CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
Alzheimer’s Disease :
This is a disease of old age. Because of degeneration of never cells, person is suffering from dementia (forget fullness). The prevalence of this disease is alarming. It gets double every 5 yrs after age 60. At the age 85 plus, about 35 to 45 % of the people suffer from this disease. In India there are over 60 million people over age 60 years are sufferers. This number is expected to grow significantly more.
Who are affected more? :
(1) Man and woman in menopause & Andropause in advanced age.
(2) If there is family history of Alzheimer.
Symptoms :
Usually symptoms appear at the age 60-65 years. Initially there is little forgetfulness which shows as difficulty in remembering words. There is difficulty in physical movements, some time person finds difficulty in recognizing objects and making future plans. This causes aggression. Loss of self control and sleeplessness at night.
If the patient is not treated at right time, he slips into depression.The worst thing happens when he fails to recognize his own family member. At the same time there is speech disturbance & disturbance in balance. Resulting he will be totally dependents on family members. Other symptoms are behavior’s problems like restlessness, irritability, nocturnal awakening, resistance behavior and sometimes aggressive behavior too.
Treatment :
The patient is advised to take multivitamin tablets containing E, B1, B6, and B12 with other medicines to strengthen his nerve cells. This disease can create serious problems for their young family members. If doctors bring awareness in the Society about this disease, it will be a great service to society.
With an ever increasing population, Alzheimer’s disease may be one of the greatest public health problems in the next century.