Post 28 (April,10,2013)

ALZHEIMER   DISEASE

Where I put my purse? Sorry I don’t know you!!!,I forget how to spell milk!!!!!. These dialogues or questions may sound familiar to us and we neglect them by saying oh!!! May be our mind is absent or I forget where I put my things. But these are the starting signs of “ALZHEIMER”.

A disease that lets us forget everything from our past. Just imagine you don’t know who your wife is, you simply didn’t remember how many siblings you have and all your loved ones will become strangers to you.

Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsen as it progresses and eventually leads to death. It has 100% morality rate and those who have this rarely ever know that they have it. It was first discovered by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him. As the disease advances, symptoms can include; confusion, irritability, aggression, mood s wings, trouble with the language and long term memory loss. The most common symptoms are difficulty in remembering recent events. Research indicates that the disease is associated with plaques and tangles in brain. A brain scan is needed to study this problem. The vast majority of cases are not genetically inherited although some genes may act as risk factors.

People who engage in intellectual activities such as reading, playing board games, completing crossword puzzels, playing instruments or regular social interaction show a reduced risk for Alzheimer disease. America has the highest rate of Alzheimer’s patients. Well known examples of the persons which were affected by this by this disease was former United States President Ronald Regan and former United Kingdom Prime Minister Harold Wilson .

As one person we cannot fight this disease. Together we can. It starts with a step, a commitment to work together, to raise awareness in our society.