This collection of articles for caregivers can help you improve your caregiving skills whether you’re a novice or have years of experience. Authors include medical and geriatric professionals, nursing home staff, government experts on aging as well as fellow caregivers. Be sure to check often for additions and updates.
Risk Factors for Alzheimer's
Unlike so many other diseases, scientists are not yet sure of what it is that causes Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Furthermore, the only sure way to diagnose true AD is with an autopsy. Therefore, we are left to make assumptions, some of them being relatively obvious.
Aging seems to play a tremendous role in developing the disease. There are exceptions to that rule since a fair number of people are diagnosed with AD many years before reaching their 65th birthday. However, the odds of developing the disease do seem to increase as we get older. There's not much one can do about getting older, certainly, but researchers are frantically working on the causes and risk factors for AD, especially since the first wave of baby boomers is about to reach that critical age.
While conducting research, scientists have discovered that AD seems to run in families. If a parent or sibling is diagnosed with the disease, the chance of another family member developing it increases. And the more family members who have AD, the greater the likelihood of even more family members being affected. Whether the cause is genetic or environmental—or both, the definitive answer has yet to be found. Again, this is not anything that you have control over; your friends can be chosen, but not your family.
Beyond trying to untwist the tangles that seem to be found in the brains of patients with AD; there are other links that seem to play a role in developing the disease. One of the most obvious is serious head injuries. Other possible risk factors include heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes or any other ailment that affects oxygen getting to the brain.
Like any other life-threatening disease, there are many misunderstandings and myths surrounding AD. Sad, but true, AD is always fatal. The rate at which functions may be lost differ for each patient but eventually, AD patients will die (but then so will we all). On a more positive note: the scares that using aluminum cans, pots and pans; using the artificial sweetener aspartame; and having silver dental fillings will increase the risk of developing AD have not proven to be true.
Article provided by Caring Today magazine and www.caringtoday.com