Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's

    
* Introduction
    
* Evolution of Alzheimer's disease
    
* Signs and symptoms
    
* Causes and Risk Factors
    
* Diagnosis
    
* Treatment
    
* Prevention
Alzheimer's disease is a chronic prejudice, the progressive evolution of a part of the brain, characterized by impaired intellectual irreversible, leading eventually to dementia.

The disease is characterized by nerve degeneration, due to the shrinking number of neurons, brain atrophy and the presence of "plate tracks." German neurologist Alois Alzheimer was the one who first described the disease in 1906. The autopsy of a patient with dementia, he noted the accumulation of protein substances in the form of plaques and neurofibrillary degeneration, still considered as the main signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Early symptoms of disease are memory loss and disorientation in time and space, the exacerbating symptoms progressively: intellectual functions such as memory, orientation and ability to perform mental calculations decay. Symptoms can be explained by degeneration of nerve cells. Gradual loss of autonomy requires the patient with Alzheimer's disease, while assisting the patient and then insitutionalizarea permanent.

Evolution of Alzheimer's disease lasts for about 10 years but can last between two and 20 years. There are two forms: sporadic form, which constitute 90-95% of cases, and family form, of genetic origin, which can affect several generations of a family. Alzheimer's disease usually begins before the age of 60 years, but in very rare cases, even 30 years. After 65 years, the incidence of disease varies between 1 and 5.8%. It increases with age, reaching 10% after 85 years.

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia, loss of intellectual and social capacities. Occur in patients with Alzheimer's dementia because healthy brain tissue degrades, causing a progressive loss of memory and mental faculties.

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, researchers are making progress in an attempt to improve the quality of life. They also discovered some genes associated with Alzheimer's disease, which can lead to the discovery of new treatments to stop the evolution of this complex disease.

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