and behavior as the disease becomes worse. Such changes include nervousness, suspiciousness, anxiety and agitation as well as delusions or hallucinations.

Scientists have discovered that the reason why Alzheimer's disease has such detrimental effects on a human brain is because the illness causes an abnormal build-up of several types of protein -- amyloid beta protein and tau protein. Because Alzheimer's Disease causes these types of brain proteins to anomalously accumulate, it is a widely known initiator of protheopathy -- the process of excessive accumulation of certain proteins due to a disease. This brain disease is also known as a taupathy or the accumulation of tau proteins in the brain. The tau protein is a vital nutrient found in neurons or brain cells. These tau proteins are responsible for the stabilization of the microtubules found inside the brain cells or neurons. As these proteins are usually located in the cytoskeleton of a brain cell, a natural chemical process called phosphorylation regulates the amount of tau protein in the brain. Once this chemical process overproduces the amount of tau protein which is a common occurrence in patients with Alzheimer's disease, the excess tau proteins accumulate in time and turn into groups of paired helical filaments. These paired helical filaments turn into masses -- while inside the neurons or brain cells -- that are commonly called as neurofibrillary tangles and as dystrophic neurites filled with amyloid plaques.

Causes of Alzheimer's disease
Although the main cause of the disease is still unknown, a patient's genetic history plays an important role. Genetics play an important part because scientists have found out that three forms of genetic mutations are present in patients with this kind of brain disease. Based on studies, the ApoE gene is responsible for the onset of a frequent type of Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease or LOAD. For other types of the Late Onset Alzheimer's Disease or LOAD, a connection between the SORL1 alleles (a mutated gene) and Alzheimer's disease has been suggested, making the SORL1 alleles a possible cause of this deadly brain disease. People who are at a higher risk of getting this disease are those who are of old age, have a high Aluminium intake, have the ApoE epsilon 4 genotype, have suffered from a serious head injury, and have poor cardiovascular health (people with diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol). People who smoke are also at risk of acquiring this brain disease.

Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's
The common symptom initially experienced is a short-term memory loss that ranges from apparently simple and frequently unpredictable forgetfulness to a more persistent loss of short-term memory. In the persistent type of memory loss, patients with this brain disease experience difficulty in recognizing previously familiar objects and persons. Aphasia, which is an extreme form of disorientation and disinhibition, frequently go along with the loss of memory. The effects of Alzheimer's disease also include changes in behavioral patterns like a sudden burst of violence or extreme passivity in people who have no previous history of such behavior. A person suffering from this disease also experience muscle weakness that can lead to immobility or the inability to move which usually happens in the later stages. As a result of muscle weakness, the patient becomes bedridden and thus cannot feed himself. Incontinence or the inability to control the bladder is also common among patients within the later stages of Alzheimer's Disease. The typical duration of the actual disease is about 7 to 10 years while some cases last for 21 years. Despite the long duration of the disease in some instances, the typical final stage starts from 4 to 5 years.

The Stages of Alzheimer's disease are divided into three categories:

Mild - In the early stage of the actual disease, patients have the tendency to become less lively or natural. Changes in the behavior are not yet clearly noticed in this stage. This stage is named Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
Moderate - This is known as the middle stage as the disease develops. The patient will still be able to carry out tasks alone, but may need help with more complex activities.
Severe - This is the late stage wherein the patient obviously cannot perform even the simplest task and they now need regular supervision. Patients may lose the ability to walk, and even forget to eat and thus starve.

Alzheimer's Treatment
At present, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Although several available medications offer a small amount of help for some patients, these current medications do not really slow the progress of the disease. Current medications used to somehow help the patients with Alzheimer's disease are cholinesterase inhibitors, Ginkgo biloba which is known as the Maidenhair Tree, and Memantine as a NMDA receptor antagonist. Occupational and lifestyle therapies are also included in the list of current AD treatments.

The R-flurbiprofen (MPC-7869) is a gamma secretase enzyme regulator and is considered as a lowering agent of a specific protein known to cause AD -- selective amyloid beta 42. This enzyme regulator reduces the formation of the toxic amyloid beta and turns it into smaller or shorter forms of the peptide. Another medication which is called Leuprolide is thought to work as an anti-Alzheimer's disease agent by lowering the leutenizing hormone levels that can cause damage to the brain as it gets older.

Alzheimer's Prevention
Prevention of Alzheimer's disease includes a variety of herbal compounds and dietary supplements. Vitamin E, however, in doses below 400 IU is not yet proven to be a reliable form of prevention for this disease because of the conflicting results found in several studies.

Aside from supplements, intellectual stimulation, regular physical exercise, regular social interaction, diet with fruits and vegetables, and a reduced intake of food rich with saturated fats are also recommended for patients with this brain disease. Drugs such as those that lower the cholesterol level or statins, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAIDs), and cannabinoids are found to be effective in preventing Alzheimer's disease.