Can Dementia Be Fatal
Dementia can actually be fatal if it remains unattended. Gradually, its effects increase and damage our brain cells. The death of brain cells influences the life of an individual. The patient lives a poor quality of life, and his body starts to decay. Here, some fatal effects of dementia are mentioned
The Role Of Plaques And Tangles
Scientists arent completely sure about why neurons die and tissue shrinks in the brains of people with Alzheimers disease, but they strongly suspect that amyloid plaques and tau tangles are the cause.
The thinking is that plaques form when pieces of a protein called beta-amyloid clump together. Researchers are beginning to think that groups of a few pieces of beta-amyloid, rather than plaques, may cause the worst damage by blocking the chemical signals neurons use to communicate.
In healthy brain tissue, tau protects the transport systems that supply cells with nutrients and other important substances. But when tau forms tangles, cells cant get the essentials they need and begin to die, according to the Alzheimers Association.
However, there is new controversy surrounding the role of beta-amyloid in Alzheimers, so more research is needed on the subject.
Medications To Maintain Mental Function In Alzheimer’s Disease
Several medications are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat symptoms of Alzheimers. Donepezil, rivastigmine, and galantamine are used to treat the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimers. Donepezil, memantine, the rivastigmine patch, and a combination medication of memantine and donepezil are used to treat moderate to severe Alzheimers symptoms. All of these drugs work by regulating neurotransmitters, the chemicals that transmit messages between neurons. They may help reduce symptoms and help with certain behavioral problems. However, these drugs dont change the underlying disease process. They are effective for some but not all people and may help only for a limited time.
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Youll Probably Need To Build A Support Network
Caring for someone in late stage dementia can be intense, demanding, and rewarding all in a single day. Youll be better equipped for the challenge if you can call on a varied group of support providers.
Nurses, doctors, home health aides, physical and occupational therapists, and hospice workers can help you take care of physical and medical needs. Mental health professionals, members of a faith community, and friends can help you meet emotional, social, and spiritual needs.
How Alzheimer’s Causes Death
In late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, people become extremely confused and disoriented. The behavior of someone with late stage Alzheimer’s may become more agitated and restless, while other persons experience withdrawal and apathy. Sometimes, people with later stage dementia cry and call out. Eventually, they lose the ability to communicate, and they may not respond at all.
Additionally, people in the late stages are unable to care for themselves, becoming bedbound and completely dependent on others for their activities of daily living. Their ability to be continent of bowel and bladder declines.
Their appetite decreases as well, and eventually, they lose the ability to swallow, leading to poor nutrition and a high risk of aspiration. Aspiration, where a person’s food goes “down the wrong tube” when they swallow it, greatly increases the risk of pneumonia developing because they’re not able to fully cough and clear the food out of their esophagus and then it settles into their lungs.
Under these difficult conditions, it’s not hard to imagine how vulnerable people with late-stage dementia become, sometimes succumbing to infections, pressure sores, and pneumonia. One study found that half of all people with dementia admitted to a hospital for pneumonia or a hip fracture died within six months of leaving the hospital.
Other factors that impact the death rate in Alzheimer’s disease include advanced age, increased falls, and delirium.
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What Causes Alzheimers Disease
In recent years, scientists have made tremendous progress in better understanding Alzheimers and the momentum continues to grow. Still, scientists dont yet fully understand what causes Alzheimers disease in most people. In people with early-onset Alzheimers, a genetic mutation may be the cause. Late-onset Alzheimers arises from a complex series of brain changes that may occur over decades. The causes probably include a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The importance of any one of these factors in increasing or decreasing the risk of developing Alzheimers may differ from person to person.
What To Do If Your Loved One Has Dementia
It can be extremely difficult to watch someone you care about slowly lose themselves over time to dementia. Worldwide, there still tends to be some major misunderstandings about what exactly dementia is and how it affects people. Unfortunately, every type of dementia not only affects the individual diagnosed with it but their family members and loved ones as well.
If your loved one has dementia, being aware of what to expect is the first step. Coming to terms with the disease is necessary for your loved one and your well-being.
Seeking the professional care your loved one needs is crucial as it can keep them as comfortable as possible throughout all stages of dementia. Up until death, its important to appreciate as many moments as possible while they are still here and functioning.
Although dementia is fatal, there are plenty of healthcare and support resources to ensure you and your family enjoy the remaining lifespan of the dementia patient to the best of your ability.
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Are There Any Treatments For Dementia
At this time there is no treatment for dementia. There is only medical care that can help manage symptoms and support people through their gradual decline.
The options for proper medical care with the diagnosis often include specialty caregivers, individual and family support groups, healthy diet and exercise, and frequent check-ins with your doctor.
Depending on which stage of dementia you or your loved one is in, the level of care required will vary. Someone in the earlier stages might need little to no care if symptoms are mild and not affecting daily life.
On the other hand, someone in the final stages of dementia will most certainly require 24/7 caregiving and constant supervision. If they dont have the proper care they need to avoid a risk factor such as choking or falling, it could lead to death.
Gene Wilder’s Death: How Do People Die From Alzheimer’s
Legendary comedic actor Gene Wilder has died at age 83 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his family announced today. But what exactly does it mean to die from Alzheimer’s?
Although Alzheimer’s disease shortens people’s life spans, it is usually not the direct cause of a person’s death, according to the Alzheimer’s Society, a charity in the United Kingdom for people with dementia. Rather, people die from complications from the illness, such as infections or blood clots.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease in which abnormal protein deposits build up in the brain, causing brain cells to die. The illness is best known for causing memory loss, but it also has other debilitating effects on the body, and can affect people’s ability to move and eat by themselves. There is no cure for the illness.
Alzheimer’s patients may have difficulty swallowing, and they may inhale food, which can result in aspiration pneumonia, Dr. Marc L. Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, New York, who was not involved in Wilder’s care, told Live Science in a 2014 interview. Pneumonia is listed as the cause of death in as many as two-thirds of deaths of patients with dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Society.
Alzheimer’s patients may also become bedridden, which can increase their risk of fatal blood clots, Gordon said.
Editor’s note: Portions of this article were previously published on LiveScience.
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Alzheimers And The Brain
Alzheimers disease is named for a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist named Alois Alzheimer. While conducting a postmortem in 1906, the doctor noticed abnormalities in the brain of a woman with a mysterious illness that caused memory loss, language problems, unpredictable behavior, and ultimately death.
The womans brain, Alzheimer reported, had many abnormal protein clumps as well as tangled bundles of fibers . Those clumps and tangles are today considered the hallmarks of Alzheimers disease.
Alzheimers disease causes nerve cells to stop functioning, lose their connections with other neurons, and die.
Typically, the damage first affects the parts of the brain that form memories. Eventually neurons in other areas of the brain also begin to die, causing the brain to shrink.
How Is Dementia Fatal And Why
An increasing leading cause of death among the elderly today is dementia. Dementia is a group of brain degenerative diseases that cause memory and thought impairment. There are different types of dementia that can affect people at various stages throughout old age.
Although there is no specific known cause of dementia, many times it results from the gradual deterioration of the brain which causes a severe impact on cognitive function over time. Its helpful to know what to expect if you care for someone with dementia.
If left unaddressed, the symptoms of dementia and the changes it causes can be overwhelming and sometimes frightening. Why exactly is dementia so fatal? How does dementia eventually kill you?
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Possible Causes Of Death
With some diseases, you end up dying not from the disease itself, but from a complication related to the disease. This is true for dementia. Many people with dementia ultimately die from a complication of the disease. These include:
- Pneumonia: This is one of the biggest reasons why a person with dementia dies. They ultimately develop inflamed, infected lungs, which may be filled with fluid.
- Falls: Falling can be deadly for a senior citizen. Dementia can affect your balance and your ability to walk, so it’s not uncommon to see people with dementia struggling to stand up.
- Choking: Some dementia patients develop a form of pneumonia where food goes down the wrong tube. During the late stages of dementia, they may have trouble swallowing.
- Suicide: During the early stages of dementia, especially in the time immediately following a diagnosis, there may be an increased risk of suicide. Know that depression is an early sign of dementia.
- Bedsores: Prolonged pressure on a certain part of your body can create sores. In late-stage dementia, patients can find it hard to move or get out of bed, leading to bedsores.
- Stroke: This is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. In some cases, dementia can make the brain bleed, which increases the risk of stroke.
- Heart Attack: Having dementia may also increase the risk of having a heart attack. As with a stroke, the patient’s heart needs to be monitored to prevent a heart attack before it happens.
How Long Until Death?
What Can I Do?
Can Alzheimer’s Disease Be Prevented
As the exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not clear, there’s no known way to prevent the condition.
But there are things you can do that may reduce your risk or delay the onset of dementia, such as:
- staying physically fit and mentally active
These measures have other health benefits, such as lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease and improving your overall mental health.
Read more about preventing Alzheimer’s disease.
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How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Kill You
What You Need To Know About Alzheimer’s Disease What You Need To Know About Alzheimer’s Disease
From media reports, ex-Tennessee Womens Basketball coach Pat Summitts final days were difficult, but she did not lack for support.
According to The Associated Press, dozens of Summitt’s former Tennessee players and coaches came to Knoxville over the weekend to say their final goodbyes to the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history.
Summitt, 64, died Tuesday morning, five years after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers disease. While her death was reported as a result of the disease, Alzheimers in and of itself does not kill a person. Yet last year nearly 100,000 people in the United States died because of it.
Heres a look at how Alzheimers kills.
> > Got a question about the news? See our explainers here
How does Alzheimers lead to a persons death?
Alzheimers disease destroys nerve connections in the brain, making it progressively more difficult to do ordinary things like move around, swallow and feed yourself. While the disease devastates the brain, it does not kill you. Complications of the decline in brain function is what leads to death. Not being able to swallow properly is particularly dangerous. The vast majority of those with Alzheimers die from aspiration pneumonia when food or liquid go down the windpipe instead of the esophagus, causing damage or infection in the lungs that develops into pneumonia.
Aspiration pneumonia
How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Affect The Brain
Scientists continue to unravel the complex brain changes involved in Alzheimers disease. Changes in the brain may begin a decade or more before symptoms appear. During this very early stage of Alzheimers, toxic changes are taking place in the brain, including abnormal buildups of proteins that form amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Previously healthy neurons stop functioning, lose connections with other neurons, and die. Many other complex brain changes are thought to play a role in Alzheimers as well.
The damage initially appears to take place in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, which are parts of the brain that are essential in forming memories. As more neurons die, additional parts of the brain are affected and begin to shrink. By the final stage of Alzheimers, damage is widespread and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.
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How To Talk To A Loved One About Signs Of Alzheimers Disease
Scientists have identified a condition called mild cognitive impairment that for some people is a harbinger of Alzheimers dementia. MCI involves problems with memory or mental function that are noticeable to the person affected but not serious enough to interfere with everyday life.
Men and women who have MCI may be at higher risk of developing Alzheimers or other forms of dementia than individuals who dont. But MCI doesnt always progress some people even get their cognitive abilities back. Researchers are trying to figure out why, notes the Mayo Clinic.
How Does Alzheimers Cause Death: Final Stages
Being bedridden is also more likely to lead to complications such as pneumonia. Patients with Alzheimers often have trouble swallowing in the final stages of the disease. This can cause food particles to be aspirated, which leads to infection and pneumonia, and because the patient is such a weakened state, they invariably succumb to the illness very quickly.
One of the characteristics of Alzheimers disease is the slow death of brain cells. Unfortunately the symptoms of Alzheimers disease are very similar to those of a stroke, which is why many Alzheimers patients suffer from undiagnosed strokes. The same can also apply to the symptoms of brain injuries resulting from falls and knocks to the head, and in such instances, the patient can go on to suffer further strokes and complications as a result of a lack of appropriate treatment.
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How Is Alzheimers Disease Diagnosed
Doctors use several methods and tools to help determine whether a person who is having memory problems has Alzheimers disease.
To diagnose Alzheimers, doctors may:
- Ask the person and a family member or friend questions about overall health, use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diet, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality.
- Conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language.
- Carry out standard medical tests, such as blood and urine tests, to identify other possible causes of the problem.
- Perform brain scans, such as computed tomography , magnetic resonance imaging , or positron emission tomography , to support an Alzheimers diagnosis or to rule out other possible causes for symptoms.
These tests may be repeated to give doctors information about how the persons memory and other cognitive functions are changing over time.
People with memory and thinking concerns should talk to their doctor to find out whether their symptoms are due to Alzheimers or another cause, such as stroke, tumor, Parkinsons disease, sleep disturbances, side effects of medication, an infection, or another type of dementia. Some of these conditions may be treatable and possibly reversible.
In addition, an early diagnosis provides people with more opportunities to participate in clinical trials or other research studies testing possible new treatments for Alzheimers.
Beyond Memory Loss: How To Handle The Other Symptoms Of Alzheimer’s
There is a lot of talk about the emotional pain patients and caregivers suffer when a loved one loses memories to Alzheimers. But what about the other symptoms? Here are tips from a Johns Hopkins expert on what to watch for and how to manage.
#TomorrowsDiscoveries: From Dysfunctional Cells to Disease Dr. Rong Li
Dr. Li and her team investigate how cells consolidate their damaged proteins and prevent them from spreading freely, in order to understand how to better treat diseases such as Alzheimers and ALS. Another of their interests is how chromosomes are divided up when one cell becomes two. Learning more about how the process can go wrong could lend insight into cancer development.
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Icipating In Alzheimer’s Disease Clinical Trials
Everybody those with Alzheimers disease or MCI as well as healthy volunteers with or without a family history of Alzheimers may be able to take part in clinical trials and studies. Participants in Alzheimers clinical research help scientists learn how the brain changes in healthy aging and in Alzheimers. Currently, at least 270,000 volunteers are needed to participate in more than 250 active clinical trials and studies that are testing ways to understand, diagnose, treat, and prevent Alzheimers disease.
Volunteering for a clinical trial is one way to help in the fight against Alzheimers. Studies need participants of different ages, sexes, races, and ethnicities to ensure that results are meaningful for many people. To learn more about clinical trials, watch this video from NIH’s National Library of Medicine.
NIA leads the federal governments research efforts on Alzheimers. NIA-supported Alzheimers Disease Research Centers throughout the U.S. conduct a wide range of research, including studies of the causes, diagnosis, and management of the disease. NIA also sponsors the Alzheimers Clinical Trials Consortium, which is designed to accelerate and expand studies and therapies in Alzheimers and related dementias.
To learn more about Alzheimers clinical trials and studies:
- Talk to your health care provider about local studies that may be right for you.
Watch videos of participants in Alzheimers disease clinical trials talking about their experiences.