The Alzheimer’s checklist

Can I check if I am a candidate for this disease?

We all know about Alzheimer’s and we all know some poor soul who is afflicted with this common and terrible form of dementia. First described by the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and named after him, the disease is, so far, incurable, degenerative and terminal. It is also completely non-selective, striking all sectors of our society regardless of status, color or anything else.

What does Alzheimer’s look like?

About 12 years ago we met a couple at a function and spent a pleasant evening together. A week later they called and invited us over for a light dinner. We chatted and exchanged histories and geographies and got on really well. The meal was simple and tasty. Finally our hostess went into the kitchen and came out looking very distressed. “Peter, where’s the cake I left on the counter for dessert? Where have you hidden it?” Peter put his head in his hands and we saw a tear roll down his cheek. He understood what was happening. His wife was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s.

What can be done?

There is almost nothing one can do when you are confronted with this disease in your family. Take a Cash Advance Loan and buy reading material to help you understand what’s happening and what is going to happen as the disease runs its course. Join a support group and share, comfort and be comforted by others whose loved one are already in the grip of the malady.

There is a drug that is used to delay progress of the mind-robbing disease, but as far as I can see in those of our friends who are affected, the drug plays a small role.

Little one can do

Alzheimer’s begins with mild confusion and memory loss and then, depending on how aggressive it is and which parts of the brain are affected, spirals into total memory loss and an inability to care for oneself. It can be in a matter of months and it can take years

Our friend

The couple in the story above is still around. She is sunk into the depths of the disease and has day and night care-takers looking after her. She does not recognize anyone including her husband. He is fine, struggling, after all these years, to maintain a normal life.

Latest developments

There is a great deal of research underway and quite a lot has been learned in recent years. The guilty gene has been identified and now U.S. researchers have developed a checklist which they claim helps in predicting whether people are at risk.

The list checks such risk factors as slowness of mind or movement. Over a 6 year research period it correctly predicted about half the cases of dementia that developed in a group of elderly people.

Prediction and cure?

Prediction is one thing. Does one really want to know what’s in store for them when there is nothing they can do about it? But a cure is something else entirely.

If it was matter of doing some brain gymnastics or exercises a couple of time a week we would all do it. No such luck, but keep hoping that someone will find a cure.