Alzheimer's Disease Is Not a Normal Part of Aging, Nor Is It Inevitable.

        Because November is Alzheimer's Disease awareness month I felt it was important to address what we can all do to decrease our risk of Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's is NOT a normal part of aging, nor is it inevitable. There are several lifestyle changes that can significantly decrease your risk for developing this devastating disease.

        Alzheimer's Disease was first discovered by a German Physician named Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906. Over the past 105 years researchers have made great strides to further our understanding of this disease. By definition Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, ultimately fatal disorder in which certain types of nerve cells in particular areas of the brain degenerate and die for unknown reasons. This disease first presents as memory deficits and progresses to loss of reasoning ability, loss of judgment, loss of language skills including the ability to read and write and finally progresses to loss of basic care skills such as dressing, toileting, walking, and feeding oneself. At it's most basic level, Alzheimer's disease causes plaques and tangles to form in the brain which block communication between nerve cells and eventually leads to cell death. This cell death is apparent in both the massive shrinkage of the brain and the loss of tissue within the brain-giving the brain a swiss cheese appearance. To see a side by side comparison of the Alzheimer's brain to a healthy brain visit the Alzheimer's Association website and take the brain tour at : http://www.alz.org/brain/01.asp.

          As a physical therapist who works with Alzheimer's patients I am witness to the devastation of this disease on a daily basis. I have seen the sweetest little ladies, who in their former lives were always conscious of proper manners, fade into angry, cussing, combative strangers.  I have seen the tears of children who realize that their parent no longer knows them. I have seen the fear in my patient's eyes as they realize that they don't know who anyone is and have no idea where they are or how they got there.     I have watched as patients that I have grown to love slowly fade away. Eventually the Alzheimer's patient is a mere shell void of any shred of their former self. The effects of this disease are extremely far reaching and absolutely heart breaking.

         If you or someone you love shows any of these 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's disease consult your physician for further assessment.
 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's Disease:
1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life
2. Challenges in planning or solving problems
3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks
4. Confusion with time or place
5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
6. New problems with words during speaking or writing
7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace your steps
8. Decreased or poor judgment
9. Withdrawal from work or social activities
10. Changes in mood or personality
For more detailed information on the 10 warning signs visit the Alzheimer's Association website at: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp.

 Risk factors:      
1. Age- Your risk doubles every 5 years after age 65 and after age 85 the risk is nearly 50%. While the majority of patients develop Alzheimer's later in life, it is possible to develop early onset Alzheimer's in your 30's, 40's, or 50's.
2. Family history- Those with a parent, brother, sister, or child with Alzheimer's Disease are more likely to develop the disease. Your risk goes up if more than one of these family members has the disease.
3. Head trauma- Studies have shown a link between repeated head trauma (esp with a loss of consciousness) and Alzheimer's disease.
4. Heart disease- Because the brain relies on one of the most intricate networks of blood vessels in the body for it's supply of blood and oxygen any damage to the heart and/or blood vessels puts you at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. These include, but are not limited to, high blood pressure, stroke, high cholesterol, and atherosclerosis.
5. Smoking- Smoking doubles the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
6. Diabetes- Diabetes doubles the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease.
7. A diet high in sodium nitrate- Exposure to sodium nitrate, a preservative found in many processed foods such as cheeses, hotdogs, ground beef, bacon, lunch meats, sausage, and beer have been linked to Alzheimer's Disease as well as other dementias, diabetes, fatty liver disease, and obesity. Furthermore, a diet high in fat made the disease causing effects of the sodium nitrate much worse.

Prevention: 
       Overall the best strategy for avoiding Alzheimer's Disease is general healthy aging. Those same lifestyle changes that will keep your body healthy will also keep your brain healthy. More specifically, we should focus on our heart health. Research has shown that by protecting our heart, we protect our brain. There is emerging research that found that some people have the plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer's Disease, but no symptoms. Researchers believe that this is because these people were free of heart disease. While some risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease are out of our control, there are a lot of things we can do to decrease our overall risk for this disease.

1. Regular exercise- Benefits the brain by increasing blood and oxygen to the brain. Exercise is also an effective way to avoid heart disease and diabetes.
2. Eat a heart healthy diet- This consists of a low fat diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, shellfish, nuts, olive oil, and limiting your red meat and processed food consumption. This diet will also decrease your risk of developing diabetes.
3. Avoid sodium nitrate - Become a label reader. Check your label for sodium nitrate and avoid foods that contain it.
4. Don't smoke- Smoking interferes with blood flow and oxygen to the brain and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. If you cannot quit smoking altogether, then I suggest you at least consider cutting back to less than a half a pack per day. The same study that found that smoking doubles your risk for Alzheimer's also found that less than a half a pack per day had no effect on Alzheimer's risk.
5. Maintain a healthy weight- Those who were obese in middle age were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Obesity is also a major risk factor for heart disease and diabetes.
6. Maintain strong social connections- Studies have found a link between lifelong involvement in mentally and socially stimulating activities and a decreased risk for Alzheimer's.
7. Pick up a mentally stimulating hobby- Those who participated in mentally stimulating hobbies such as reading, playing games, or playing an instrument had a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers believe that this is because new neural connections are formed when we stimulate our brain.

              Alzheimer's Disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Based on mortality data from 2000-2008 death rates have declined for most major diseases except for Alzheimer's Disease which increased 66%. In the past 30 years Alzheimer's research has made some amazing discoveries. We should all take advantage of what researchers have learned and start being proactive about our health. For more information of Alzheimer's Disease visit the Alzheimer's Association website at www.alz.org.

Information above can be found on The Alzheimer's Association website, US National Library of Medicine, Mayoclinic.com, and Dr.Oz.com.