2023-10-19 04:50:47
Photo: Saina Titova/YASIA
Alzheimer’s disease is the cause of dementia in 60–70% of cases. The pathology is difficult to notice at an early stage. This is due to the fact that short-term memory suffers first, while the patient can describe the events of long ago days in precise detail. The head of the Center for Brain and Neurogenetics of the Republican Hospital No. 1 – National Center of Medicine, Alexey Tappakhov, told YSIA about the symptoms of the development of the disease.
Signs of Alzheimer’s
– Alzheimer’s disease belongs to a group of neurodegenerative diseases in which progressive death of neurons occurs.
The development of Alzheimer’s disease is primarily due to a decrease in the volume of the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is responsible for human memory. He becomes absent-minded and forgets events that happened recently. However, patients remember the past perfectly: the names of childhood friends, events and dates.
Relatives are sure that since a loved one remembers the past well, then everything is in order. On the contrary, this should be alarming.
At an early stage, people carry out their daily duties and may even conduct professional activities.
The progression of the disease leads to the fact that patients begin to forget the names of objects that are rarely used in everyday life.
At later stages, visual-spatial impairments are observed – a person has difficulty navigating in familiar places. Due to cognitive impairment, he cannot prepare food for himself or wash his clothes. Unfortunately, relatives seek medical help only at this stage, and this occurs 5–10 years from the onset of the disease.
Risk factors
– External risk factors play a major role in the development of the disease: high blood pressure and high cholesterol, smoking and mild traumatic brain injuries. That is why it is important to regularly take medications prescribed by doctors for prevention.
The risk of Alzheimer’s increases if a parent or sibling has been diagnosed with the disease. Familial forms account for 5–10% of the total number of cases. But even if there is a genetic predisposition, timely seeking medical help and lifestyle changes can significantly slow down the development of the disease.
How to slow down the development of Alzheimer’s and what happens to the human brain during the disease, read our material.
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