Alzheimers Disease Is Becoming Ridiculous?
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at
12:43 am
Mesocyclone asked:
Why is Alzheimers disease becoming more and more common and projected to affect more than a 200% increase of todays cases by mid-century? I think that alzheimers isn’t a real disease, I think that it has just been given to much power by all the people that worry about it. Why else is it increasing at such a huge rate and what other reason is there for the rates of Alzheimers to increase with the more reasearch done on it and the more media coverage on it.
Also, why is it happening to people at younger ages?
Tagged with: Media Coverage • Mid Century • Reason
Filed under: Alzheimers
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It is NOT becoming “ridiculous.”
Alzheimer’s is just becoming more common because people are living longer. People used to die before such damage became evident in their brains.
Let me tell you, Alheimers Disease is not fake! It is getting more coverage now days because there really is no cure for it. It is still really not known how people develop it. Yes, reasearch is being done on ways to slow the progress of the disease and there are medications out there for slowing the progression of it too.
I worked in a nursing home for many years taking care of Alzheimers Disease people and some who had it very badly too. Believe me, it is not a pretty thing to have to see people have to go thru and the family also suffers from it. It takes away the persons memory and they cant even remember simple things that we take for granted like being able to brush their own teeth or hair. They eventually lose the memory of how to cook meals, forget their family, and eventually will lose any mobility and not be able to go to the bathroom by themselves. It’s not a pretty thing at all!
So, before you go thinking something is ridiculous, do some reserch on it! Find out what it really is! Why not go to a nursing home where there are all stages of people with Alziemers and see first hand that it is NOT fake! I have seen people with it for 5 years and some have died because of it!
There are two reasons it is becoming more common. The first is that we are living longer. Diseases of old age will become more common based on that alone (and the fact that there is a ‘bubble’ of baby boomers, more kids= more older people). But also, we are getting better at detecting Alzheimer’s.
Modern technologies, brain scans and the latest spinal cord protein screen, allow us to cry, “Alzheimer’s” earlier than before. It used to be, not that long ago that a firm diagnosis was only available on autopsy.
But there is another thing, often overlooked. Say I prevent you from dying of a heart attack, a stroke or cancer….you live to get alzheimers.
Alzheimer’s disesae is more prevalent for exactly the reasons noted above. But there is also an historical reason. About 30 years ago it was thought that most dementia was due to vascular dementia, also known as atherosclerotic disease to the brain. This was disproven and many people who may have at one time been diagnosed as vascular dementia are now diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease. Vascular dementia is now considered the second most common form of dementia rather than the first. Early detection is adding to the sense that it is occurring in younger people.
Alzheimers was probably the cause for years when patients were diagnosed with age related memory problems such as dementia or seniltiy. But Alzheimers is a real, organic problem that is set to blossom into a major health problem in the next few years as the baby boomers start hitting the dangerous years – usually over 60.
It has always been with us, but misdiagnosed. I have included a very interesting link that appeared in the Internation Herald Tribune a couple of months ago. Take a look at it – it’s pretty interesting.