Mumbai

Alzheimer's Disease

Forgetfulness could well be a characteristic feature of old age. However, Alzheimer’s disease is an ailment that ruptures the memory of the people. It is a neurodegenerative disease that causes brain cells to die. Initially it messes up with the chronology of events and gradually progresses to forgetfulness of basic habits like eating and pooping too. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. The progression of Alzheimer’s could be categorized into 3 stages:

Preclinical stage: Here the symptoms don’t occur visibly but the ailment has already started growing.
Mild- cognitive impairment: This is when the symptoms start showing, however this is rather mild.
Dementia: At this stage, the ailment has progressed beyond complete cure.

Symptoms A set of symptoms could well prove to be an indicator of the ailment. A few of the symptoms include:

Diminishing ability to grasp or adapt to new information. This could also involve forgetting new appointments, misplacing personal belongings and so on.
Impairment of complex thinking, reasoning and so on.
Inability to use/ recognize simple tools or even most familiar faces.
Changes in personality.
Anxiety and excessive stress.

Causes Nobody can, perhaps, ever point at one factor and believe it to be the sole cause of the disease. However, accidents or brain injuries could be an immediate reason. Other causes of Alzheimer’s include:

Nerve damage
Brain injury
Bad lifestyle
Chronic diseases such as diabetes and fluctuating blood pressure.
Old-age
Genetics
Environmental factors

Treatments A healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, routine exercises and mentally stimulating exercises could be extremely helpful. However, there is very little available cure for the ailment owing to its late onset. Moreover, medicines cannot reverse the cells that have died. Medications, however are available to slow down the progress of the disease. One of the things you must understand is that those suffering from the ailment need utmost care and patience thus, they cannot be left unsupervised even for a minute second. Therefore, various Alzheimer’s centres also have day care options that are supervised or run by experts. Going beyond in the holistic approach Louise Hay, motivational leader and empowerment coach who has done path breaking work in supporting HIV/AIDS patients and their families, has said that, “Illness however mild or severe is an indicator of your emotional state, caused by your thoughts and focus.” According to her, the main cause of Alzhiemer’s disease is: Refusal to deal with the world as it is. Hopelessness and helplessness. Anger. One way of healing this is through saying or writing affirmations. Doing this regularly can help to reduce the debilitating effects of this illness. Her affirmation for treating Alzheimer’s is: There is always a new and better way for me to experience life. I forgive and release the past. I move into joy. Read less