Alzheimer’s disease begins in old age and is characterized by chronic progressive memory and mental decline. There are more women than men and more rural than urban patients, and the prevalence increases with age.
What are the main types of Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease can be divided into four types depending on the cause.
1. senile dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease (AD)
2. vascular dementia (VaD).
3. mixed dementia.
4, dementia caused by other causes.
The nine disease signs of Alzheimer’s disease
1. Memory impairment Characterized by impaired ability to remember new knowledge and difficulty in recalling distant knowledge. Memory impairment often appears early in the disease and is almost the first intellectual impairment detected by the patient’s family or at the same time, especially near-event amnesia. Daily manifestations are “losing things”, “forgetting things”, and repeatedly asking the same questions.
2. Visual-spatial skills disorder Inability to accurately determine the location of objects, lost in a familiar environment; subsequently, even in the home can not find their own room, dressing difficulties, etc.
3.Language disorder Speech “pulling and pulling”, although chattering, but can not make the listener understand; often answer is not the question, the ability to talk decreased, and then imitation language and heavy language syndrome, and eventually only can make incomprehensible sounds, and finally silence.
As the disease progresses, a large number of misspellings occur, with strokes resembling Chinese characters but with wrong strokes, or even new characters that do not exist. By the middle and late stages of the disease, patients do not even recognize their names and cannot write their names.
5. Loss of use and recognition: The patient does not recognize the faces of relatives and familiar friends; the patient may develop mirror signs, sitting in front of a mirror and talking to his or her own image, or even asking his or her own image “who are you”. Loss of skills that have been mastered, such as bicycling and swimming, but not after the disease, or in severe cases, not being able to use any tools, even chopsticks or eating with a spoon.
6, calculation disorder shopping can not calculate or miscalculation, serious cases even simple addition, subtraction can not calculate, and even do not recognize the numbers and arithmetic symbols, and can not answer the examiner to extend a few fingers.
7. Poor judgment, distraction Alzheimer’s disease presents with poor judgment, loss of generalization ability and distraction in the early stage, and later with a general decrease in intelligence until complete loss. In vascular dementia, the intelligence decreases in a “patchy” pattern, and some aspects of intelligence are preserved.
8.Psychiatric disorders may manifest as emotional indifference, mania, hallucinations and delusions, depression, personality changes, delirium, etc.
9.Motor disorders In the middle stage, the symptoms are excessive activity, such as walking back and forth in the room without purpose, or getting up in the middle of the night, groping around, opening and closing doors, carrying things, etc.; followed by urinary and fecal incontinence and inability to take care of oneself. In the late stage, tonic or flexion tetraplegia occurs, and the intelligence decreases comprehensively, without any response to external stimuli.
Management of Alzheimer’s disease
The treatment of dementia in old age starts with good care, adequate nutrition, appropriate recreational activities and prevention of somatic comorbidities; for patients with excitement, hallucinations and delusions, antipsychotics are available; for those with emotional anxiety and depression, anxiolytics and antidepressants are available; drugs to slow down the aging process and improve memory and intelligence are still being explored; vasodilators, anticoagulants, Hydergine, and The efficacy of vasodilators, anticoagulants, Hydergine, brain rejuvenation and hyperoxia therapy is not confirmed.
The relationship between trace elements and Alzheimer’s disease
Researchers generally agree that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is closely related to the dysregulation of micronutrient metabolism in the body.
Increased levels of aluminum and copper, as well as deficiencies in zinc, manganese, germanium and selenium, can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Middle-aged and elderly people should eat more foods rich in zinc, manganese, selenium and germanium, such as seafood, shellfish, fish, dairy, beans, nuts, silkworm pupae, garlic, mushrooms and other foods, which are beneficial to prevent the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease.
Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
For Alzheimer’s disease, in addition to early detection and treatment, prevention can be done in the following ways.
1. The first thing is to prevent arteriosclerosis. Dietary adjustments, less salt, and appropriate physical activity can help prevent atherosclerosis.
2, should avoid the use of aluminum cookware, because aluminum salt into the body, the first deposited in the brain, inducing senile dementia.
3. Quit smoking and alcohol is also essential because nicotine, lead and other toxic substances in cigarettes and methanol in wine will degenerate brain nerve fibers.
4. replenish minerals and trace elements that are beneficial to the body, because the lack of essential trace elements (such as zinc, etc.) can lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain, causing vascular lesions and leading to the onset of dementia in old age.
5. frequent finger movement helps prevent dementia.
6. Cultivating a wide range of interests can help active brain cells and prevent brain aging.
7. wide exposure to all kinds of people is beneficial for maintaining brain power
8. Learning languages can strengthen the brain’s thinking activities and speed up the brain’s blood circulation and brain cell metabolism.
9. Maintaining a happy mood and enhancing the ability to resist disease
10, maintain the persistent pursuit of career, some information shows that the proportion of people who do nothing all day long suffer from dementia is higher.
In addition, the diet of dementia patients in old age should be rich in protein and vitamins, eat more vegetables and fruits, such as fish, lean minced meat, soy products, green vegetables, mushrooms, etc.; often eat bananas, apples, dates, persimmon cake, etc., can strengthen the spleen and laxative; poor digestive function of the elderly, stomach volume reduced, from 3 to 4 meals per day, to achieve regular rationing.