Alzheimer's Dementia

 Alzheimer's Dementia

On the occasion of International Alzheimer's Day (September 21st), Dr. Atul Dhage, a psychiatrist, sexologist, de-addiction specialist and certified psychotherapist and counselor, has written an article. He has expressed himself on behalf of Mindcare Hospital, Ratnagiri.

Please do make it point to take some time out and read also feel free to share it with your near and dear ones.

International Alzheimer's Day (September 21st)

Presently, there are 46.8 million Alzheimer's patients worldwide. Of these, 3.7 million patients are in India. The numbers of patients are rising at an alarming rate. This number is expected to double by 2030. It is listed as the 6th major cause of death. Considering the rate of its expanse, we must make ourselves aware of this illness. In order to do so, 21st September is commemorated as International Alzheimer’s Day.

What exactly is Alzheimer's disease?

It is a sort of disease in which a person loses his ability to remember things, his memory is impaired. The tasks which the patient could do earlier, he finds it difficult to do it now. The patient finds difficult to remember or recollect certain words and things.

What causes Alzheimer's disease?

This disease is the result of formation of amyloid plaques and tau proteins in certain cells in the brain, due to this formation such cells cease to work and die. These changes initially occur mainly in the hippocampus part of the brain, which is associated with memory. But in the later stages, it spreads to the other parts of the brain, which affects language and proper functioning of thought process. This disease is hereditary. But due to changing life style, diseases like Diabetes, hypertension and vascular diseases are also related to it. It mostly affects people over 60 years of age. Women are more prone to it.

What are the symptoms of Alzheimer disease?

In the initial stages when it is at mild level, patients experience forgetfulness in small things, not recollecting address, they may repeat the same question again and again, take more time than usual to complete regular tasks or routine task.

At the moderate level, they cannot learn new things, they can’t understand new things, they can’t do complicated things, they sometimes forget the names of their family members, they can’t find their house or washroom, they forget how to do very basic things like taking a bath, getting dressed, they can’t find words while speaking. In some cases, they may have illusions. Their personality and their nature changes.

In the last stage or severe level, they are completely depended on others. They forget even their family members. They lose consciousness of various bodily functions like urination and defecation. They lose the track of time and place completely.

How will you identify this disease?

1. Forget about things kept by oneself.

2. Forget things that have happened recently.

3. Forget instructions given and people who have met just a while back.

4. Forget that one has already had tea/coffee/food.

5. Repeat the same things again and again.

6. Unable to find way back home

7. Unable to recognise relatives and friends.

8. Unable to do routine activities like dressing up, bathing, cooking.

9. Losing consciousness of bodily functions

What are the treatments for Alzheimer's disease?

There are many new medicines available for this disease. Drugs like Donepezil, Memantine, Rivastigmine help to bring about slight improvement. Also, these drugs help to restrain the pace of advancement of the disease. Illusions and apathy can be treated to a greater extent. 

The most crucial thing is to counsel the person who is taking care of the patient and equipping him with the knowledge of how to take care of the patient.

How to take care of the patient?

1. for patient make it a habit to sleep, eat, or defecate at regular intervals and at fix time every day.

2. Mark places like bedroom, bathroom. so that it is easy to find way.

3. To avoid being lost, keep them at a safe place and keep an identity card with them which has details like name, address, contact number.

4. Always call them by their name.

5. Don’t argue with them. Give them enough time to complete the task or to answer a question. If needed, repeat the instructions or question.

6. Play games which would exercise brain like identifying cards from the pack, recognizing and recollecting memories from old photographs. 

7. Keep a dim light in the room at night, encourage the patient to go out of the room during the day, keep a wall clock and calendar in their room and tell them the date and time every day.

8. The patient is after all a human being and in the later stages would need your help to take care of himself. You will have to take care of the patient like a baby at severe stage.

The person who is the care taker must also be very vigilant towards his own health. Such care taker may also encounter with exhaustion and depression and thus may affect his own health. It is crucial to take break and take help from others in the family. In case of feelings like anger or guilt, one must learn to forgive oneself.

What can be done to prevent Alzheimer?

In order to keep our brain active, it is crucial to engage ourselves into various brain engaging activities.

It is advisable to use your brain instead of depending on the technology for every task.

You can solve puzzles, sudoku, play chess, etc.

Keeping a healthy and balanced diet along with a blend of proper exercise can keep you away from various lifestyle related diseases.

Dr. Atul Dhage, 

Psychiatrist, Sexologist, de-addiction specialist and Certified Psychotherapist and Counselor, 

Mindcare Hospital, Ratnagiri.