Early Onset Alzheimers Disease
Although age is the main risk factor for Alzheimers disease, this is not just a condition that affects older adults.
According to the Alzheimers Association, early onset Alzheimers disease affects around 200,000 U.S. adults under the age of 65 years. Many people with this condition are in their 40s or 50s.
In many cases, doctors do not know why younger people develop this condition. Several rare genes can cause the condition. When there is a genetic cause, it is known as familial Alzheimers disease.
Treatment For Mild To Moderate Alzheimers
Treating the symptoms of Alzheimers can provide people with comfort, dignity, and independence for a longer period of time and can encourage and assist their caregivers as well. Galantamine, rivastigmine, and donepezil are cholinesterase inhibitors that are prescribed for mild to moderate Alzheimers symptoms. These drugs may help reduce or control some cognitive and behavioral symptoms.
Scientists do not yet fully understand how cholinesterase inhibitors work to treat Alzheimers disease, but research indicates that they prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical believed to be important for memory and thinking. As Alzheimers progresses, the brain produces less and less acetylcholine, so these medicines may eventually lose their effect. Because cholinesterase inhibitors work in a similar way, switching from one to another may not produce significantly different results, but a person living with Alzheimers may respond better to one drug versus another.
Before prescribing aducanumab, doctors may require PET scans or an analysis of cerebrospinal fluid to evaluate whether amyloid deposits are present in the brain. This can help doctors make an accurate diagnosis of Alzheimers before prescribing the medication. Once a person is on aducanumab, their doctor or specialist may require routine MRIs to monitor for side effects such as brain swelling or bleeding in the brain.
Home Remedies For Dementia Symptom Treatment
What is dementia? This is a question that many people have when more and more people are diagnosed with this syndrome. It really is a social concern. This syndrome causes a lot of trouble for the patient. Even their relatives are affected a lot. Therefore, treatment should be carried out as soon as possible.
I know that the reason you are reading this article of 10 Natural Home Remedies For dementia Patients is to learn how to treat this problem at home, but before that, you had better understand some basic information about it. So, you can deal with it the right way.
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How Can I Help My Cat With Dementia
If your cat suffers from dementia, they might struggle with daily tasks like getting to their food and water bowls or using their litter box. Keeping everything within easy reach, without them needing to jump or walk too far, will help a lot. If your cat would normally enjoy playtime or a cuddle, try to devote extra time to engaging with them. However, keep an eye out for signs that your cat isnt enjoying the attention or wants to be left alone. Puzzle feeders or other activity toys that your cat can use without your presence will help even anti-social cats to do some brain training! Finally, providing them with a few comfortable spots around the house to relax and feel safe will help them feel more confident.
Reminiscence And Life Story Work
Reminiscence work involves talking about things and events from your past. It usually involves using props such as photos, favourite possessions or music.
Life story work involves a compilation of photos, notes and keepsakes from your childhood to the present day. It can be either a physical book or a digital version.
These approaches are sometimes combined. Evidence shows that they can improve mood and wellbeing. They also help you and those around you to focus on your skills and achievements rather than on your dementia.
You’ll find more details about these treatments in the Alzheimer’s Society’s dementia guide.
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Dietary Supplements For Dementia
Many dietary supplements have been studied for dementia treatment, including ginkgo biloba, vitamin B, and omega-3 fatty acids. However, results havent shown significant benefits. Talk to a doctor before giving your loved one with dementia any dietary supplements or herbal medicine. This will help prevent side effects and interactions with other drugs.
What You Can Do About Medications And Difficult Dementia Behaviors
If your relative with dementia is not yet taking medications for behaviors, consider these tips:
- Start keeping a journal and learn to identify triggers of difficult behaviors. You will need to observe the person carefully. Your journaling will come in handy later if you start medications, as this will help you monitor for benefit and side-effects.
- Learn to redirect and de-escalate difficult dementia behaviors. Contact your local Alzheimers Association chapter or local Area Agency on Aging to find support near you. You can also learn a good approach in this article: 7 Steps to Managing Difficult Dementia Behaviors
- Ask your doctor to help assess for pain and/or constipation. Consider a trial of scheduled acetaminophen, and see if this helps.
- Consider the possibility of depression. Consider a trial of escitalopram or a related antidepressant, but realize any effect will take weeks to appear.
- For all medications for dementia behaviors:
- Monitor carefully for evidence of improvement and for signs of side-effects.
- Doses should be increased a little bit at a time.
- Especially for antipsychotics, the goal is to find the minimum necessary dose to keep behavior manageable.
If your relative with dementia is currently taking medications for behaviors, then you will have to consider at least the following two issues.
The other issue is to make sure you are aware of any risks or side-effects that the current medications may be causing.
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Check Hearing And Vision
Seeing and hearing properly are especially important for someone with dementia. Trouble seeing can make it harder to recognize familiar people or things. Vision or hearing problems can also make dementia symptoms like confusion worse as well as make your loved one feel more alone.
Schedule a vision checkup with your loved oneâs eye doctor to see if they need a new eyeglass prescription. Also, ask their primary doctor to refer you to a doctor who can do a hearing test to give them a new hearing aid, if needed.
Natural Remedies For Dementia And Alzheimers Treatment Option #: B Groupvitamins Vitamin D And Vitamin E
A study published in Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences revealed the B group vitamins, inparticular, vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid, can help slow the progression ofAlzheimers disease. What was stated in the article is quite exciting fordementia sufferers as well as those wanting to prevent the disease
“Thefact that B-family vitamins may play a significant role in dementia, or morespecifically in warding it off has been consistently illustrated. What is newsfrom the current study, however, is that high-dose B-vitamin treatment inpeople at risk for the disease ‘slowed shrinkage of whole brain volume,’ andespecially reduced shrinkage in areas known to be affected in Alzheimer’sdisease.”
Vitamin B3 and vitamin B6 are needed by the bodyto form neurotransmitters, making them crucial for the health and correctfunctioning of the nervous system and brain. B12 is essential for theproduction of substance known as myelin, the white sheath that surrounds nervefibers. The B group vitamins, especially folic acid, also help to reducehomocysteine levels in the body, another major precursor of dementia anddementia related diseases.
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Powerful Natural Remedies For Dementia And Alzheimer’s
Dementia and Alzheimer’s are truly horrible and cruel diseases. But new research is showing that you can not only 100% prevent them from occurring, you can actually reverse their effects!
Here’s 10 of the best natural treatments, herbal supplements and home remedies for dementia and Alzheimer’s according to the experts…
Article by Troy Sawyer
Dementia is such a shocking disease. Because the mentaland behavioural changes happen so gradually in a sufferer, youre left to watchyour loved one slowly deteriorate before your eyes and you grieve every timethey take a turn for the worst.
This is one illness thats particularly closeto home for me, having watched my mother-in-law suffer from this disease for overten years. The first signs were small and subtle, but slowly became morefrequent. Things such as leaving appliances on, repeating herself inconversation, and paranoia all gradually got worse until eventually she had tobe placed in a high care home that caterers for dementia and Alzheimerspatients. My father-in-law looked after her for as long as he could but the eventual strain took its toll on him. I also watched mywife grieve every time she saw her mom slip down further. The day her momforgot who she was, was especially hard for her.
Can Dementia Be Prevented
Because the causes of dementia are not yet fully known, there is no sure way to prevent dementia. However, you can reduce the risk of dementia by caring for your:
- Heart health Whats good for your heart is good for your brain. Have a healthy dietand stop smoking.
- Body health Regular physical activity increases blood flow to the brain. Keep an active lifestyle.
- Mind health An active mind helps build brain cells and strengthens their connections. Stay social, play games like puzzles and crosswords, and take up new hobbies and languages.
Learn more about the risk factors of dementia such as ageing, smoking and high cholesterol and blood pressure:
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Medicines To Treat Related Conditions
There are some conditions, such as heart problems, that can affect symptoms of dementia, particularly vascular dementia. It’s important that these are diagnosed and treated.
These conditions include:
- delusions
- hallucinations
These changes in behaviour can be very distressing, both for the person with dementia and for the person caring for them. However, there are coping strategies that can help.
If coping strategies do not work, antipsychotic medicines such as risperidone or haloperidol may be prescribed for those showing persistent aggression or extreme distress.
These are the only medicines licensed for people with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia where there’s a risk of harm to themselves or others.
Risperidone should be used at the lowest dose and for the shortest time possible as it has serious side effects. Haloperidol can be used only if other treatments have not helped.
The decision to prescribe a medicine should be taken by a consultant psychiatrist.
Antidepressants may sometimes be given if depression is suspected as an underlying cause of anxiety.
Is Cannabis For Dementia Effective
According to researchers at Californias Salk Institute, the answer is an overwhelming YES. Their study has found evidence that cannabinoids such as THC and CBD could help remove dangerous dementia proteins from brain cells. Professor David Schubert led the study and in early 2017, he spoke of his frustration about the existing anti-marijuana laws that are preventing the plant from being studied in-depth.
In March 2017, he said that he submitted an application to the DEA in December 2016 to use weed extracts on mice for a different study but had received no response.
In the study, that was completed, Schuberts team used a tiny amount of synthetically developed cannabinoids and discovered that they helped with the removal of a harmful plaque associated with dementia.
The name of the protein is amyloid beta and the plaque it forms destroys nerve cells in the brain. This led scientists to believe that amyloid beta appears before the symptoms of Alzheimers.
Another study, by Aso et al. in 2015, gave mice that showed Alzheimers Disease symptoms a THC and CBD combo. They discovered that the mice displayed an improvement in learning skills and there was less evidence of amyloid beta clumps in their brains. The major issue is that there have been no widespread clinical trials to look into the effects of marijuana on dementia in human patients.
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How Much Coconut Oil Do You Need To Take
Firstly, understand that you cannot overdose on coconutoil ever! However, too much in the beginning can cause mild diarrhea in somepeople so its best to start off slow and gradually build up. Two tablespoonstaken three times daily in divided doses is best to begin with.After a few weeks you can then increase to four tablespoonsconsumed three times per day. Just make sure the coconut oil you buy is 100% organic, virgin coconut oil. Processed coconut oil contains trans fatty acidsand should never be eaten.
In addition to taking coconut oil every day, its also agood idea to make up some coconut milk and use this instead of drinking cowsmilk. Processed dairy is exceptionally bad for dementia suffers but coconut milk is exceptionally good! You can find outhow to easily make your own coconut milk here wellnessmama.com
Can Exercise Make A Difference
There is some preliminary evidence that exercise can improve cognitive skills in people with early-stage Alzheimers disease.
For a University of Kansas study, published in February 2017 in the journal PLoS ONE, subjects took part in a supervised exercise program involving 150 minutes of walking per week.
After six months, some but not all of the subjects performed better on tests measuring memory and thinking skills. These subjects also showed a slight increase in brain size.
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Who Cannot Take Medicines For Dementia
In general, most people are able to take these medicines. Caution may be needed in people with certain medical problems. For example, people with severe liver or kidney problems may not be able to take them, or they may need a lower dose. Care also needs to be taken in people who have had fits in the past.
What Are The Types Of Dementia
Dementias are often broken down into two main categories — Alzheimer type or non-Alzheimer type. Dementias of the Alzheimers disease type are defined by the symptoms of memory loss plus impairment in other brain functions, such as language function inability to move the muscles associated with speech or perception, visual or other inabilities to recognize speech or name objects .
Non-Alzheimer dementias include the frontotemporal lobar degenerations, which are further broken down into two main types. One type primarily affects speech. An example is primary progressive aphasia syndromes. The other type is defined by changes in behavior, including lack of feeling, emotion, interest or concern loss of a social filter personality change and loss of executive functions . In both of these frontotemporal lobe dementias, memory loss is relatively mild until later in the course of the disease.
Other non-Alzheimers disease dementias include vascular disorders , dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s dementia, and normal pressure hydrocephalus.
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Jelly Drops: An Exciting New Invention To Help Combat Dehydration In Dementia
Inspired by his grandmother, Lewis Hornby has invented bite-sized sweets known as Jelly Drops to help reduce dehydration in dementia.Alzheimers Society was delighted to partner with Lewis and the Jelly Drops team this year through our Accelerator programme. Together, we’re working on bringing their fantastic product to people living with dementia.
When Should You See A Vet
It goes without saying that if you think your puss is poorly in any way, you should take them to see a veterinarian. This is important if you think they have dementia, not just because it could be another health condition, but because dementia can affect a cats quality of life. So, if you notice any changes in your cats behavior as they get older, its worth booking a health examination at your local veterinary clinic for peace of mind.
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How Tocontinuously Replenish The Brain With These Essential Nutrients
Our bodies need over 60 essential minerals and traceelements every day to function correctly and at its peak. Exactly how manyminerals our brain needs to function properly, no one really knows. But itslots! Magnesium is one of the most important minerals for the brain and forhealthy nerve function . Studies have shown that dementia sufferers can improve, some quite dramatically in fact, from correct mineral supplementation.
Liquidcolloidal minerals are the best and most absorbable way to get the required 60+minerals your body and brain needs every day . Formagnesium, a transdermal magnesium spray is the best way to go. Magnesium istough for the body to absorb but with a transdermal magnesium spray, itspenetrated directly into the blood stream via the skin. If this is notpractical or you dont like the idea of spraying an oil on your skin every day,there is a terrific magnesium supplement available called Natural Calm, whichis actually one of the very few oral magnesium supplements on the market thatshighly absorbable . You can check it out here if you’re interested NaturalCalm.
Medications To Help Symptoms Of Anxiety In Dementia
Anxiety, panic attacks and unreasonable fearfulness can be distressing for a person with dementia, their family and carers. Mild symptoms are often helped by reassurance, adjustments to the environment or an improved daily routine.More severe anxiety can be caused by underlying depression and so antidepressant medication can help. Other options are antipsychotic or specific anti-anxiety medications, but these can have unwanted side effects and are usually not recommended for anxiety in dementia.
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Side Effects Of Cholinesterase Inhibitors
The three ChEIs have broadly similar side effect which are summarised in table 4. The most common side effects are gastrointestinal and are usually transient, lasting a few weeks. Most patients are able to continue on the medications while side effects pass. Gastrointestinal effects can be limited by slow titration and taking the medication with food. If nausea and vomiting are problematic, treatment with an anti-emetic should be considered. Rivastigmine may be particularly prone to causing gastrointestinal side effects as it is the ChEI which inhibits butyrylcholinesterase which is found in the gastrointestinal tract.
Table 4
Main side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors
The inhibition of AChE may increase parasympathetic tone, therefore ChEIs should be used with great caution in patients with bradycardia, sick sinus syndrome, or cardiac conduction disturbances.