What is the Prognosis for Alzheimers Disease?


Unfortunately, even with modern day medicine, the prognosis for Alzheimers disease is that it is an incurable, degenerative disease. However, according to recent studies there are variations in the prognosis of different patients. In fact, a patients symptoms are indicative of their prognosis.

Symptoms that May Indicate a Shorter Survival

There are certain symptoms that may indicate a person will have a shorter lifespan than other Alzheimers disease patients. Some of these indictors include: unsteadiness when walking; incontinence of urine; poor test scores on mental acuity tests; rapid decline during the first year they are diagnosed; wandering behaviors; and preexisting conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. Women also have a longer survival rate than men do when it comes to Alzheimers disease prognosis.

Treatments and Their Effects on Alzheimers Disease Prognosis

There are treatments for Alzheimers disease that may help those affected to retain their mental acuity longer. These treatments are generally seen as more effective when they are started at the earliest stages of the disease. Some treatments are relatively simple such as increasing the amount of time you walk per day. Other treatments may come in the form of medications. Whether or not a person is given certain medications or other treatments is dependent on their Alzheimers disease prognosis and its current stage. Treatment may also vary depending on the patient and their familys wishes.

There are several different medicines that can be used to combat Alzheimers disease. Two of these are Aricept and Namenda. Although these medications may not improve a persons long-term Alzheimers disease prognosis, they can improve the amount of time the person is able to stay reasonably mentally acute.

Aricept Aricept is one type of a cholinesterase inhibitor that is used in the treatment of Alzheimers disease. It is also the most common. This type of drug is used to stop the breakdown of cetylcholine. This is a chemical in the brain that is used for mental functions and plays a role in memory functions. Although this drug does not cure Alzheimers, it may help to improve mental acuity and function in some patients. This medication is used in all levels of Alzheimers disease including mild, moderate, and severe.

Namenda Namenda is a drug that works differently than other Alzheimer medications. It works to regulate a chemical called glutamate in the brain. This chemical regulates what other chemicals and minerals are allowed to enter brain cells. In a person with Alzheimers disease, their brains produce too much glutamate. By regulating this chemical, a person may have increased ability to process information and regulate memories.

Alzheimers Family

This phase can be very difficult to manage, and is often when family members will place the patient into a full-time care facility.

In short, all of the thought cause of alzheimers disease is mostly speculation meaning there is no proof as of yet to scientists theories. The shrinking of the brain, it is believed to be caused by portions of the brain being lost to the degenerative nature of the disease. If you can recognize this fact and accept it, dealing with alzheimers is all that much easier. It can be helpful to write down how many times these types of behavior are occurring to get a real sense if there is a growing problem. This factor has lead doctors to believe that no single gene abnormality may be the cause of either type of Alzheimers disease. The Alzheimers caregiver must be fully aware of the effects of the disease and to react to certain things that will happen either occasionally or daily, depending on the severity of the disease.

This is why Alzheimers symptoms oftentimes show up gradually.
Incontinence is a frequent occurrence at this point, and eating becomes much more difficult as swallowing can cause choking. The most common laboratory tests are blood or urine-based. The abnormality of chromosome 21 may be the closest thing to an Alzheimers gene that exists. It is in such instances that the bracelet does the talking for the patient since it is often the case that engraved on your bracelet will be a description in brief about your Alzheimers disease ailment that will help in getting you timely as well as proper medical care, especially in case of emergencies. Alzheimer was able to do an autopsy that showed damage to the brain. Moreover, Alzheimers disease will touch and affect different persons in different ways and what the symptoms that shows in each individual person cannot be predicted nor the order in which they appear.

A little bit of forethought can go a long way when it comes to Alzheimers care.
Your family member may begin to have difficulty recognizing family and friends, and he may confuse a brother with a nephew or a spouse with a cousin. We now know that patients with Alzheimers have a condition where their brain is under attack and the cells are being destroyed. This disease affects people who are middle-aged and older. Alzheimers is a difficult illness to deal with, both for the patient and family member caring for him.