Early Diagnosis And Treatment

Can Slow Alzheimer’s Disease

While the medical profession is still stumped as to the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, doctors do have some clues to why the progressive brain-damaging disease affects some people.

Doctors suspect that inflammation may play some role in Alzheimer’s disease, according to Dr Samuel Markind, a neurologist with Danbury Hospital. “We don’t know what role inflammation plays, but we think that people who take anti-inflammatory drugs have a reduced risk,” he said.

Dr Markind spoke at a recent Medical Town Meeting sponsored by Danbury Hospital on “What You Want to Know About Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia,” along with Dr Stephen Peters, a neuropsychologist with Associated Neurologists, and Dr Orestes Arcuni, chairman of psychiatry at Danbury Hospital.

Because Alzheimer’s is a brain disease, both neurologists and psychiatrists, in addition to primary care physicians, often treat it.

The disease is thought to occur when the body incorrectly processes amyloid, a type of protein, which then gets deposited as plaques in the brain. Neurofibrillary tangles, twisted fibers in the brain cells, are also thought to contribute to the disease. Plaques and tangles are often mentioned in Alzheimer’s disease.

Lots of research is now under way to study the amyloid plaque hypothesis, according to Dr Markind. Because Alzheimer’s is thought to be a vascular disease, preventative steps that lower one’s risk for vascular diseases also cut the chance of getting Alzheimer’s, he said, such as managing cholesterol.

“Alzheimer's is a progression condition,” he said. “We don’t have a way to slow it down, but we can improve symptoms.”

 Dr Arcuni agreed. “We can halt the disease somewhat in its tracks and stretch it out over many years, proving precious time for people to have relationships, plan for further care, do estate planning, etc,” he said. “The earlier one begins treatment, the better it is for all. We can’t reverse it, but we can slow the process down.”

Dr Peters also warned against the tendency to attribute all memory problems of natural aging to Alzheimer’s. “We’re all very nervous about this Alzheimer’s thing,” he smiled, “but there’s a difference between becoming forgetful as you age and having this disease.” The brain naturally decreases in weight with aging, losing about 15 percent of its mass, he said, and blood flow also decreases, making it easy to understand why natural aging causes difficulty with memory recall. It is estimated that three percent of people between age 65 and 75 have it, while 47 percent after age 85 do.

Risk factors for Alzheimer’s include advancing age, family history of early onset of the disease, low educational achievement, head injury, and hardening of the arteries, according to Dr Peters.

Unlike memory loss in old age, Alzheimer’s has some notable symptoms, including small personality changes. Since Alzheimer’s is a gradual onset and progressive decline, it is not always obvious. Sufferers have memory loss, lack of interest in things, language problems, difficulty finding the names of things, trouble making decisions, and forgetfulness.

Dr Arcuni raised awareness for just how sad and awful a disease it can be, especially for the patient. He encouraged people to treat Alzheimer’s patients kindly, as they are not feeling good about themselves and are very confused by what is happening to them.

He suggests that friends, relatives, and caretakers avoid arguing with Alzheimer’s patients, as well as refrain from using condescending speech, asking questions that rely on memory, telling what patients can and cannot do, talking about patients in front of them, and having power struggles.

For a list of tips on dealing with a loved one or friend with the disease, call the Danbury Hospital Marketing & Community Relations Department at 797-7247.