What are the causes of Alzheimer’s and how can it be treated?
There is no complete cure for amnesia and its most important type, Alzheimer’s, thus increasing the importance of raising public awareness about disease prevention and memory disorders. Timely action should be taken to delay or possibly prevent the occurrence of the disease and its other forms.
According to figures from the World Health Organization’s website, around 55 million people worldwide suffer from amnesia. 60% of these patients are from low- or middle-income countries. The rate at which dementia is increasing. It’s estimated that 2030 there will be 78 million patients, while 2050 this number may exceed 139 million.
The prevalence of dementia is increasing with increasing age worldwide. Talking about the statistics of this disease in Pakistan, the most cautious number of diagnosed patients is around 1 million.
Worldwide, in general and in the context of the family system of Pakistani society in particular, amnesia cannot be diagnosed in time, which is the reason why treatment cannot be started in time. As a result, the difficulties of the patient and the family increase.
What is the reason for Alzheimer’s sickness?
The most common type of dementia, Alzheimer’s, is a brain illness in which cells in the brain’s memory system begin to die. As a result, the part of the brain that is responsible for the memory system starts to get affected, which affects the person’s personality, attitude, mood, and memory as a whole. There are more than 100 types of dementia, with the most common type being Alzheimer’s.
A number of factors can cause dementia. The most important reason is aging, but dementia is not only caused by aging.
In the Holy Qur’an, Allah Almighty says: ‘ And some of you are those who are returned to the worst age (i.e. extreme old age), even after knowing everything, they know nothing (Surah Al-Hajj).
The above-mentioned condition is commonly called forgetfulness disease and dementia in the medical world. It is an ongoing psychological instability. There are more than 20 different genes in the brain that can increase a person’s risk of dementia. The gene APOE is the first gene that research has shown to be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
Women are more prone than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease. It is worth mentioning here that the average age of women is higher than that of men.
Overall, the ultimate cause of Alzheimer’s disease is still under investigation. However, according to the information available so far, various genes in which the APOE gene is the most prominent, in addition to vitamin B12 deficiency, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, persistent lack of sleep, obesity, insomnia, anxiety, and headache. Reasons like drug abuse and lack of healthy mental and physical activities also lead to amnesia. Along with this, indulgence, sleeping late and, waking up late, smoking, and irregular diet can also cause memory weakness.
It should be noted that people who adopt mental and physical routines on a regular basis are less likely to suffer from amnesia. It is also important to mention here that various research evidences of the past years have shown that air pollution also increases the risk of dementia.
Our policy makers should take serious steps to improve the environment pollution and its quality. A head injury also increases the risk of developing memory problems. There is a need to create awareness and awareness in this regard in the society at large and at the same time it is very important to attract the government institutions to fulfill their responsibilities so as to minimize the head injuries caused as a result of accidents can be done.
How is Alzheimer’s disease diagnosed?
There is no single test to diagnose and treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, but a neurologist is helpful in diagnosing it by doing a complete examination and brain and blood tests. Then he diagnoses the disease.
Early symptoms of Alzheimer’s include memory loss, difficulty in performing daily tasks, not remembering time and place, loss of judgment, difficulty speaking, lack of interest in daily activities, forgetfulness of things, behavior Alterations include difficulties in subtle complex thinking as well as complete personality changes.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s
Loss of current memory: In the early symptoms, the patient usually forgets what happened a short time ago.
Difficulties with daily activities: Patients have difficulty doing daily activities.These are the daily tasks that a person is performing easily and correctly throughout his life.
Difficulty speaking: A patient with dementia may find it difficult to understand simple words and words of everyday use.
Inability to recall time and place: A person suffering from amnesia has difficulty recognizing their daily routes, even forgetting where, at what place and at what time. are present.
Impaired judgment: Patients completely lose their judgment, often making mistakes in transactions.
Lack of fine-tuning or complex thinking: A person suffering from memory loss suffers from a reduction in the fine-tuning of thinking and understanding matters.
The risk of acquiring dementia is increased by the following factors.
*Physical inactivity
*Unbalanced diet
*Smoking and drinking
*Drug use
*Diabetes and blood pressure not being under constant control
*obesity
*Social isolation
*Frustration and despair
*Poor mental health
*Low educational qualification
How is treatment possible?
It should be remembered that the initial symptoms include small changes in a person’s daily life, mood and behavior. If they are not given timely attention, they not only increase, but it becomes a precursor of Alzheimer’s. Therefore, it is very important and useful to consult a physician in case of early symptoms. Even if it is impossible to completely get rid of Alzheimer’s disease, timely diagnosis and treatment is helpful in preventing the complications of this sickness, as well as its rapid progression.
For the diagnosis of this disease, necessary laboratory tests and brain scan (MRI) and obtaining complete information from the patient and family and medical (neurological) examination are very important. After the diagnosis of the disease, the use of medicines usually leads to ease in daily routines. However, all such patients should use the medication exactly as directed by their physician.
While medication use is important in all diagnosed patients, social activities also play an important role for patients. In this amnesia, since the patient’s depression, anxiety and depression increases, timely diagnosis of psychological and mental problems and changes in medication and lifestyle can be very useful for the patient.
For amnesia patients, where treatment and lifestyle change is an important component, the families of these patients, especially those who are responsible for the regular treatment and care of the patient, should handle all matters with wisdom, patience and prudence. Walking is essential.
Dementia patients, as the symptoms of the disease progress, make such movements that the family members not only look at them with surprise, but also find themselves in an unbelievable situation. Therefore, the special role of the family is very important for the care of such patients. These patients should be given opportunities to enjoy a change of fresh climate along with medication.
In order to stay safe from the disease, the use of parallel diet, especially vegetables and fruits, physical exercise and walking, complete abstinence from all kinds of smoking and addiction, as well as social interaction, study has a very pleasant effect on mental development. . Apart from this, it is very useful to participate in such positive activities that keep the mind active.
Dementia is a long term illness. The treatment of patients with this condition is the responsibility of the family and dear relatives. It is necessary for the good people of the society, private organizations and government institutions to play their role practically in this regard so that we can not only take better care of our patients but also create awareness in the society about this disease so that we can Play a proper role as a society in providing better service to our seniors as well as improving their quality of life in their old age. This is the requirement of establishing a healthy society and the order of our religion.