Alzheimer's Disease - Symptoms, Stages And Treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a non-reversible, degenerative mental disorder than mostly affects people past the age of 60 years, but symptoms of which may appear as early as in the mid-forties. Under this condition, the patient initially has lapses in memory and often forgets his/her daily routine. Sometimes, s/he may also fail to recognize familiar places, objects and people. Gradually, the patient’s condition deteriorates as s/he finds it difficult to organize her/his thoughts and memories coherently. At this stage, the patient often keeps repeating things and refuses to accept any sort of change in her/his immediate surroundings. Grasping new mental concepts or making sense of new experiences also becomes difficult for the patient. Later, the patient may even lose her/his sense of self-identity and lose her/his grasp over language. This is the most acute stage of the disease, as the patient needs constant medical supervision and is unable to perform even the most basic activities like eating, walking without assistance. At this stage the patient become extremely fragile emotionally and goes through sudden and unpredictable mood swings. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is still not known. Scientists believe that nutritional deficiencies could be one of the possible causes for this condition. It has been found that patients of Alzheimer’s disease suffer from a deficiency of vitamins B12, A and E in their body. Patients of hypertension are also believed to be more susceptible to this disease, and those with a history of head injury or trauma, depression and heart disease are also among the risk group.

Tips To Prevent Alzheimer Disease

Though there are no cures for Alzheimer’s disease, you may follow a few simple preventive measures to reduce the risk of getting it.

• Avoid smoking and try and give it up altogether, as smokers are twice as probe to Alzheimer’s as non-smokers.


• Cut down on your intake of alcohol and processed foodstuff, as the essential vitamins that the brain needs to function properly are mostly absent in these.


• Instead, include natural sources of vitamins and minerals in your diet, such as raw and green vegetables and fruits, as these improve blood circulation in the body and act as natural detoxifying agents, thereby minimizing the risk of getting Alzheimer’s.


• Regular physical exercise goes a long way in keeping the body and the mind in good shape.


• Keeping the mind engaged in activities like reading, writing and learning is a good way of keeping away dementia in old age.


• Consumption of vitamin and fish oil supplements is also an effective way to ensure proper functioning of the brain.