What do Doctors call this Condition - Presenile dementia, primary degenerative dementia.

What is this Condition?

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia - a condition marked by mental deterioration. An estimated 5% of people over age 65 have the severe form of this disease, and an additional 12% suffer from a mild-to-moderate form. A cure has not yet been found for the disorder.

What Causes it?

The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown. However, several factors are thought to contribute to the condition. These include shortages of certain chemicals in the brain, known as neurotransmitters, which allow stimuli to travel from one nerve cell to another; environmental factors, such as dietary intake of manganese; slow-growing viruses in the brain or spinal cord; injuries; and genetic immunologic factors.

What are its Symptoms?

Onset of Alzheimer’s disease is slow and subtle. At first, the person experiences almost imperceptible changes, such as forgetfulness, inability to recall recent events, difficulty learning and remembering new information, inability to concentrate, and declining personal hygiene and appearance.

Gradually, tasks that require abstract thinking and judgment become more difficult. The person experiences progressive difficulty communicating with others and severe deterioration in memory, language ability, and coordination. The ability to write or speak may be lost. Personality changes and insomnia are common.

Eventually, the person becomes disoriented. His or her emotions may change suddenly. Physical and intellectual functions continue to deteriorate. The person becomes susceptible to infection and accidents. Usually, death results from infection.

How is it Diagnosed?

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is difficult because the person’s signs and symptoms are obscure. To make a diagnosis, the doctor relies on information provided by a family member, supported by tests of mental status, neurologic examinations, and psychometric testing.

Currently, certain diagnostic tests are performed to rule out other disorders. The diagnosis cannot be confirmed until after death, when an exam of brain tissue shows the disorder’s effects.

How is it Treated?

Overall treatment is focused on supporting the person’s abilities and compensating for those that have been lost. The doctor may prescribe a variety of drugs to help a person with Alzheimer’s. Some of these drugs help to increase circulation in the brain - for example, Hydergine, Vasodilan, and Cyclospasmol. The doctor may prescribe other drugs (such as Ritalin) to enhance the person’s mood. If depression seems to exacerbate the person’s condition, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants. To treat memory deficits, the doctor may prescribe Cognex.

Sometimes, a person with Alzheimer’s will undergo hyperbaric (pressurized) oxygen treatment to increase the oxygen supply to the brain. The person is placed inside a special chamber where he or she breathes 100% oxygen.

Additional drugs are being tried to assess their ability to slow the disease process. These include choline salts, lecithin, Antilirium, enkephalins, and Narcan.