Dr Chris Steele provides some helpful hint for people living with someone with Alzheimers Disease.

Living with an Alzheimers patient - help and advice for carers.

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Living with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease can be a frustrating and difficult experience. In this video Dr Chris Steele answers common questions often raised by carers and provides some practical everyday tips and advice to help you get through the day.

The main point to note is to make it easy for your loved one to contribute to daily live and to be an active and involved participant.

However many routine household tasks can be frustrating and confusing for those with Alzheimer's disease, so follow Dr Chris's advice on how to make them simple.

What is Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer's disease is the commonest form of a group of diseases called dementias. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive deterioration in the ability to remember, think, and reason. Recent memory, in particular, is affected early in the disease.

The sufferer doesn't know what year it is, where they live and doesn't even recognise their spouse or immediate family. The disease affects older people but is at its most distressing when a younger person is afflicted with the complaint.

Alzheimer's disease can be devastating for the patient, and even more devastating for the patient's family.

The disease is associated with loss of brain cells and the breakdown of chemicals used in the function of brain activity. You can't cure it, you can't prevent it and you can't control it!

How common is Alzheimer's disease?
There are around 500,000 cases in the UK, affecting people from all walks of life, class, race and intellect. Among those who have suffered from the disease are Rita Hayworth, Malcolm Muggeridge and Ronald Reagan.

The incidence increases with age. In the 40-65 years of age group, less than 1 in 1000 are affected. In ages 65-70, 1 in 50 are affected. However,in ages 70-80, 1 in 20 are affected. Once over 80 years of age, 1 in 5 are affected.

It is the fourth biggest killer in the western world, following heart disease, cancer and strokes. By the end of the century, there will be over 1,000,000 sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease in Britain!

If you've got it you may not be aware about it, but for those looking after you, it's effects will be very, very distressing.

What causes Alzheimer's disease?
There is no known cause for Alzheimer's disease, although we do know it is more common in the elderly, in those with a family history of the disease, especially when the disease manifests itself early (between 30-50 yrs of age), and it's more common in women than men. Patients with Down's Syndrome often develop the disease 20-30 years earlier than normal individuals. There has also been speculation that aluminium taken into the body from aluminium saucepans and indigestion medicines (many of which contain aluminium) increased the chances of developing the disease, but the evidence is far from convincing.

Tests for dementia
The patient is asked the following questions:

1. Their age
2. The time to the nearest hour
3. An address to be remembered and repeated by the patient at the end of the test
4. The year
5. Their date of birth
6. Year of the first world war
7. Name of present king/queen
8. Their present address
9. Recognition of two persons
10. Count backwards from 20 to 1.

Patients score 1 mark for each answer. A score of six or less indicates severe dementia.

What can be done for the Alzheimer’s patient?
Firstly, the doctor or specialist will make sure the patient doesn't have any treatable conditions such as depression, confusion, and thyroid disease which can mimic Alzheimer's. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, there are a number of options available that can improve the symptoms or slow down the progression of the disease in some people.

Drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease include donepezil (Aricept & Aricept Evess), galantamine (Reminyl & Reminyl XL), rivastigmine (Exelon) and memantine (Ebixa).

These treatments for Alzheimer's disease are available as either once-daily tablets/capsules, once-daily oral-disintegrating tablet, twice-daily tablets/capsules or a twice-daily oral solution. Your doctor will discuss the best treatment for you or your loved one.

As 95% of sufferers are cared for in their own home, it is imperative that social services and community services are involved as early as possible. Support in the home, respite care and all the relevant financial benefits must be provided. Some local authorities and private organisations run day care centres and will also provide other forms of assistance.

Further information
For more information you can visit dementialink.org logo
www.dementialink.org

This content is sponsored by Shire Pharmaceuticals Ltd
Shire Logo


This content was created on Sat 30 June 2007

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