Treatment and Medication for Alzheimers Patients

Treatment and Care for Alzheimers Patients

Many breakthroughs and important discoveries have been found throughout the years of research and testing regarding the cure and treatment of Alzheimers disease. Despite that though, there continues to be no known cure or prevention for Alzheimers. Furthermore, once the disease has started, there can be no repairing or slowing down the damage of abnormal deposits of proteins in the brain.

People with Alzheimers have abnormal deposits of protein in their brains. These brain protein coat the brain and interacts with the neurons, neurotransmitters and nerves, causing damage and massive atrophy. Eventually, the brain will continue to shrink and the otherwise wrinkled surface will start to smoothen out. This is basically what causes the degeneration in the mind and in the person's body.

There however are some drugs and treatments that seem to relieve symptomatic conditions slightly in some cases. These drugs and Alzheimers treatments are especially important during the onset and early stages of the illness when the sufferer can still be aware of what he or she is going through.

For instance, a person with Alzheimers at the early stages may suffer from depression or restlessness and certain drugs and Alzheimers treatments can be administered to help with this somewhat. Also, there have been some cases where memory loss at the beginning of dementia can still be improved somehow. Other possible symptoms that can be momentarily alleviated are sleep disorders and hallucinations.

Beyond these, the proper Alzheimers treatment of caregivers for patients is a highly specialized skill and needs to be administered by a professional. This will mean that the patient will eventually have to be entrusted in institutionalized care for the proper Alzheimers treatment needed.

Of course, loved ones of the Alzheimers patient will want to administer care personally but the care and Alzheimers treatment needed by the patient will be full time and specialized so it is best for a professional caregiver to ensure dignity is maintained throughout the course of the person's disease.

Despite the present lack of Alzheimers treatment and cure, hope should never be abandoned. After all the technological advancements that have been made in the field of science and medicine, it probably won't be long before the proper Alzheimers treatment and cure will be discovered.

If not the cure or Alzheimers treatment, then perhaps the methods of prevention against Alzheimers will be found to help other individuals not fall into this predicament. Perhaps in the near future, there will be vaccines for Alzheimers disease much like we all have vaccines against diseases like small pox and the like. All those diseases in the past posed a challenge to humanity then just like Alzheimers does now.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know and care about suffers from Alzheimers, it is best to consult a professional for possible options for instance for eventual institutional care, or for support groups or counseling advice that can be given to the patient and to his or her friends and relatives.

There may be some misconceptions and even some difficulty in accepting the situation of this disease whether it is on the side of the patient or from the people around him or her. For instances such as these, the right counseling and guidance is needed as part of the proper Alzheimers treatment.

 Drugs to Fight Alzheimer's

Although there is no known cure yet for Alzheimer's disease, there are already a number of drugs available worldwide that can help slow down a patient's cognitive deterioration. The main aim of these Alzheimer's medications is to try and improve cognitive ability  or the person's capability to think, perceive, judge and recognize.

There are currently five drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that can be used to treat Alzheimer's. There is ongoing research done all the time to test the effectiveness of such medications since they do not serve as a cure-all for the disease.
These medications may not have the same effects on all patients that are suffering from Alzheimer's. But such prescription drugs can have significant effects on some of the patients with Alzheimer's disease and should be given consideration as a possible treatment.

The 5 FDA Approved Medications are:
Aricept
Cognex
Exelon
Razadyne
Namenda

The first four drugs listed above belong to a group of drugs known as Cholinesterase Inhibitors. They work by trying to delay the break down of a substance known as acetylcholine in the brain which helps in bridging communication between nerve cells and has an important role in a person's memory.

Nameda on the other hand acts on another neurotransmitter called glutamate and shields the brain from then said substance which contributes to the death of brain cells in people with Alzheimer's disease. This drug is more effective in treating moderate to severe forms of Alzheimer's disease, improving the day to day life of the person with Alzheimer's disease.

The most common side effects associated with the drug Nameda include dizziness, confusion, constipation, headache and skin rashes. Some patients may experience less common side effects such as tiredness, back pain, high blood pressure, insomnia, hallucinations, vomiting and occasional shortness of breath.

The drugs Aricept, Exelon and Razadyne are seen to be most effective in treating the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. This group of prescription drugs has been shown to have some modest effect in slowing down the degeneration of a patient's cognitive abilities.

These drugs can also help in trying to reduce certain behavioral problems usually exhibited by people suffering from Alzheimer's. When these drugs are administered effectively on an Alzheimer's patient, they can significantly improve one's quality of life and more able to cope up with the disease.

Alzheimer's patients taking these medications may experience some side effects which may not be the same for all patients. Common side effects observed in patients using the drug Aricept include nausea, vomiting, excessive tiredness, sleeping troubles and muscle cramps.

Less frequent observed side effects of the drug are headaches and dizziness with rare cases of patients suffering from anorexia, gastric or duodenal ulcers, gastro-intestinal hemorrhage, bladder overflow obstruction, liver damage, convulsions, heart problems and psychiatric disturbances while using Aricept as medication.

The usual side effects seen in using Exelon as treatment for Alzheimer's are nausea, vomiting, weight loss, stomach upset and fatigue. Less usual side effects observed with the use of the said drug are abdominal pain, sweating, diarrhea, headaches, tremor, and psychiatric disturbances such as anxiety or depression with rare cases of patients experiencing gastro-intestinal bleeding.

The drug Cognex is used less frequently for Alzheimer's treatment as it can cause serious liver damage to most patients. Other side effects of the drug include nausea and vomiting. Some patients may also experience some abdominal pain, sore muscles, headache, dizziness, rapid breathing, increased urination, insomnia, runny nose or mouth, swelling in legs and feet when taking Cognex. Some of the most severe side effects associated with using Cornex are liver damage, heart problems and seizures.

The common side effects often reported with the use of Razadyne are nausea, vomiting, appetite loss and weight loss. Less common are fatigue, dizziness, tremor, headaches, abdominal pain, urinary tract infection, blood in urine, runny nose. There are no serious side effects with this drug.

As more and more individuals are diagnosed with the debilitating Alzheimers disease, more and more information are coming up as scientists and researchers continue to find out more about this enigmatic type of dementia. Despite this however, a lot of questions remain unanswered. These unanswered questions are hampering experts from finding out the cause of the disease as well as the cure.

What is known for a fact is that individuals begin to become susceptible to the disease at the age of 65 and above. It is also known that Alzheimers disease attack the brain and causes an abnormality there, which in turn causes the loss of normal functions in the body.

When a person has Alzheimers, he or she will have an abnormal deposit of brain protein that destroys the brain's neurons, nerves and neurotransmitters. An autopsy of the brain of the person who suffered from Alzheimers will show a decrease of brain size and a smoother surface.

If experts can absolutely conclude on the causes of Alzheimers then perhaps an Alzheimers drug as a vaccine can be administered to individuals to be able to inhibit the ailment from happening. The statistics on Alzheimers cases are starting to raise much concern because care for individuals with this disease can rake up a lot of money that may in turn put a dent on a country's health care system funds because of the alarming number of cases of individuals with Alzheimers.

Intensive care and costs are entailed for individuals who suffer from this because although at the onset and mild stage of the disease, only a slight short term memory loss is perceived, eventually the sufferer will lose more and more cognitive abilities. The person will begin to forget things more and more and will even begin to lose recognition of people and things that are a close part of his or life. There will also be marked instances of uncontrollable changes in behavior.

As the disease advances, the Alzheimers sufferer will begin to lose more and more motor skills and the ability to function independently from another. They will then have to be cared for by qualified caregivers who will have to take care of getting them fed and mobile when needed.

Aside from this though, the most imperative need for concrete answers in terms of Alzheimers drug treatments lies in the fact that this disease is irreversible and inexorably progresses into death. At present, Alzheimers disease has no known cure and Alzheimers drug treatments give only slight symptomatic relief for some patients but in no way can it buy an individual more time.

This claim has been debated however by pharmaceutical companies. For more information about Alzheimers drug treatments: what has been observed to work and what hasn't; check out literature on The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry's official statement.

There is no reason to lose hope however because involved sectors are doing all they can to be able to conquer this disease. As more and more breakthroughs on the subject arise, there is no doubt that perhaps in the near future, an Alzheimers drug will be found successful in treating and curing this disease. In the meantime, friends, loved ones and caregivers of individuals with Alzheimers need to stay abreast of the latest news and breakthroughs in the field of Alzheimers research.

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