Education Daily

When the topic of dementia is brought up, the discussion will invariably turn towards Alzheimer's disease; it has in fact become the most discussed of all types of dementia amongst health professionals and the public. Alzheimer's disease gradually causes deterioration in the memory and is currently affecting one in ten of people aged 65 and over; the problem in the past has been the accuracy of diagnosis which has gradually improved and is now up to 94 percent accurate. Discovered in 1906 by German physician Alois Alzheimer, the world's focus on this disease is only about 30 years old; despite a great deal of scientific investigation, not that much is known about this awful disorder.Getting older is the main risk surrounding Alzheimer's according to research. Often, a person experiencing their first signs of Alzheimer's is unable or unwilling to admit it to themselves or anyone else; this can be difficult for friends and relations who do not know what the problem is.General measures for treatment of Alzheimer's disease are the same as for all dementias. Despite the studies, there is no permanent treatment for the condition but there are a number of drugs which can help with the condition. Most Alzheimer's disease sufferers will be prescribed one of the following drugs Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine; all of these have been shown to improve the cognition by about half a year.  These studies might just improve  medical school rankings .Memantine is a new drug that slows deterioration during the later stages and is a derivative of the decades old anti-influenza drug Amantadine; this new drug is used on patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's already receiving Donepezil. Fortunately, Memantine has few side effects and so far it is the only drug that has proved to be of real benefit to patients with severe symptoms; because four fifths of it is passed out in urine unchanged by the kidneys, patients do not risk having their bodies retaining it in large quantities.Alzheimer's disease is considered to be a major public health challenge because the average age of the industrialized world's population is increasing. it is a major cause of death in America. It is not just the human cost of Alzheimer's that has to be taken into consideration but also the monetary costs surrounding long term care; the annual cost of treatment and care for sufferers is in excess of 40 billion dollars and is expected to rise well beyond this in the future. Last year alone, the National Institute on Aging spent nearly one-half of its funding on research related to this insidious disease; there are currently hundreds of substances being tested for treatments around the world.Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is one proven method you can use to reduce the risks of contracting dementia. Some researchers into the disease have found that patients who are happy and healthy with Alzheimer's, slow down the rate of their mental decline. Fortunately this disease is still mainly affecting people over the age of 60; incidents of younger victims contracting the condition do occur, although these are rare.