There are some risks to getting older that don't include getting better. Alzheimer's Disease is one of them. The early signs of Alzheimer's Disease are so vague and general that I'm sure I have it. The problem with attending to the early warning signs is that they are so minor they are normal for anyone at any age. Do you ever forget an appointment or the name of an acquaintance? Of course you do. My 18 year-old granddaughter does too. Until the signs cause disruption in your life and activity, there is nothing a doctor can recommend, no treatment is appropriate until the signs or symptoms cause a problem. There are other dementia's that cause similar problems to Alzheimer's Disease. CJD or Creutzfeldt-Jakob is a more rapid onset and decline and causes death quickly. Pick's Disease was classified and identified before Alzheimer's Disease, but there is a distinction: Pick's Disease causes a change in personality before the problems with memory or cognition occur.
When I was in school one of the professors told us that if we lived long enough, we would get Alzheimer's. I think he was almost right. I think the correct way to make that prediction is if we live long enough we will have some diminished brain capacity in some area of functioning because of loss of brain cells. It could begin with Parkinson's Disease which causes loss of function due to loss of dopamine cells. Alzheimer's Disease begins with loss of acetylcholine cells. Pick's Disease is caused by loss of cell function, similar to Alzheimer's and Parkinson, perhaps, in the hippocampus.
The 'bottom line' assures us that as we get older we lose some of the cells of the central nervous system. We may show decline in reasoning and logic or we may lose skills or talents that were already well established. Either way it is less noticeable when we are younger and have lost fewer brain cells, but as we continue to age the symptoms may reveal a pattern that will give the doctor a handle that allows him to name you condition. Some of these conditions have medications that may help for a while.
I think my family already thinks I'm on the down hill slide. I deny and lie a lot about how I'm doing. I just want to conceal embarrassing situations so people don't stare and giggle when I stagger by. I try not to participate in things that prove how far I've gone down the other side of the hill.
On the other hand, if I laugh about it, I can drown out the gigglers.
When I was in school one of the professors told us that if we lived long enough, we would get Alzheimer's. I think he was almost right. I think the correct way to make that prediction is if we live long enough we will have some diminished brain capacity in some area of functioning because of loss of brain cells. It could begin with Parkinson's Disease which causes loss of function due to loss of dopamine cells. Alzheimer's Disease begins with loss of acetylcholine cells. Pick's Disease is caused by loss of cell function, similar to Alzheimer's and Parkinson, perhaps, in the hippocampus.
The 'bottom line' assures us that as we get older we lose some of the cells of the central nervous system. We may show decline in reasoning and logic or we may lose skills or talents that were already well established. Either way it is less noticeable when we are younger and have lost fewer brain cells, but as we continue to age the symptoms may reveal a pattern that will give the doctor a handle that allows him to name you condition. Some of these conditions have medications that may help for a while.
I think my family already thinks I'm on the down hill slide. I deny and lie a lot about how I'm doing. I just want to conceal embarrassing situations so people don't stare and giggle when I stagger by. I try not to participate in things that prove how far I've gone down the other side of the hill.
On the other hand, if I laugh about it, I can drown out the gigglers.
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