Before getting on to the dead-end question of whether Alzheimer’s disease is curable or not, let us understand the basics of what it means to be a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s.
What does it mean to have Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that declines memory and thinking abilities which eventually disrupts the ability to carry out the simplest daily tasks. Typically people in their mid-60s familiarise with this disease. Early-onset Alzheimer’s can strike a person between their 30s and mid-60s which is very rare.
The varied symptoms of Alzheimer’s vary from a range of problems like memory loss, language problems, to certain other kinds of unpredictable behaviour. Brain studies of people with Alzheimer’s show many abnormal clumps also known as amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fibres or tangles. These plaques and tangles in the brain formed some of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. The loss of connections between the neurons in the brain is another contributor to the disease.
What Does Alzheimer’s Look Like?
Memory decline is widely considered as the major cognitive setback of Alzheimer’s disease. Events such as denial or lack of insight about the condition are attributed to the decline of the subjective experience of a patient with Alzheimer’s. The patients undergo a lack of introspective ability.
Memory declination is one of the primary symptoms of Alzheimer’s although other associated symptoms may differ from person to person. A decline in other cognitive functions such as thinking, difficulty finding the right words, other visual or spatial difficulties and impaired reasoning may indicate early development of the stages of the disease.
People with Alzheimer’s have trouble performing everyday tasks like driving a car, cooking or difficulty remembering bill payments. They may ask the same questions repeatedly or perform a task over and over, remain distracted, easily lose things or misplace them and even make simple things complicated and confusing. The progressive nature of the disease makes some people more worried, angry, hostile or violent.
Signs of Mild Alzheimer’s Disease
In mild Alzheimer’s disease, a person may seem to be healthy otherwise but has trouble making sense of the world around them. The realisation that something is wrong in the behaviour is often gradual. In this stage, more intensive supervision and care becomes necessary, which can be difficult for many spouses and families.
Symptoms may include increased memory loss and confusion, inability to learn new things, difficulty with language production and comprehension, writing, and working with numbers, difficulty organizing thoughts and thinking logically, shorter attention span, difficulty coping with new situations, difficulty multitasking, problems recognising family members and friends, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, impulsive behaviour such as undressing at inappropriate time or place, using vulgar language, inappropriate outbursts of anger, restlessness, agitation, anxiety, fearfulness, wandering, repetitive statements or movement, occasional muscle twitches.
Signs of Severe Alzheimer’s Disease
People with severe Alzheimer’s cannot communicate and are completely dependent on others for their care and personal grooming. Towards the severe stage, the person may be in bed most or all of the time as the body shuts down.
The symptoms often include a loss or inability to communicate, weight loss, seizures, skin infections, difficulty in activities like swallowing, groaning, moaning, or grunting, increased sleep, loss of bowel and bladder control.
Symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Some people suffer from a condition called mild cognitive impairment, or MCI. It can be an early indicator of Alzheimer’s. But MCI alone cannot indicate the development of Alzheimer’s disease. People with MCI are not barred from taking care of themselves and can perform their normal activities.
MCI memory problems may include losing things most often than people without the disease, forgetting to attend events or appointments, having more trouble coming up with words than other people the same age.
While there is no sure and certain cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are drug and non-drug options that may help patients slow down the progression of the symptoms of the disease. Understanding available options can help individuals living with the disease and their caregivers to cope with symptoms and improve quality of life. Alzheimer’s is a complex disease, and the intervention of only one drug or other treatment method is unlikely to successfully treat it. The recent approaches to this disease focus on helping people maintain basic daily life function, make behavioural symptoms manageable and slow down the symptoms of the disease.
Spreading awareness about the symptoms can help in early detection of the disease as most medicines work best for people if diagnosed in the early or middle stages of Alzheimer’s. Early intervention helps in slowing down some symptoms, such as memory loss, for some time. It is important to note that none of these medications can stop the advancement of the disease altogether.
Treatment for Mild to Moderate Alzheimer’s
Medications called cholinesterase inhibitors are used for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. These drugs help in the reduction of some of the symptoms and help patients get control of some behavioural symptoms.
Cholinesterase inhibitors prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical that plays an important role in memory and thinking.
Dosage and Side Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease Medications
Doctors usually start patients at low drug doses and gradually increase the dosage based on the patient’s ability to tolerate the drug. Certain people may benefit from higher doses of cholinesterase inhibitor which also increases the risk for side effects.
The starting phase of the drug use by the patients should be monitored. The possible side effects of the drugs include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and loss of appetite. It is important to thoroughly follow the doctor’s instructions when taking any medication, including vitamins and herbal supplements.
The Future of Alzheimer’s Disease Treatments
Alzheimer’s disease research has grown to an extent where scientists can look beyond treating symptoms to think about addressing underlying disease processes. In ongoing clinical trials, scientists are developing and testing several possible interventions, including immunization therapy, drug therapies, cognitive training, physical activity, and treatments for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The best way to have control over the disease is early prevention which makes awareness and early detection of the development of the disease notable. The progressive nature of the disease makes it difficult for treatment and once it reaches the moderate or severe level. For the right treatment and providing the right assistance, caregivers are to be made widely aware of the symptoms.