What is Alzheimer?

The gray-haired old lady cannot wait to leave the building to search for her dad. Unless watched, she will walk the streets in an effort to locate her father, who died 30 months ago. Yes, she is afflicted with Alzheimers disease, a condition so debilitating, it robs a patient not only of memory, sight and mobility, but even personality.

Alzheimers disease is a physical illness that causes changes in the brain. It is a form of dementia. Dementia affects a persons memory, mood, and behavior.

Alzheimers disease usually affects everybody over 65. A person with this disease has trouble remembering, speaking, learning, building judgments, and planning. Some people feel restless and moody. It may take years for Alzheimers disease to get worse.

People fairly often do become more forgetful as they grow older. However, Alzheimers disease causes more than just memory loss. Its symptoms might impact every part of a persons life. Alzheimers disease leads to changes in behavior, personality, and abilities. Over instant, people with the disease have trouble doing common daily activities, such as bathing or taking dressed.

The symptoms of Alzheimers disease could be frustrating for a human with the disease. Dealing with these symptoms can also be difficult for family members of the suffering patient. It may help to understand that these changes are no ones fault. They are part of the disease.

There is no cure for Alzheimers disease and no way to slow the progression of the disease. For some everybody in the early or middle stages of the disease, certain medications might alleviate some cognitive symptoms.

In addition, some medications can help control behavioral symptoms such as sleeplessness, agitation, wandering, anxiety, and depression. These treatments are aimed at making the patient more relaxed .

However, scientists have identified the region of the brain responsible for long-term memory, bringing closer the development of treatments for Alzheimers disease.

American researchers pinpointed a part of the brain - the anterior cingulate - that controls the storage and retrieval of distant recollections. The breakthrough opens up a new field of research into ways to treat diseases, like Alzheimers that affect the memory.