Maybe one day you will find that the memories of the people you care about most are being quietly "stolen": they may forget the way home; forget you, their beloved; and even forget to eat and sleep; and this "thief" is Alzheimers disease.
What is Alzheimers disease?
Alzheimers disease (AD), also known as "senile dementia", is a hidden, progressive degenerative disease of the central nervous system. However, Alzheimers disease does not always manifest as "dementia". Intervention in the non-dementia stage may be the best time for treatment. There will be different manifestations at different stages. As the disease progresses, memory will progressively decline, and the patient will gradually forget his relatives and the way home, and will not be able to take care of himself, and even have mental and behavioral abnormalities. The more advanced the disease is, the greater the harm will be. It not only affects the patients health but also brings heavy pain and burden to the patients family.
Clinical manifestations of Alzheimers disease
In the non-dementia stage of Alzheimers disease, the early manifestations of patients are mainly concentrated on changes in cognitive functions such as memory, orientation, language comprehension, and expression, as well as changes in psychological behaviors such as anxiety, depression, emotional indifference, and significant personality changes. The above are several common phenomena.
● Memory loss: recent memory is impaired, and as the disease progresses, long-term memory gradually becomes blurred.
●Unable to complete familiar tasks: The work that used to be familiar has become difficult to complete, and there is a tendency to lean towards simpler tasks.
●Impairment in language expression: Difficulty in expression, inappropriate words, irrelevant answers, talking to oneself, etc.
●Confusing time and place: Sometimes the year, month, day and season cannot be distinguished, and the ability to orient to time and place is gradually lost.
●Decreased judgment ability: unable to make correct judgments about things around, and calculation ability is impaired.
●Unable to understand the context of things and difficult to plan reasonably.
●Decreased comprehension ability.
●Things are misplaced.
●Personality and behavior changes: may be lonely, indifferent, emotionally unstable; unusual behavior and activities.
●Decreased interest in work and social activities.
Clinical staging of Alzheimers disease
Stage 0: No core markers, no clinical symptoms, but carries the pathogenic gene of familial AD.
Stage 1: As long as any of the core markers for qualitative diagnosis of AD, such as β-amyloid protein PET examination, cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42/40, blood p-tau217, etc., is positive, but there are no symptoms.
Stage 2: Aβ is positive, accompanied by self-perceived memory decline or mild cognitive impairment.
Stage 3: Mild cognitive impairment is found in objective examination.
Stage 4: Mild AD dementia, time disorientation, not knowing what year it is.
Stage 5: Moderate AD dementia, place disorientation, will get lost when leaving home.
Stage 6: Severe AD dementia, persons disorientation, and inability to recognize even relatives.
Do these two things to prevent Alzheimers disease
1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Avoid obesity in young and middle-aged people, and do not be too thin in old age (over 65 years old).
Lifelong learning can slow down the course of Alzheimers disease;
Adhere to regular physical exercise; do not smoke and avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.
Dietary recommendations; Mediterranean diet and DASH diet are recommended.
Maintain good sleep, and seek medical attention when sleep disorders occur.
Maintain an optimistic attitude and avoid negative emotions.
Avoid abusing drugs and healthy foods.
2. Avoid diseases that increase the risk of Alzheimers disease
Patients with diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension should control relevant indicators. These diseases will damage cognitive function and increase the risk of dementia.
Protect the head and avoid trauma; maintain mental health, and patients with depression should closely monitor cognitive function.
Avoid cerebrovascular disease, and patients with stroke should closely monitor cognitive function; and maintain cardiovascular health, and patients with atrial fibrillation should actively treat.
Screen DA pathogenic genes and susceptible genes as early as possible.
Blood homocysteine should be tested regularly, and patients with hyperhomocysteinemia should be actively treated.
Maintain a strong body, and closely monitor cognitive function in weak people; relax and avoid excessive tension; consume or supplement vitamin C in diet.
How to treat Alzheimers disease?
1. Symptomatic treatment
Including drugs that delay the progression of dementia and drugs for mental and behavioral symptoms. It is recommended that a specialist conduct relevant evaluations to decide whether to add drug treatment. Do not use drugs on your own.
2. Rehabilitation treatment
Usually, daily ability training can be carried out for patients with senile dementia to improve their daily living abilities, such as memory training, intelligence training, and sense of direction training.
Experts suggest that medical intervention in stage 0 of Alzheimers disease is the best time for prevention and treatment, and it is expected to reverse the course of Alzheimers disease.
(AD) Diagnosis and Treatment Center
Recently, Hainan Chengmei Hospital established the Alzheimers Disease (AD) Diagnosis and Treatment Center and was awarded the "China AD Preclinical Alliance Member Unit".
The center is equipped with advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies and equipment such as advanced biomarker detection and PET-specific imaging. Relying on a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment team including neurology, geriatrics, psychology, rehabilitation, and medical nutrition, it has established a complete Alzheimers disease diagnosis and treatment process, providing one-stop convenient services, establishing long-term files for patients, conducting regular follow-ups, and dynamically adjusting treatment plans. It also provides patients and their families with all-around support such as disease science popularization, nursing guidance, and psychological counseling, effectively improving the patients quality of life and family coping ability.
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Editor | Huang Fei