What is Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease is the most common pathologic condition among dementias. Usually presents in the elderly (65 years and over) and causes a progressive deterioration of memory, reasoning that would adversely affect the ability to perform normal daily activities of the patient. It is estimated that one in ten people after 85 years of age is affected by this disease.

Unlike the typical benign forgetfulness of the elderly, Alzheimer's disease is a true disease status, that a doctor can diagnose various tests that explore the area of cognitive and behavioral function, integrating the results of diagnostic imaging examinations of the brain.

This disease is characterized by the death of cells in areas of the brain that control memory, thought and language. With the increase in the number of affected cells, increase the number and severity of symptoms appearing. For this reason the Alzheimer disease is defined as a degenerative disease and progressive.

Who is affected by Alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer's disease mainly affects people around 65 years of age and older. Since the entire world population is aging, the number of people affected by it is set to increase.

A small percentage of individuals with Alzheimer developed the disease early, i.e. between 35 and 60 years of age. It is believed that this form is inherited early-onset, since the cases tend to occur within a few families.

However, the majority of people with Alzheimer (95 percent) develop the disease later; this form is not strictly hereditary. Alzheimer's disease is widespread in all ethnic groups and social classes, affecting both men and women, although it is somewhat more common among women.

What are the causes of Alzheimer's disease?

The medicine is still investigating to identify the causes of Alzheimer. Current knowledge indicates that the progressive loss of brain cells is associated with abnormal formation of plaques (plaques of beta amyloid) around them. These plaques are accumulations of fragments of a protein insoluble. Another hallmark of the Alzheimer disease and the presence of "tangles" in brain cells made of an abnormal form of tau protein, a protein that has important functions in healthy cells. These structures are the ultimate result of degenerative processes involving different brain systems. It is likely that the Alzheimer disease is not caused by a single cause but several factors that may affect in varying degrees in each individual.

What are the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease?

In general, the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease affect the ability to store, thinking and reasoning, and behavior and the ability to perform normal daily activities.

Alzheimer begins slowly and gradually and can be difficult to suspect the early stages and is easily confused with depression or with normal signs of aging. Early symptoms include small memory loss, confusion and poor concentration, but can also include disorientation, problems of communication, personality change, lack of motivation.

The person who gets sick of Alzheimer can manifest strange and unusual behavior - a fairly common sign is to wander without a reason and a goal - or imagine seeing things or hearing nonexistent voices (hallucinations). With the worsening of these symptoms, the person becomes obviously more and more dependent on others.

In later stages the physical symptoms become more evident. The person becomes inappropriate behavior, presents problems of understanding, can become aggressive or show signs of depression, because some areas of the brain were damaged.