"When you're old, your hair is gray, and you're drowsy. When you're old, you can't walk, you snooze by the fire, you remember your youth..."
I believe that many people are familiar with this song "When You Are Old", so have you ever thought about why you like to "remember youth" when you are old?
One explanation is that as we get older, older people experience some memory decline to a greater or lesser degree, especially recent memory decline.
In particular, there is a disease that can cause memory to decline very rapidly, and even some personality changes, that is, Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease, medically known as Alzheimer's disease, is a type of occult, progressive neurodegeneration that occurs frequently in middle-aged and elderly people.
As we age, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease increases almost exponentially, for example, the prevalence of over 65 years old is about 5%, and the prevalence of over 85 years old can reach 25%.
Postmenopausal women and those with a family history of Alzheimer's disease are at higher risk. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unclear, but studies have identified many risk factors.
For example, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and other factors causing cerebrovascular disease; epilepsy history; hypothyroidism; vitamin B12, folic acid and other deficiencies; immune diseases lead to a decrease in the body's resistance;
Severe depression, long-term exposure to heavy metals such as aluminum and mercury and pesticides, head trauma that causes impaired consciousness, and living alone may all be associated with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease.
01 Memory loss is the first symptom
In patients with Alzheimer's disease, there will be a large-scale atrophy of the cerebral cortex, and the atrophy of the parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and hippocampus is more common, and the main manifestations are:
Memory loss
In the first 1-3 years of illness, it is mainly based on recent memory loss; about 3-8 years, long-term memory will also be reduced; after 8-12 years, memory will be basically lost.
The progress is obvious, even within half a year, there can be a rapid decline, and the forgotten content cannot be remembered after being reminded.
hypofunction
Language, computing power declines, can not understand familiar words, computing ability also declined; date, space discrimination obstacles, do not know what day, can not find the door; judgment declined, can not judge the weather conditions, choose suitable clothes, etc.; dyspexia, arm strength, but do not know how to use, can not normal chopsticks to eat, brush teeth, do not know familiar people or even themselves, life can not take care of themselves.
Mood changes
There may be some impulsiveness, suspicion, delusion, auditory hallucinations, visual hallucinations, etc., and there may be restlessness in sleep at night, or depression and irritability may occur.
02 Lesions cannot be reversed, and treatment can only delay the process
Heart-wrenchingly, Alzheimer's disease is currently incurable, and only some drugs and non-drug treatments such as transcranial magnetic stimulation can be used to improve symptoms as much as possible and delay the progression of the disease.
For example, drugs such as donepezil can improve memory loss; drugs such as memantine can effectively protect neurons; drugs such as niergoline can promote cerebral circulation and improve brain function;
If the patient has some mental and emotional problems in the middle and late stages, it may also be appropriate to use some drugs to improve depression, anxiety and other emotions; some vitamin B12, vitamin D3 and so on can also be supplemented.
In addition, ganlut sodium capsule is an original innovative drug in China, which innovatively affects the nerve function in the brain through the gastrointestinal tract, has a clear effect on delaying the disease, and has been announced to be included in medical insurance recently.
03 Proper care can help delay the progression of the disease
Some daily care or training is also very important to help People with Alzheimer's disease delay their condition.
Family members can reminisce with the patient about the past, mark the patient's daughter, son, grandson, granddaughter in the photo, help the patient sort out the relationship, remember the appearance of relatives, which is also conducive to exercising memory.
When communicating with patients, we should also pay attention to the way: when patients have slow speech or words that are not up to their expectations, we must listen patiently, do not interrupt them, do not reprimand patients when they talk, give more encouragement, make eye contact with them more, and use simple words and sentences that are easy to understand when talking to patients.
If the patient still has some functions, they can be encouraged to do more than they can, such as doing simple housework, washing dishes, choosing dishes or cleaning the room, so that these functions can also be retained as much as possible.
In the home, try to put away dangerous items such as scissors, and keep a clean and refreshing environment at home, and try not to move the position of the items at home.
In addition, you can also install armrests in the toilet, or buy simple toilets, urine pads, bath chairs, etc.; use drug dispensing boxes to avoid confusion and omission; wear a good positioning watch for patients when going out, or a yellow bracelet with a sign with patient information.
From the small things of life, to ensure the safety of Alzheimer's disease patients and improve the quality of life.
References: Medical Microvision Official Website - Xing Yan Chief Physician "Alzheimer's Disease (Alzheimer's Disease)" Medical Microvision Official Website - Li Xuan Nurse in Charge of "Care of Alzheimer's Disease Patients"