How is Alzheimer's disease treated?

Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
Updated on September 11, 2024
00:00
00:00

Senile dementia, also known as Alzheimer's disease, is the most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide. The pathogenesis of this disease is not particularly clear so far and may be related to genetic and environmental factors. Multiple factors act on neurons causing irreversible and progressive death of neuronal cells. Currently, the treatment of this disease mainly includes two aspects. The first aspect is general treatment, mainly including family care. Family members must pay attention to the care of the patient, prevent the patient from accidentally wandering off, prevent the patient from falling, and prevent some accidents that cause injuries. In addition, it is important for the patient to listen to music, interact with others, and exercise more, all of which can delay the progression of senile dementia. The second aspect is pharmacological treatment, mainly using drugs that inhibit the reduction of acetylcholine. These drugs can increase the content of acetylcholine and improve the cognitive functions of patients to a certain extent, but so far, these treatments cannot reverse senile dementia.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
1min 13sec home-news-image

Care measures for dementia in the elderly

Dementia in the elderly is the most common neurodegenerative disease in neurology, mainly referring to the irreversible death of neuronal cells caused by various reasons, which poses a significant clinical hazard and lacks effective treatment methods. Therefore, nursing measures become very important. The main nursing measures include, First, ensuring the patient's nutrition. In the later stages, elderly patients may have no regular diet and cannot take care of themselves. Therefore, ensuring sufficient energy intake and enough protein intake is very important. Malnutrition can easily lead to various complications, leading to the patient's death. Second, it's important to equip elderly people with commonly used contact numbers and addresses in their pockets to prevent them from getting lost and creating dangerous situations. Third, when elderly people are at home, it is crucial to keep the kitchen door closed to prevent them from turning on the gas and forgetting to turn it off. Fourth, patients with dementia are prone to lung infections after becoming bedridden. If bedridden, it is important to frequently turn them over and pat their back to prevent the onset of lung infections.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
1min 4sec home-news-image

What to do about senile dementia?

When dementia occurs in the elderly, there is a noticeable decline in cognitive function. Initially, it is important to identify the cause of the dementia; some cerebrovascular diseases can also cause dementia. For example, cerebral infarction in certain specific areas of the brain can lead to dementia if it affects the intelligence center. For dementia caused by these reasons, it is recommended to treat with antithrombotic medications, including antiplatelet aggregation drugs and brain cell protective medications. Additionally, if the dementia is caused by Alzheimer's disease, close care is needed to prevent incidents like the patient getting lost. It is advisable to write contact numbers in the pockets of their clothes and administer acetylcholinesterase inhibitors to increase the levels of acetylcholine in the brain, which can improve cognitive function to a certain extent. (Note: This answer is for reference only. Medication should be prescribed and managed under the guidance of a professional physician, and self-medication should be avoided.)

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
1min 9sec home-news-image

Causes of Alzheimer's Disease in the Elderly

The causes of dementia in the elderly are not currently completely clear. Dementia in the elderly is mainly divided into familial and sporadic types. Familial dementia shows autosomal dominant inheritance, which is caused by a gene mutation on chromosome 21 leading to the accumulation of some toxins, resulting in the death of neurons and causing dementia fundamentally due to genetic mutations. However, most cases of dementia are sporadic and do not have a clear family history. The mechanisms and reasons for disease onset are not particularly clear. Some believe that abnormalities in cerebral vascular function may lead to neuronal cell functional disorders, resulting in decreased ability to clear certain cell toxins, thus leading to neuronal apoptosis and death, and consequently impaired cognitive functions. In addition, factors such as oxidative stress, inflammatory mechanisms, excessive fatigue, and emergency stress may also cause cell death. Overall, the causes of dementia in the elderly are not particularly clear.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
46sec home-news-image

Early signs of dementia

Dementia in the elderly, mainly refers to Alzheimer's disease. Early signs of this condition may manifest as some forgetfulness. For example, a patient might forget to add salt while cooking, or forget to bring their keys when leaving the house. These clinical signs should be highly alarming and should not be dismissed as mere forgetfulness, ignoring further examinations and treatments. It is recommended that if the elderly show signs of diminished memory function, they should promptly visit a hospital. Comprehensive assessments and further tests, including brain MRI scans, should be conducted to check for significant atrophy in brain areas such as the temporal lobes and hippocampus. If dementia is diagnosed, prompt intervention and treatment should be pursued.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Hui
Neurology
47sec home-news-image

probability of senile dementia

Dementia primarily refers to Alzheimer's disease, which has a relatively high incidence rate. In China, among the elderly population over 65 years old, approximately 3% to 7% are affected; this rate can rise to over 20% among those over 85 years old. Suffering from dementia places a heavy burden on the patient, their family, and society. Initially, patients with dementia will experience a decline in memory function. As the condition progresses, there will be a decline in various cognitive functions. For example, spatial dysfunction might occur, such as getting lost on the way home, personality changes, and the emergence of psychiatric symptoms and other clinical manifestations.