Dementia of Alzheimer's usually begins subtle: people begin to forget some things, to get to the point where they can no longer even recognize family members and they need help even for everyday tasks.

Dementia of Alzheimer's now affects about 5% of people over 60 years. And 'the most common form of dementia, one was caused by an alteration of brain function that involves serious difficulties for the patient to conduct normal daily activities. The disease affects memory and cognitive functions, affects the ability to speak and think but can also cause other problems including confusion, disorientation and changes in mood and space.

The disease is named after Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist who for the first time in 1907 described the Alzheimer’s disease signs and symptoms and neuropathological aspects. At the autopsy examination, the doctor noticed special signs in the brain tissue of a woman who had died as a result of an unusual mental illness. In fact, this indicates the presence of agglomerates, then defined amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fibers, the neuro-fibrillary tangles. Today, the plaques formed by amyloid proteins and tangles are considered the effects on nerve tissue of a disease which, despite the considerable efforts put into the field, the causes are still unknown.

In patients with dementia of Alzheimer there has been observed a loss of nerve cells in brain areas vital to memory and other cognitive functions. There is also a low level of those chemicals, such as acetylcholine, which work like neurotransmitters and are thus not involved in the communication between nerve cells.



Alzheimer’s disease signs and symptoms

The course of the disease is slow and on average patients can live for up to 8-10 years after diagnosis of the disease.

The Alzheimer's dementia is manifested by mild memory problems, to result in serious damage to brain tissue, but the rapidity with which aggravate the symptoms varies from person to person. In the course of the disease, cognitive deficits are exacerbated and can lead the patient to serious loss of memory, to put the same questions repeatedly, to get lost in familiar places, inability to follow the clear guidance, to have disorientation about time, about people and places, but also to neglect their personal safety, hygiene and nutrition.

The cognitive problems may, however, be present even years before the formulation of a diagnosis of Alzheimer's dementia is made.

Diagnosis

Today the only way to make a definite diagnosis of dementia of Alzheimer's is through the identification of amyloid plaques in brain tissue, possible only with an autopsy after the death of the patient. This means that during the course of the disease can only make a diagnosis of Alzheimer 'possible' or 'probable'. For this reason, doctors use various tests:



-clinical examinations, such as blood, urine or spinal fluid;

-neuropsychological tests to measure memory, problem solving, the degree of attention, the ability to count and dialogue;

-examine the brain to identify any possible sign of abnormality;

These tests allow the doctor to rule out other possible causes that lead to similar symptoms, such as thyroid problems, adverse reactions to drugs, depression, brain tumors, but also diseases of the blood vessels of the brain.

As in other neurodegenerative diseases, early diagnosis is very important because it offers the possibility to treat some symptoms of the disease, because it allows the patient to plan his future, when it is still capable of making decisions.