Alzheimer's Disease
...ortex (used for thinking) of the brain shrinks, the spaces in the center of the brain become enlarged causing reduction of the surface area in the brain. Symptoms of AD usually occur in older adults and are the ones most at risk, although people in their 40s and 5Os may also be affected. The symptoms include a loss of intellectual capacity, loss of language skills which may include having trouble finding words, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, disorientation in place and time, changes in mood or behavior and changes in personality. AD does not discriminate, it affects any race, socio background or sex equally. The classic symptom of forgetfulness is part of the normal aging process and usually begins in early middle age, however, normal forgetfulness differs from Alzheimer's Disease in many important ways. The cause of Alzheimer's Disease is not exactly known. Suspected causes undergoing research are neurological damage, chemical deficiencies, viruses, environmental toxins and malfunctions in the body's disease defense systems and genetics. There is also evidence of a slightly increased risk of heridity of AD amongst children, brothers and sisters of patients with this disease. It is also important to note that AD can only be diagnosed 100% after death through an autopsy of the affected subjects brain tissue. About a third of autopsies turn up a different diagnosis and thus family members are encouraged to ask for an autopsy as a contribution to the study of the disease and about the genetics of AD. There is no single clinical test for AD. It is usually diagnosed by ruling out all other curable or incurable causes of memory loss. A positive diagnosis of this disease can only be made by microscopically studying a small piece of brain tissue after death. The cerebral cortex of an Alzheimer sufferers brain will have characteristic abnormalities such as cells marred by plaques and tangles. A working diagnosis can be made though through various testing procedures that include a complete physical as well as neurological and psychological examinations. At this time there is no definite cure or treatment for AD, although there are many suppliers of products which claim to help sufferers, but the products are more like over-priced placebos with no documented evidence of alleviation of the illness amongst sufferers, but glutamate receptor-selective drugs, some antioxidants, nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, calcium channel antagonists, receptor or enzyme inhibitors, and growth factors promise future help in curing this disease. Combinations of drugs that act at different levels may also prolong the sufferers life/health. People diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease can live anywhere from 2 ...