ALZHEIMERS’S DISEASE

This disease usually afflicts those over 60 years of age and the early manifestations of the disease come in the form of the failure of the patient to recognise other people. The brain, in short, loses its ability to analyse sensual perceptions. According to latest reports available, over 10 million people have died within a span of 20 years and 40 million more are suffering from this disease.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common cause of dementia, with advancing age. It is a progressive dementing disorder clinically characterized by disintegration of intellect (amnesia, agnosia, apraxia, abstraction, reason etc), personality and emotions. Invariably the disorder leads to significant disabilities in occupational and social adjustments as well as in self-care.

The cognitive disabilities are usually centered around a prominent memory disorder. Disorientation in time and place impairment of registration and recall, repetitions of word and deed, misidentification are noted. Early in the disease, other neurological systems appear normal. With time, nondescript tremor, rigidity, postural instability and extensor plantar responses may supervene.

A view had been doing the rounds in the medical world that Alzheimer’s is caused by the degeneration of the brain cells due to ageing and hence incurable. It is estimated that over 30% of the population above 85 years of age are afflicted by this disease.

But a startling discovery was recently made whereby it was established that Alzheimer’s disease was caused by a viral infection and not due to the degeneration of the brain cells. The findings of the Russian scientists that imbecility is caused due to prions, proved conclusively the earlier notions wrong.