A friend chatted with Hua Zi about Alzheimer’s disease. Where did this disease come from and how to treat it with medication? Huazi said that Alzheimer’s disease (also known as Alzheimer’s disease) is a difficult disease, and the real cause has not been elucidated, so there is no specific treatment method.
Alzheimer’s dementia can be treated with drugs, but the drugs used are only maintenance treatment, which can only improve the symptoms and delay the progress of the disease as much as possible, but cannot be completely cured.
I. Dementia of unknown etiology
Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system that occurs in old age. The main symptoms are cognitive impairment and behavioral impairment. Memory loss is the core symptom. In the early stage of the disease, it is manifested as forgetfulness and decreased learning ability. For example, learning new functions on mobile phones will be forgotten soon after learning, and repeated learning will cause repeated forgetting.
As the disease progresses, short-term memory loss occurs first, followed by long-term memory loss. Spatial obstacles may arise, such as not finding my way home. Personality also changes, with symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, and suspicion. If it develops to severe disease, there will be cries and laughter, loss of language ability, and inability to take care of yourself in life.
The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet clear, and related studies have found that the cause of the disease may be a combination of genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors the result of. Some run in families, and if a parent develops Alzheimer’s before the age of 65, there is a high chance that their offspring will also develop the disease.
People with head trauma, chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, sedentary, smoking, long-term lack of sleep, high-fat diet, too little social interaction, etc. factors that may increase the risk of dementia. But these risk factors are controllable and can be targeted to improve to reduce the probability of disease.
Second, memory loss is not necessarily Alzheimer’s
It should be noted that after entering old age, brain nerves will degenerate, and forgetfulness will inevitably occur. Forgetfulness that does not interfere with normal life is a normal condition of the elderly, but when there is difficulty concentrating, memory and thinking ability, or hallucinations or hallucinations that interfere with normal life, seek medical attention immediately .
The department of diagnosis is neurology, and large hospitals may have more specialized “memory clinics” and “cognitive disorders specialists”. It is necessary to do head CT or MRI, EEG, blood and urine routine, as well as neuropsychological analysis, syndrome manifestations and examination results, and pay attention to distinguish whether there are dementia symptoms caused by stroke, Parkinson’s and other diseases.
Three, the drug treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
The cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, but at onset the neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) in the brain is markedly reduced. Therefore, the use of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors to reduce the hydrolysis of acetylcholine and increase the level of transmitters can enhance the function of synaptic transmission and significantly improve symptoms. Such commonly used drugs include donepezil, rivastigmine, and huperzine A.
A growing body of research suggests that hyperglutamatergic neurotransmitter dysfunction can also contribute to dementia symptoms and disease progression. Memantine is a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist that can modulate glutamate activity and can also be used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
Brain nerve cell rehabilitation drugs can promote the metabolism of brain cells and increase the function of brain cells, can also be used for the treatment of senile dementia. Commonly used drugs are oxiracetam, piracetam, aniracetam and so on.
If Alzheimer’s patients have psychiatric symptoms, such as hallucinations, delusions, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, etc., they also need to use antipsychotics and antidepressants Get treatment.
What we need to understand is that Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable disease, and drugs used to improve symptoms and slow the progression of the disease do not stop the disease. The course of Alzheimer’s disease is about 5 to 10 years, and eventually the patient will lose the ability to move and develop complications such as serious lung infection, urinary tract infection and pressure ulcer, which are life-threatening.
To sum up, the cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown and cannot be cured, but with drug treatment, symptoms can be improved. Maintaining a healthy living state and interacting with people can effectively prevent the occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease. The medicine should be used under the guidance of a doctor. If you have any doubts about the medicine, please consult your doctor or pharmacist. I am Huazi, a pharmacist. Welcome to follow me and share more health knowledge.