Alzheimer’s also knows as the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that apes aging but eventually leads to dementia and death (Aso & Ferrer, 2014). Indeed, AD is so congruent to the natural process of aging that in most cases, people who perish from it are assumed to have died of normal ageing. Further, the only clinical diagnosis involves the intrusive process of removal of brain tissue for laboratory examination, a process that most people will shy away from (Aso & Ferrer, 2014). This is exacerbated by the fact that the said diagnosis is academic at best since even upon confirmation of AD, there are no available confirmed cures for it or even means for extenuating its effects (Aso & Ferrer, 2014). Upon onset of AD, it is simply a matter of time as the symptoms progress leading to eventual dementia, then death irrespective of any and all available interventions.
With regard to epidemiology, AD is looked at from two general perspectives. The first perspective is incidence, and regards how many new confirmed cases of AD per unit person have been found in a given population (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). The second perspective regards prevalence and is determined by establishing how many people have AD in a given population at a given time. AD incidence studies have been done generally and relative to general dementia. Contemporary research has revealed 5 to 8 new cases of AD for every 1000 people (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). The same research instrument to wit longitudinal studies have shown about 10 to 15 new cases for every 1000 people (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015).
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This means that slightly over half of all world dementias are caused by AD. Age, race, and sex have been found to be bearing factors in the issue of incidence of AD. Prevalence will however vary exponentially from population to population. In the USA, prevalence stands at approximately 1.6% in the general population up to 74 years of age (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). This will rise to 19% for the Americans between the ages of 75 to 84 and 42% above the age of 84. The global averages are estimate at 0.8% in all populations (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). This places the prevalence of AD in the USA above global averages. Factors affecting prevalence include rate of incidence, level of care available to those already affected, and medication for mitigation of symptoms (Birks & Grimley, 2015).
The main signs and symptoms of AD include communication problems and incoherence (Aso & Ferrer, 2014). The patient will also have mood swings, loss of motivation, and inability to handle mundane aspects of self-care such as hygiene. As the AD progresses, disorientation will occur, with getting lost and forgetting where one is, being common. A behavioral transformation will also ensue. As a psychological consequence thereof, an AD patient will withdraw from the society including close family and friends. Most of these early symptoms involve effects on and loss of active and controlled body functions. The disease then advances to affect reflex biological functions that are vital to life (Aso & Ferrer, 2014). Organs begin to fail and the patient eventually passes on.
As indicated, there is no known cure for AD but clinical recommendations for it include medication for mitigation of symptoms, care giving for improvement of quality of life, and psychological support (Birks & Grimley, 2015). The current hypothesis is that AD reduces the activities of active cholinergic neurons. This is the main point of approach for the pharmacological clinical approaches. Medicines such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and NMDA receptor antagonists are used (Birks & Grimley, 2015). Research is however, ongoing on more relevant ways of managing AD and if possible a cure thereto (Birks & Grimley, 2015).
References
Alzheimer’s, Association. (2015). 2015 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures. Alzheimer's & dementia , 11 (3), 332-403.
Aso, E., & Ferrer, I. (2014). Cannabinoids for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: moving toward the clinic. Frontiers in Pharmacology , 5, 37. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2014.00037
Birks, J. S., & Grimley Evans, J. (2015). Rivastigmine for Alzheimer's disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000(4):CD001191.
