Alzheimer: an illness not as the other

Home

Alzheimer! There is a name that, since more of about ten years, resound to the ear of all as the illness of all dangers, of all fears.

How to explain such a phenomenon, whereas the numbers show us that his frequency in the ages current of life is all things considered very relative.

Maybe it is necessary to look for the explanation of it in the important ageing of our society that, in less than one century, saw to double his life expectancy. The counterpart is clear: the cerebral changes of the ageing appeared in broad daylight. Thus, Alzheimer's illness took all stigmata of it, because it grows with age.

It is the reason for which it crystallizes the anguishes around a theme that touches each among us.

The frequencies of apparition of the illness are of:

5 to 7% enter 65 and 79 years;
20% at the more of 80 years;
32% at the more of 90 years .

Of not so insignificant the signs that it!

In a first time, the patient is reached of unrest of the memory. An oblivion of the recent events, of the familiar names, then some old facts alert the topic or one of his family's members. Progressively, the patient loses the sense of time and the space; the rhythm jour/nuit reverses itself. Very quickly, he works hard to express themselves, because the words miss to him and his sentences become disjointed.

A slow evolution but certain

Progressively, the deficit becomes more pronounced and the unrests concern the displacements, the autonomy, the gestures of the current life. The patient makes a mistake of journey, repeat the same histories, don't manage anymore to make operate the domestic devices, to count his money, etc. The evolution of the illness is handicapping and can possibly put the person in danger. Thus, oblivions and losses of memory, mistakes of the daily life, coexist with periods of conscience.

It is a very agonizing situation for the patient. The anxiety is of as much more marked that his relation to the world is altered: the conversation becomes laborious, because the person forgets what she wants to say, is incapable to value the consequences of his acts and becomes impulsive. A phase of depression, indifference or distrust marked can occur then. More the illness evolves, more the symptoms are exacerbated. The patient can also have reactions of panic that drive it to shout, to cry or to become violent to express his suffering.

A diagnosis of elimination

The diagnosis of illness of Alzheimer cannot be affirmed in a formal way. In a first time, the practitioner should distinguish the likely illness of Alzheimer of the other illnesses, that can provoke the same symptoms, and are possibly curable. The physician will be able to achieve many exams therefore, in particular an electroencephalogram, a scanner and an analysis of the liquid céphalorachidien gotten by lumbar puncture. He will make the patient of the tests pass particular, so-called psychométriques also, (drawings, reproductions of gestures, motor sequences) that will permit to follow the evolution of the illness.

Medical treatment and comportemental: of progress to accomplish

Since some years, some medicines are used to fight against Alzheimer's illness. They permit to improve the quality of life of the patient, to decrease the symptoms of the illness, sometimes to slow down his evolution. But they don't treat his reasons, that are again known pain. He seems that a precocious treatment is more efficient. It is therefore important to evoke the diagnosis of illness of Alzheimer sufficiently early.

Of new capable medicines not only to slow down the illness but especially to stop it are currently the object of research. In any case, the hold in load psycho-comportementale, centered on the memory and on socialization, is indispensable. These exercises make themselves in collaboration with the spouse or the near, so that they can pursue the proposed exercises at home.

Alzheimer's illness requires multiple helps. These can come of the family in a first time. This one plays a very important role because it is on her that the quality of the environment of which depends the patient's well-being rests. Thereafter, the specialized institutions will be able to put at the disposal of these patients a competent staff, knowing to stimulate the cognitive capacities of the patients and to face the possible crises. Finally, it is not necessary to forget the importance of the associations that will inform the patient and his family as completely as possible.

2009-03-03