Thanks to the medical and pharmaceutical direction of Novartis-Venezuela S.A. by the edition of this
Guide of Dementia Alzheimer:
for Relatives and patients , free circulation, with a content very clear, precise and simple in order to guide people who must handle daily situations relative with Alzheimer disease. If any of my readers like more information from
Novartis Venezuela, can contact with them through following telephone number: (58212) 273.22.22 that they with taste will take care you.
A summary of published text in this guide: The disease of Alzheimer is considered the most common cause of irreversible Dementia in adult people. As the Dementia is defined: Diminution of the intellectual capacity of a mentally mature person, affecting superiors cerebral functions multiple and altering the memory, the judgment and the abstract reasoning, does not alter the level of brings back to consciousness and it can to cause changes in the personality. When it becomes more severe gets to interfere with his social and labor life. The first person who described this disease was Alois Alzheimer in 1907.
Group of symptoms and Diagnosis of Dementia: The family is the first whom noticing the following symptoms in the person : Stupidity to carry out daily tasks. The person declare to feel confused with lost of the recent memory, being this the most constant data in his behavior. Constant preoccupation but pretend to have a normal life, which ends at a feeling of insecurity and increasing anxiety. In his behavior it excels the apathy and the frequent changes of humor. If you have noticed the presence of the symptoms above indicated, you does not worry early, it is only good that you take the person to the consultation of a specialist and then he can begin to determine criteria to conform the diagnosis.
Evolution of the disease: Rare is that the disease of Alzheimer affects people smaller than 40 years of age and the incidence of the disease increases forward of the 65 years of age. Like peculiar data, the patient does not die of Alzheimer but of the added sufferings derivatives of his situation of being in bed in the last stages of his disease, increasing the cardiac and respiratory failures, and risk of pneumonia . Three phases in the evolution of this disease can be reading down:
Phase 1: Emotional Changes with irritability, loss of general interest and diminution in the yield. Intellectual change indicated by loss of the daily recent memory which brings to him consequently in the manifest difficulty to orient itself in the space mainly in sites unknown for the patient. In this first stage is good that the family obtain suitable medical information and to maintain a closed surveillance of its relative. Phase 2 accentuates the alterations, especially the memory. It begins to fail the language: the person give roundups to be able to say something, continuous repetitions of already expressed, difficulty to find the word suitable . It indicates alterations of behavior: vague by the house, it manipulates objects continuously, it has difficulty to even recognize what sees (visual ignorance), confusing objects, people and places, causing true problems and serious dangers for his physical integrity. In this phase a continuous monitoring of the patient is recommended. Phase 3: Notices an appreciable deterioration of the language, disappearing the spontaneous speech. It makes continuous repetitions to the person who hears him. Well-known its real difficulty to include the language, looks for the suitable word and it does not obtain it. It has also made worse his visual capacity (visual ignorance). Their voluntary movements are altered: the patient practically does not speak, does not know to move his body (to walk, to eat). At emotional level, the patient can cry and laugh without apparent reason. During the final stage of these sufferings, the general medical and of infirmary attention becomes necessary due to the presented displayed complications. The Treatment: At the moment does not exist a curative treatment, only exist drugs that slightly diminish the advance of the deterioration. Some of drugs go directed to the treatment of the behavioural symptoms, such as: depressive mood, agitation, anxiety, or alterations of the dream and are only used under the medical prescription, when the non pharmacological treatment is not effective. Also exist others drugs that acting on the neurotransmitters to help that the patient maintains his intellectual operation by greater time. The person who is in charge of the care and continuous company of the patient can make much to restrain a little the progress of the intellectual deterioration and to improve the quality of life of the patient. What do we do after the diagnosis? They will inform us about the special cares and needs from patient. In this moment will be necessary to take an important solution: a. It assumes the care a relative, b. It is delegated to a specialized institution. The two are equal of effective. Nevertheless, if the care is assumed by a relative, there is a point in favor of the patient since it maintains his natural environment.