Alzheimer's disease - what is it: a description of the disease, video and photos, statistics and life expectancy

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Alzheimer's disease is quite a dangerous disease, which is very difficult to prevent and impossible to cure. Reliable reasons for its development are still unknown, but in any case, this pathology is associated with the destruction of nerve cells. To stop the development of the disease, it is very important to consult a qualified doctor at the first memory or intellectual impairment.

The concept of Alzheimer's disease

In medicine, the term "Alzheimer's disease" means an incurable pathology of the nervous system. As a rule, it manifests itself in old age and begins with the destruction of brain cells.

As a result of this process, the formation of neurofibrillary glomeruli can be observed in the brain tissues. Neuritic plaques are also often formed. This disease is in the first place among all types of senile dementia.

For more than a hundred years, scientists around the world are puzzling over the causes of this pathology. There are many theories that try to explain the mechanism of its occurrence.

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Among the main causes are exposure to toxic substances, hereditary predisposition, traumatic injuries, malignant formations.

The picture depicts the brain of a person affected by Alzheimer's disease:

The history of the discovery and research of

The first clinical picture of this disease was described in 1906.Did this German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer. While working in the hospital for the mentally ill, the doctor encountered a patient who suffered from disorders of speech functions, memory, hallucinations.

The signs of her illness were not similar to any known disease at that time. This attracted the attention of a psychiatrist, and he described in detail the symptoms of this pathology.

The term "Alzheimer's disease" itself was introduced already in 1910.This was done by the director of the Munich psychiatric clinic Emil Krepelin. It was then that he called her the subtype of senile dementia and gave her another name for "presenile dementia."

During the twentieth century, this diagnosis was usually made by relatively young patients who complained of signs of dementia in 45-65 years. But later the diagnosis was made regardless of the age category.

In the video, a doctor of medical science talks about the history of Alzheimer's disease and celebrities who were sick with her:

Pathogenesis

Pathology has individual characteristics in each case. However, there are several common signs of the disease.

So, for Alzheimer's disease at an early stage of its development is characterized by memory impairment. As a rule, a person can not remember the recently received information.

At the onset of the disease and as it progresses, the following symptoms may occur:

  • Confusion.
  • Loss of speech functions.
  • Inability to perceive information received from other people.
  • Aggressive behavior towards other people.
  • Sharp mood swings.
  • Loss of long-term memory.

Gradually the body loses all its functions, which results in death. Sometimes Alzheimer's disease for a long time develops without symptoms, which greatly complicates its diagnosis.

Alzheimer's disease and age of

Among people who have reached the age of 65, about 5% suffer from this pathology. But the first symptoms can be observed already in 40 years.

Alzheimer's disease in young people is not too common. The youngest patient with such a violation was only 28 years old. In children, it is not diagnosed.

Doctors claim that any memory or behavior disorder should be cause for concern. Therefore, if any of these symptoms occur, you should immediately seek help from a doctor - a psychiatrist or a neurologist. Even if it happens at a young age.

Alzheimer's disease introduces major changes in the normal way of life of a person. Since this disease is classified as incurable, it is very important to seek help as early as possible. Doctors for diagnosis often use special tests for Alzheimer's disease.

Early diagnosis greatly simplifies and helps to choose the best treatment option for Alzheimer's disease. What preparations for this use can be read by reference.

Statistics

Alzheimer's disease is considered the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. So, more than 65% of cases of dementia in the elderly are associated with this disease. It must be said that it is more often diagnosed in women than in men. Often this is due to the fact that women have a longer life expectancy.

About 4% of people aged 65 to 74 suffer from this violation. In people older than 85 years, this disease is diagnosed much more often - about 30%.At the same time, the number of patients prevails in developed countries, because people live longer there.

The life expectancy of people with this disease is on average 8-10 years. In rare cases, a person can live up to 14 years. In Russia, about 90% of cases of pathology are not diagnosed, since many people regard its symptoms as characteristics of age-related changes.

The disease does not spare anyone. The photo shows patients with Alzheimer's disease. All of them are famous and famous people:

In general, how many people live with Alzheimer's disease depends on many factors and features of the human body.

In people who are forced to care for patients suffering from this pathology, all sorts of mental disorders develop in 50-75% of cases - for example, every third person suffers from severe depression.

Alzheimer's disease is a formidable disease that is very difficult to identify and impossible to eliminate. It significantly worsens the life of the patient and his loved ones, therefore, if any mental disorders occur, contact a specialist - this will at least help to stop the development of the disease.
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