Behind the name degenerative diseases hide many pathologies, irreversible and progressive. Too many patients suffer from it, impacted in their health as well as in their social and professional life. Without forgetting the carers, who fight daily by their side. Neurodegenerative diseases: What are they? What progress? Explanations.
What is a neurodegenerative disease?
The term neurodegenerative disease is a generic term for designating all diseases that affect the central nervous system and organs.
These are chronic and progressive diseases. The patient’s decline may be more or less long, depending on the stage of the disease. It is irreversible.
The effects of neurodegenerative disease increase with advancing age. But it can also be genetic diseases or of autoimmune maladies. Repeated exposure to certain toxins, chemicals and infection by viruses can also develop such pathologies.
Living with a neurodegenerative disease
Thousands of patients live with a neurodegenerative disease. This type of disease affects mostly older peoplebut young people can also be screened.
Brain, bones, muscles, nerves, lungs can be affected.
Are so categorized as a neurodegenerative disease :
- Alzheimer’s disease,
- Parkinson’s disease,
- Charcot’s disease (or ALS),
- Huntington’s Disease,
- Madness,
- Osteoporosis,
- emphysema,
- polyneuritis,
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy,
- Becker’s muscular dystrophy,
- Emery-Dreyfuss muscular dystrophy,
- pulmonary fibrosis,
- Paget’s disease,
- Landouzy-Déjerine myopathy,
- Distal muscular dystrophy,
- Oropharyngeal muscular dystrophy,
- mitochondrial myopathy,
- Sarcoidosis,
- fibrous dysplasia of the bones,
- cerebellar ataxia,
- Girdle myopathies.
Each disease evolves differently from one patient to another. Nevertheless, it is essential functions that are impaired : motor skills, balance, reasoning skills, memory, orientation… The psychological impact is also sometimes very strong, with depression, anxiety, disorders.
Gradually, the need for accompaniment of the sick is accentuated. Until the intervention of a caregiver due to the loss of autonomy linked to the degenerative disease. There are also solutions for accommodating elderly people as you can discover with a retirement home specializing in neuro-evolutionary diseases in Narbonne For example.
What are the advances in research on neurodegenerative diseases?
Although these diseases are not curable, the effects of some of them can nevertheless be slowed down.
For example, drug treatment may be prescribed to slow the effects of Parkinson’s. The care of Alzheimer’s patients is currently focused on cognitive exercises.
Speech therapy, neuropsychology, occupational therapy and psychomotricity consultations can be set up.
Often, the care of a patient with a neurodegenerative disease integrates several medical specialties.
For most neurodegenerative diseases, such as Charcot’s disease, no medication has yet been recognized as effective in relieving patients.
Nevertheless, research continues to find treatments.
It should be noted that for everyone, and also for prevention purposes, a healthy lifestyle is recommended: healthy, varied and balanced diet, physical activity, quality sleep and regular rhythm…
Charcot’s disease, a neurodegenerative disease
The Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS and better known as Charcot’s disease, is a neurodegenerative disease. Its diagnosis concerns many patients, with 2.7 cases detected per 100,000 people each year.
Charcot’s disease can be an inherited condition. The genetic factor is checked in case of suspicion by a blood test.
Screening for Charcot’s disease also involves a clinical examination with MRI and electromyogram.
The disease is more common in men than in women, although both sexes are affected. The diagnosis is often made between the ages of 50 and 75. Younger people can develop ALS, but it is rarer.
Charcot’s disease causes deterioration of motor neurons, in the brain and in the spinal cord. With serious physical consequences.
ALS disease is painless at first, so it continues to progress before a diagnosis can be made. The life expectancy of a patient with Charcot is 3 to 4 years on average. Patients survive 10 years or more.
The symptoms reported are mainly cramps and uncontrollable muscle spasms, weight loss, slurred speech and swallowing, emotional disorders.
Medical care in the event of ALS is therefore multidisciplinary: physiotherapy sessions, dietician follow-up, psychological follow-up, occupational therapy, speech therapy, pneumology, etc.
The patient can be referred to different structures, such as rehabilitation centers, the MDPH, the HAD, etc.
Accompaniment by social assistance can benefit patients.
Neurodegenerative diseases affect many patients with loss of autonomy, and affect their caregivers. Patient care is progressing thanks to a better understanding of these pathologies. But research remains essential to find treatments for these diseases that are still incurable and debilitating on a daily basis.
