http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/ As you are considering the information on the sit

Question

http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/

As you are considering the information on the site, please notice and then comment in your posting on the symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease that you notice in both the patients themselves as well as their caregivers and family members. Then, take your thoughts one step further and consider the treatments (loosely defined so that you can discuss medications and societal services) that are currently available for these folks. What are the limits of these treatments? What biases/prejudices may be active in the implementation of these treatments (or just how older folks are treated in our society)? Finally, how would you want things to be for yourself when you are older and may be facing typical aging issues and/or more significant symptoms of dementia?

Explanation / Answer

The symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease are divided into following:

- Cognitive : confusion, delusion, mental decline, difficulty in understanding and thinking, not being able to make new memories, difficulty in concentration, not being able to recognise simple and common things.

- Behavioural: patients may be seen to possess the following : irritations, agitation, aggression, getting lost, repetition of words Without any purpose

- mood : mood swings with the sense of being lonely, anger, discontented in every thing

- may show restlessness, depression, hallucinations, loss of appetite, paranoia

Treatments and their limits.

There is no complete cure of Alzheimer's as of now, though doctors can help in maintaining some amount of cognitive functions that can help in complete loss of functions or may help in delay of symptoms. There are risk factors, but by taking into account healthy choices, one can reduce the impact of this disease. Regular exe, good and healthy eating habits, maintenance of healthy weight and appropriate blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Some drugs like Razadyne, exelon, memantine, namzaric can help in mitigating the effects of Alzheimer's from mild to severe stages of the disease.

What biases/prejudices may be active in the implementation of these treatments

- people may start to lose friendship as friends might tend to avoid such patients who are difficult to handle

- people believe that these patients might become overly violent and aggressive.

- there's a myth underlying Alzheimer's that it is very normal when a person ages and is bound to happen.

- people think that once someone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's they cannot live a life that is better than miserable. But the fact lies, that even after diagnosing, with proper treatments and therapies, life can be not as bad as is perceived by the society.

Finally, when I'm suffering from any such condition, I would want full support from at least my family, children (if any) and the closest of my friends who have been with me through thick and thin. Also, I would want them to look at me beyond these prejudices as the person who I was.

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