According to statistics, there are at least 50 million Alzheimer's patients worldwide. By 2050, this number is expected to reach about 150 million [1]. my country is the country with the largest number of Alzheimer's disease patients in the world, with about 10 million. With the acceleration of population aging, it is estimated that by 2050, my country's patients will reach 40 million [2].
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer's disease is a disease of brain neurodegeneration. Patients have disorders in identifying people, things and things around them, causing a variety of cognitive problems. The onset process is very slow and will continue to worsen over time. The development of the disease is irreversible. It slowly and painfully takes away a person's ability to cognition, think, and act, making it unable to speak, eat, and find a way home normally, and will deteriorate intelligence and dignity fall to the bottom.
The pain caused by disease is not only physical fatigue for the family, but mental blows are the most unacceptable. After getting sick, the husband no longer knew his wife, the mother could not recognize his children, and finally even forgot who he was...
# The course of Alzheimer's disease:
early stage: often cannot find the things stored, start to lose temper, and language expression begins to be difficult;
mid-term: Forgot to have eaten, love The mood changes more frequently, and the speech begins to appear logically confusing;
HD: HDD, forget your relatives, forget yourself, emotional expression becomes more difficult, and you can't speak and express it at all...
Several facts about Alzheimer's disease...
NO.1 Alzheimer's disease cannot be cured
1906, German neuropathologist Alzheimer's first reported a 51-year-old female patient with progressive dementia. In 1910, the disease was named Alzheimer's disease.
Now more than 100 years have passed, and the medical community still has not fully understood the cause of the disease, nor has it cured. In drug treatment, medication is mainly used based on the patient's symptoms of dementia, such as drugs that improve cognitive ability, drugs that relieve mental mood, etc.
NO.2 Everyone may get Alzheimer's disease
High school Epidemiological survey results show that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in my country is 5.14% to 7.3%, and the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment is as high as 20.8% [3]. The older the age, the higher the prevalence. If you are over 80 years old, one-quarter to one-third of the elderly suffer from illness.
and relevant research data show that Alzheimer's disease can also cause people aged 40, 50 or even 30 to get sick, which is medically called early onset Alzheimer's disease. Statistics show that there are 5.2 million Alzheimer's disease patients in the United States, including 5 million elderly patients and more than 200,000 patients with early onset [4].
NO.3 Alzheimer's disease is the "most expensive" disease in the world.
Unlike other diseases, Alzheimer's disease not only requires high drug costs, but also requires professional nanny care. The family may also need to stay behind and take care of the patient around the clock to avoid patients getting lost, conflicts with others, and injuries. Take the United States as an example. Every 5 yuan of medical insurance costs is used for Alzheimer's patients, which is the most expensive disease in the world.
NO.4 Alzheimer's disease will not cause death, but only complications will be
Studies have shown that Alzheimer's disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the elderly after tumors, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease.Because current treatment methods cannot effectively curb the progress of Alzheimer's disease, even if treated, the condition will gradually progress. In the late stage, patients cannot take care of themselves and eventually fall into a coma. They usually die from complications, such as lung infection , pressure ulcers and deep vein thrombosis , etc. From diagnosis to death, the disease course usually takes about 5 to 10 years. Therefore, it is particularly important to strengthen nursing care for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
NO.5 Alzheimer's disease does not mean natural aging
When the elderly experience memory decline and forget some things, many families, including the elderly, will mistake the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for natural aging, which is normal forgetfulness, but the facts are not certain. Benevolent forgetfulness is a reaction to physiological changes in the elderly. The reason for forgetting things is often that attention is easily distracted and not concentrated enough; while the memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease is much more serious, and even if you focus, you cannot remember things. Benevolent forgetfulness is mainly manifested as near memory or immediate memory loss. For example, if you think about going home to get the key a few minutes ago, you forget it after a few minutes; patients with Alzheimer's disease have also reduced distant memory or delayed memory on this basis. Not only can't remember what is in front of you, but you also forget everything a few years ago.
A battle with time, what we can do is...
In fact, Alzheimer's disease begins to have symptoms and reactions in middle age. If it is discovered and intervened early, it may delay and control the development of the disease. Generally, for middle-aged and elderly people, early prevention can be carried out in the following aspects:
NO.1 Exercise exercise
Hydraulic exercise regularly can improve the health of the circulation system, promote enough oxygen to supply the brain, and keep brain cells metabolized vigorously. In addition, hand exercise is a benign stimulation to the brain and can increase cerebral blood flow , so the elderly should frequently move their fingers.
NO.2 Use the brain frequently.
Medical research shows that when a person is old, the brain will also shrink, and in severe cases, symptoms such as forgetfulness and dementia will appear. Regular use of the brain and play intellectual games can effectively stimulate the brain nerves to remain active and play a role in preventing brain function degeneration.
NO.3 Avoid falling
clinical and epidemiological studies have confirmed that severe brain trauma may be one of the causes of Alzheimer's disease. The elderly are prone to falling due to their reduced mobility. For the elderly who have hypertension and coronary heart disease , falling is extremely harmful and can easily lead to stroke .
NO.4 Maintain a good attitude
When preventing Alzheimer's disease, you also need to control underlying diseases to ensure the normality of blood pressure, blood lipids and blood sugar, and at the same time avoid emotional fluctuations. If the elderly are often angry and no one can talk about it, they are prone to autism and depression. In addition, the body has chronic diseases, and anger often becomes the "fuse" that ultimately causes Alzheimer's disease.
References:
[1] "2019 China Alzheimer's Disease Family Survival Status Research Report"
[2] Li Siqi, Zhao Yishuang, Zhang Yumei. Application of artificial intelligence in the assessment and rehabilitation of post-stroke cognitive impairment [J]. Chinese Medical Journal. 2019, (10).1066-1070.DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1008-1070.2019.10.008.
[3]Shinako Inaida, et al.,(2020). Evidence-based prevention of Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of 243 observational prospective studies and 153 randomised controlled trials. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2019-321913.
[4]Reisberg B, Gauthier S. Current evidence for subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) as the pre-mild
