IS IT ALZHEIMER’S?

By Shaileen Hathaway

Everybody has moments of forgetfulness: you can’t remember where you put your keys, or a person’s name just eludes you. Like many others, you may wonder “Am I getting Alzheimer’s Disease?” The likelihood of this brief forgetfulness being Alzheimer’s Disease is very low. Age-related memory changes are very common. Any changes, however, should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

The Alzheimer’s Association describes the difference in symptoms between Alzheimer’s Disease and normal age-related memory changes as: “Someone with Alzheimer’s Disease forgets entire experiences, rarely remembers later, is gradually unable to use notes as reminders, and is gradually unable to care for self. In contrast, a person with normal age-related memory changes can forget part of an experience, often remembers later, is usually able to follow written/spoken directions, is usually able to use notes as reminders, and is usually able to care for self.” In other words, with normal age-related memory changes, you can’t remember where you put the keys, or that person’s name, but with Alzheimer’s Disease, you wouldn’t remember that you had keys, or having even met that person.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a brain disorder that was first diagnosed in 1906 by a German physician named Alois Alzheimer. One of his patients, Frau Auguste D., was noted in 1901 to have severe memory loss, personality changes, difficulty with comprehension and communication, and eventually loss of physical functioning. After her death in 1906, Dr. Alzheimer performed an autopsy and found significant shrinkage of her brain. He also noted fatty deposits in her brain, tangles of brain cells, and abnormal deposits, or plaques, around the cells.

Dr. Alzheimer’s study was published in 1907, and in 1910 the disease was recognized as a particular brain disorder. The disease was then named after Dr. Alzheimer. Currently, more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s Disease, which is the most common form of dementia. Each year, the number grows.

Although there are drugs, which can temporarily slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, there is currently no cure. The disease is always fatal. Plaques and tangles continue to form in the brains of those suffering from the disease, causing continual deterioration of memory, physical functioning, and behavioral changes.

People in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease can often be cared for safely in their homes by family caregivers. Supplemental assistance can be provided by a local home care agency. As the disease advances, however, many people with Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias have better quality of life in a secure Alzheimer’s Dementia Unit in an assisted living or nursing home setting.

One such unit exists at Marathon Healthcare Center of Springfield, 370 Pine Street, Springfield. Their secured Alzheimer’s Dementia Unit has a Nationally Certified Program Director, Kathleen Cordonna. She has designed an environment and programming especially conducive to the memory-impaired resident. She has given intensive staff training, and has implemented a recreational and care program that is therapeutic for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and other related dementias.

The Alzheimer’s Association has put together a list of 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease. They are as follows:

1. Memory Loss

(unable to recall information later)

2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks

3. Problems with language

4. Disorientation to time and place

5. Poor or decreased judgment

6. Problems with abstract thinking

7. Misplacing things

8. Changes in mood or behavior

9. Changes in personality

10. Loss of initiative

If you or a loved one has these warning signs, contact your physician for further guidance. For more information regarding Alzheimer’s Disease, please contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 413-787-1113 or Marathon Healthcare Center of Springfield at 413-731-5318.