Alzheimers Disease and Dementia. Alzheimer's is the most common form of Dementia, a general term of memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Do you know someone who has been diagnosed with either Alzheimers or Dementia? Is it a friend, parent, grandparent, relative or sibling? No matter who it is, you feel helpless every time you are around them. Sometimes you can have a conversation with them and everything seems back to normal but as the hours go by the disease starts to take over again. As this illness progresses some people with this disease can possibly say some hateful things to you but you must remain calm because their mind is going through so many different thoughts and feelings internally. You will have to remind yourself of how this person was before this horrible monster visited them and decided to make their mind its home.
Were you aware that early onset Alzheimer's is an uncommon form of dementia that affects people younger then age 65? About 5 to 6% of people develop symptoms before age 65. Many of them are in their 40s and 50s when the disease takes hold. Let's dig a more into this. There isn't a cure for early onset Alzheimer disease currently. Healthcare providers have been successful in helping people maintain their mental function, control behavior, and slow the progress of the disease. There are medicines used to help early onset people maintain mental function. They include Donepezil, Rivastigmine, Galantamine, and Memantine. These medicines seem to help people with their symptoms for anywhere from a few months to a few years. There are other treatments that play a role in slowing the progress of early onset Alzheimer disease like physical activity, cardiovascular, diabetes treatments, antioxidants, and cognitive training. Detecting the disease early can lead to better treatment options.
Learn about Alzheimer's disease. Being informed will help you know what to expect as the disease progresses. Some resources are: Alzheimer's and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) center 800-438-4380. Alzeimer's Association 800-275-3900. Local hospitals and community centers may have educational programs about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Moving on to some statistics. Hispanic and African Americans in the United States will see the largest increase in Alzheimer's disease and relative dementias between 2015 and 2060. By 2060, the number of Alzheimer's disease cases is predicted to rise to an estimate of 14 million people with the minority population being affected the most.
Isn't this interesting? Why would these two groups be affected the most? Share your thoughts.
