I became a reader because of Enid Blyton. I became a writer because of Enid Blyton. I started writing children’s books because of Enid Blyton. I learned to dream through her books. And even now when I see my daughter read them, I can’t stop reading them. But did you know Enid Blyton died of Alzheimer’s disease? She may have forgotten many things,but children from all over the World and adults who grew up reading her books ,will always remember her.
A common cause of dementia the world over and Lia and Martha from the Ultimate Blog Challenge have a fundraiser to help those with this disease.
Table of contents
Dementia
This is a disease where there is a decline in cognitive ability to such an extent that causes difficulty in maintaining daily life functions.
The problem of forgetting is just really really bad and your muscles eventually forget to breathe. You don’t remember to walk, talk, eat. The worse part you don’t remember your loved ones and yourself.Its almost like becoming an infant again just more difficult.
Alzheimer’s is the commonest dementia known and affects people above the age of sixty-five and is the cause of dementia in two third of the patients.
Where Is Alzheimer’s Dementia Most Prevalent?
In North America eastern and south-eastern states have the highest prevalence of AD.6.7Million Americans are living with AD.[Source ] 10.7% of people above the age of 65 yrs has AD.
Two thirds of American patients with AD are women.
The estimated dementia prevalence for adults ages 60+ in India is 7.4%,
The sixth leading cause of death.10% of cases occur in less than sixty-five.
The problem of Alzheimer’s Disease
It’s a neurodegenerative disorder. That is your brain is affected and the brain cells called neurons die.
It is insidious in the onset and the damage is progressive. It affects behavior and cognitive functions. Memory, comprehension, language, attention, reasoning, and judgment may all be affected. The order and speed of the function affected may vary.
- Episodic short-term memory loss with relative sparing of long-term memory
- Impairment in problem-solving, judgment, executive functioning, lack of motivation, and disorganization, lead to problems with multitasking and abstract thinking. Language disorder
- Neuropsychiatric symptoms – apathy, social withdrawal, disinhibition, agitation, psychosis, and wandering ( mid to late stages).
- Difficulty performing learned motor tasks (dyspraxia), olfactory dysfunction, sleep disturbances, and extrapyramidal motor signs like dystonia, akathisia, and Parkinsonian symptoms occur late in the disease. This is followed by primitive reflexes, incontinence, and total dependence on caregivers.
The global prevalence of dementia is reported to be as high as 24 million and is predicted to increase 4 times by the year 2050.
What Happens to the Brain with Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Plaques have a core of extracellular amyloid beta-peptide which is surrounded by enlarged axonal endings. There is neuroinflammation in the brain
Risk Factors of AD
- Increasing age is a risk factor for early-onset dementia. is the most important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease.
- Head injury
- Depression
- Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease,
- Higher parental age,
- Smoking
- Genetics: Higher risk in those with a first-degree relative who suffers from dementia/ADTrisomy 21
- Increased homocysteine levels and
- Presence of APOE e4 alleles
What can you do? How can you Prevent or Reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease?
- Higher education
- Anti-inflammatory medicines
- Leisure activities: Recreational reading
- Playing musical instruments,
- Healthy diet,
- Regular aerobic exercise
Treatment: Alzheimer’s Disease Medication? What works?
Visit a Neurologist if you suspect your loved ones are showing symptoms of dementia. There is no such treatment at present but there is hope. Recent research in mice shows that targeting an enzyme BACE1 can “completely reverse” the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque in the brain the characteristic sign of AD . This gives us hope that there may be future scope for such treatment in humans (Source) .
Supportive and end-of-life care.
Vitamin D supplements (source ) since it has an anti-inflammatory neuro-protective effect and many people in the susceptible age group show deficiency of Vitamin D.
Omega three fatty acid supplements, fish rich in omega three, and olive oil all have a protective role in preventing the risk factors as well as AD.
Eating fresh and cooking at home keeps you safe from food additives in processed food that can increase risks.
Improve your Sleep Quality
Keep learning new things throughout your life to challenge your brain and for mental stimulation.
Updates in the horizon
The drug, Leqembi, targets amyloid plaques in patients’ brains, a key feature of the disease. Study data shows it may slow Alzheimer’s progression by 27% over 18 months .[Source]
A new finger prick test is in the pipeline for easy diagnosis of AD.[Source]
Timely use of Hearing Aid in those with Hearing loss and AD risk showed slower decline in neurocognitive function.
Promising Phase 3 Results for Alzheimer’s Drug Donanemab [Source ]
Hormone Replacement Therapy increases risk of AD two folds in women.[Source ]
Conflict of interest statement
The author declares no conflict of interest
Reference:
Alzheimer Disease Anil Kumar1; Jaskirat Sidhu2; Amandeep Goyal3; Jack W. Tsao4. Pubmed
Tang Y, Lutz MW, Xing Y. A systems-based model of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2019 Jan;15(1):168-171. [PubMed]2.
Zilberzwige-Tal S, Gazit E. Go with the Flow-Microfluidics Approaches for Amyloid Research. Chem Asian J. 2018 Nov 16;13(22):3437-3447. [PubMed]3.
Maccioni RB, González A, Andrade V, Cortés N, Tapia JP, Guzmán-Martínez L. Alzheimer´s Disease in the Perspective of Neuroimmunology. Open Neurol J. 2018;12:50-56. [PMC free article] [PubMed]
Blocking enzyme ‘dramatically reverses’ Alzheimer’s in mice https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320920
Vitamin D3-enriched diet correlates with a decrease of amyloid plaques in the brain of AβPP transgenic mice Jin Yu 1, Marco Gattoni-Celli, Hong Zhu, Narayan R Bhat, Kumar Sambamurti, Sebastiano Gattoni-Celli, Mark S Kindy [PubMed]
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease: potential beneficial effects of vitamin D Bruna R Kouba 1, Anderson Camargo 1, Ana Lúcia S Rodrigues 2 [PubMed]
The Vitamin D Receptor as a Potential Target for the Treatment of Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases Such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: A Narrative Review Władysław Lasoń 1, Danuta Jantas 1, Monika Leśkiewicz 1, Magdalena Regulska 1, Agnieszka Basta-Kaim [Pubmed]
Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2023: Presented July 18, 2023.
Lancet. Published online July 17, 2023. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01406-X/fulltext
FDA: “FDA Converts Novel Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment to Traditional Approval.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: “CMS announces plan to ensure availability of new Alzheimer’s drugs.”
JAMA Internal Medicine: “Estimated Annual Spending on Lecanemab and Its Ancillary Costs in the US Medicare Program.”
2023 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figure
Healthwealthbridge Disclaimer health information provided on this blog is for general awareness and doesn’t in any way replace a doctor’s professional medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor in case of any decision regarding your health, and diet.
That was really very informative
Thank you Pooja.
Comprehensive info on the subject.
Thank you.
Fortunately I don’t know anybody within my circle of friends or family who is affected by Alzheimer’s, but I have watched a documentary. The TV crew checked in on a woman every so often, and the decline we witnessed was heartbreaking. She always went for a walk, always the same route. One day she couldn’t find her way home any more. Her husband ended up picking her up at the police station. Her personality changed. At first it was kind of funny, she seemed more relaxed and a little silly, but then it turned into aggressiveness. Of course, inevitably at some point she didn’t recognize her family members anymore, the ones who cared for her every day.
Good to know that promising drugs are being developed.
That last part when they can’t remember loved ones is the saddest.Yes I hope more research is done .
It was so sad to watch my mom fade away from her body. It’s harder on their loved ones than the patient at times. My hope is that Alzheimer’s will only be a memory by the time Lia and her mom are older. Thank you for all this information
Yes we need a lot of research to prevent this happening to future generations.
This is really important information and I am so glad you are sharing it! I read recently that expers are beginning to think that there is a connection between alzheimers and diabetes. They were calling it diabetes 3?
The lifestyle diseases or NCDs are related in one way or another.
My mom passed away in late 2020 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for who knows how long. I think that she was in the middle stages when she was diagnosed. What a horrible and nightmarish disease! It was like she died twice. She went from a brilliant, well educated college professor to someone who could barely string together a sentence. It was awful to watch. We all felt very helpless. I hope that there can be some treatment that will put this terrible disease into remission. I really, really miss my mom.
I hope newer and better treatments appear. Thank you for sharing your feelings and my prayers with you Alice.I pray your mother is at peace now.
A comprehensive and well researched post. I appreciate that you’ve included preventative actions.
Thank you