From: drarwingnuttephd@gmail.com   
      
   How can we tell if a parent has Alzheimer's disease?   
      
   Written by Kathy Lawrence   
      
   DEMENTIA ALZHEIMER'S MENTAL HEALTH MEMORY   
      
      
   How can we tell if a parent have Alzheimer's diseaseDementia is a frightening   
   prospect. How can we tell if our parents have it? Could we get it? Are there   
   any treatments? We've been talking to Re:Cognition Health, the "brain health   
   experts", about    
   diagnosis and drug trials.   
      
   In the first of two parts we look at how we can know if it's time to worry and   
   what steps to take.   
      
   We start with a few definitions.   
      
   Dementia and Alzheimer's disease are not the same   
      
   People often use the terms dementia and Alzheimer's disease interchangeably.   
   They're not quite the same.   
      
   Dementia is an umbrella term that describes the outcome of a number of   
   diseases, one of which is Alzheimer's. There's also vascular dementia, caused   
   by an interruption of blood supply to the brain. Other common causes of   
   dementia include Lewy Body    
   disease and a whole raft of rarer causes such as encephalitis, CJD and   
   syphilis, to name a few.   
      
   Just to complicate the issue, these causes don't exist in isolation. It's   
   quite possible that someone is living with a mix of Alzheimer's disease and   
   vascular dementia, both with their own symptoms and treatments.   
      
   Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment are not the same   
      
   Getting forgetful happens to us all. We start to lose the ability to instantly   
   recall people's names as early as our 30s. And it is perfectly normal to   
   experience embarrassing incidents such as "Why did I come upstairs?" This is   
   just due to a lack of    
   concentration.   
      
   More concerning is experiencing a condition known as mild cognitive impairment   
   (MCI).   
   This occurs when we are aware we are having difficulty with our memory and   
   other executive abilities that is greater than expected for our age and level   
   of education, but which does not interfere with our normal everyday activities.   
      
   This is important as more than 60% of people experiencing this do develop   
   symptoms of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease over the next three years.   
      
   However, there are plenty of other causes of mild impairment of our cognitive   
   function, including depression, recreational drugs, dysphasia, delirium,   
   infections such as sepsis and pneumonia - and just ageing. Alzheimer's disease   
   is just one possibility    
   on this list, but as we grow older it becomes the most common cause.   
      
   Symptoms of the early stages of Alzheimer's disease   
      
   Diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease is not easy. If your parent appears to   
   have MCI then it's important to rule out the other potential causes.   
      
   Once that's done it's time to look at whether the impairment is actually   
   affecting their ability to cope. Even that must be tempered. If someone is   
   trying to learn how to fill in a tax return for the first time at the age of   
   75 and fails, that's not    
   necessarily Alzheimer's disease. It's just age.   
      
   However, if they're starting to struggle to do things that used to be easy,   
   that may be a sign. It's the Christmas dinner test. If someone used to be able   
   to create a meal with all the components ready at the same time but now can't   
   make it happen, that    
   could be Alzheimer's disease at work. If someone is unknowingly repeating the   
   same stories or forgetting what you told them very recently, this is of   
   concern.   
      
   Alzheimer's disease generally doesn't affect personality until very late in   
   the day, so if your parent is showing signs of aggression that may point to a   
   different path such as vascular dementia.   
      
   Perhaps the most important capability that Alzheimer's disease takes away is   
   insight. This means that people with the disease will not be aware that   
   there's anything wrong, so persuading them that there is a problem and they   
   should see a doctor will not    
   be easy.   
      
   Getting medical advice   
      
   If and when your parent does agree to see a GP then you or someone else who   
   knows them well should go with them. That's because the loss of insight will   
   mean your parent won't be able to accurately answer questions about where   
   they're struggling.   
      
   If the GP agrees that there is a possibility of Alzheimer's disease they will   
   refer your parent to a consultant. Be aware thought that because the diagnosis   
   is so hard to make you may need to argue the case if you are convinced that   
   something is not    
   right.   
      
   A consultation should look at both mental capacity and medical history. You'll   
   be able to answer questions about changes in insight and behaviour as well as   
   whether there have been changes in physical capabilities such as walking,   
   speech and use of    
   language. Medical history such as strokes and heart are also important.   
      
   In some cases an "amyloid" scan can clarify whether Alzheimer's disease is   
   present or not. These scans aren't currently available on the NHS and cost   
   around £2000 privately.   
      
   The earlier the diagnosis, the better the effect of treatment. Recent advances   
   in medical imaging allow doctors to make a diagnosis or Alzheimer's disease   
   while the individual has only mild symptoms of cognitive impairment. That's a   
   very significant step    
   forward from the situation just a few years ago when Alzheimer's disease could   
   only be diagnosed when one had developed advanced symptoms of dementia.   
      
   In the second part of this article (coming next week) we look at the efficacy   
   of treatments currently available, drugs now being trialled, and whether   
   testing is worthwhile if there's no cure.   
      
   http://www.whentheygetolder.co.uk/how-can-we-tell-if-a-parent-ha   
   -alzheimers-disease/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)