Alzheimer may refer to:
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Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is severe enough to affect daily functioning. Other common symptoms include emotional problems, difficulties with language, and a decrease in motivation. Consciousness is usually not affected. A diagnosis of dementia requires a change from a person's usual mental functioning and a greater decline than one would expect due to aging. These diseases have a significant effect on caregivers.
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of dementia accompanied by changes in sleep, behavior, cognition, movement, and automatic bodily functions. Memory loss is not always an early symptom. The disease worsens over time and is usually diagnosed when cognitive decline interferes with normal daily functioning. Together with Parkinson's disease dementia, DLB is one of the two Lewy body dementias. It is a common form of dementia, but the number of people affected is not known accurately and many diagnoses are missed. The disease was first described by Kenji Kosaka in 1976.
Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain, typically a series of minor strokes, leading to worsening cognitive decline that occurs step by step. The term refers to a syndrome consisting of a complex interaction of cerebrovascular disease and risk factors that lead to changes in the brain structures due to strokes and lesions, and resulting changes in cognition. The temporal relationship between a stroke and cognitive deficits is needed to make the diagnosis.
Lewy body dementia is an umbrella term that encompasses two similar dementias, both of which are characterized by abnormal deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein in the brain:
The frontotemporal dementias (FTD) encompass six types of dementia involving the frontal or temporal lobes. They are: behavioral variant of FTD, semantic variant primary progressive aphasia, nonfluent agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia, corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, and FTD associated with motor neuron disease.
Donepezil, sold as the trade name Aricept among others, is a medication used to treat Alzheimer's disease. It appears to result in a small benefit in mental function and ability to function. Use, however, has not been shown to change the progression of the disease. Treatment should be stopped if no benefit is seen. It is taken by mouth.
Memantine is a medication used to treat moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. It is less preferred than acetylcholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil. Treatment should only be continued if beneficial effects are seen. It is taken by mouth.
Diseases of affluence, previously called diseases of rich people, is a term sometimes given to selected diseases and other health conditions which are commonly thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society. Also referred to as the "Western disease" paradigm, these diseases are in contrast to so-called "diseases of poverty", which largely result from and contribute to human impoverishment. These diseases of affluence have vastly increased in prevalence since the end of World War II.
Alzheimer's Society is a United Kingdom care and research charity for people with dementia and their carers. It operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while its sister charities Alzheimer Scotland and Alzheimer's Society of Ireland cover Scotland and the Republic of Ireland respectively.
Pick's disease is a specific pathology that is one of the causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. It is also known as Pick disease and PiD. A defining characteristic of the disease is build-up of tau proteins in neurons, accumulating into silver-staining, spherical aggregations known as "Pick bodies". Common symptoms noticed early are personality and emotional changes and deterioration of language.
Memory disorders are the result of damage to neuroanatomical structures that hinders the storage, retention and recollection of memories. Memory disorders can be progressive, including Alzheimer's disease, or they can be immediate including disorders resulting from head injury.
Organic brain syndrome, also known as organic brain disease, organic brain disorder, organic mental syndrome, or organic mental disorder, refers to any syndrome or disorder of mental function whose cause is alleged to be known as organic (physiologic) rather than purely of the mind. These names are older and nearly obsolete general terms from psychiatry, referring to many physical disorders that cause impaired mental function. They are meant to exclude psychiatric disorders. Originally, the term was created to distinguish physical causes of mental impairment from psychiatric disorders, but during the era when this distinction was drawn, not enough was known about brain science for this cause-based classification to be more than educated guesswork labeled with misplaced certainty, which is why it has been deemphasized in current medicine. While mental or behavioural abnormalities related to the dysfunction can be permanent, treating the disease early may prevent permanent damage in addition to fully restoring mental functions. An organic cause to brain dysfunction is suspected when there is no indication of a clearly defined psychiatric or "inorganic" cause, such as a mood disorder.
Tauopathy belongs to a class of neurodegenerative diseases involving the aggregation of tau protein into neurofibrillary or gliofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in the human brain. Tangles are formed by hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule protein known as tau, causing the protein to dissociate from microtubules and form insoluble aggregates.. The mechanism of tangle formation is not well understood, and whether tangles are a primary cause of Alzheimer's disease or play a peripheral role is unknown.
Alzheimer Disease International (ADI), was founded in 1984 to help to fight Alzheimer's disease, first diagnosed back in 1906. ADI is the umbrella organisation of more than 100 Alzheimer’s associations around the world. Each member supports people with dementia and their families in their country. ADI's vision is an improved quality of life for people with dementia and their families throughout the world.
Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) is the United Kingdom's leading dementia research charity, founded in 1992 as the Alzheimer's Research Trust.
As populations age, caring for people with dementia has become more common. Elderly caregiving may consist of formal care and informal care. Formal care involves the services of community and medical partners, while informal care involves the support of family, friends, and local communities, but more often from spouses, adult children and other relatives. In most mild to medium cases of dementia, the caregiver is a family member, usually a spouse or adult child. Over time more professional care in the form of nursing and other supportive care may be required, whether at home or in a long term care facility. There is evidence that case management can improve care for individuals with dementia and the experience of their caregivers. Furthermore, case management may reduce overall cost and institutional care in the medium term.
Alzheimer's disease (AD), also referred to simply as Alzheimer's, is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gradually worsens over time. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation, mood swings, loss of motivation, not managing self-care, and behavioural issues. As a person's condition declines, they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually, bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary, the typical life expectancy following diagnosis is three to nine years.
Cholinesterase inhibitors, also known as anti-cholinesterase, are chemicals that prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine or butyrylcholine. This increases the amount of the acetylcholine or butyrylcholine in the synaptic cleft that can bind to muscarinic receptors, nicotinic receptors and others. This group of inhibitors are divided into two subgroups, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitors.
Rivastigmine is a cholinesterase inhibitor used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's. The drug can be administered orally or via a transdermal patch; the latter form reduces the prevalence of side effects, which typically include nausea and vomiting.
Giovanna Mallucci is van Geest Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge in England and Associate Director of the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Cambridge. She is a specialist in neurodegenerative diseases.