ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES
Over the past fifty years, the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases has occupied a major place in medical research.
Researchers and clinicians have carried out various analyses and observations leading them to distinguish physiological ageing from pathological ageing.
Today there are three major neurodegenerative diseases. The best known is Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. Alzheimer's disease will be our main focus.
SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
AMNESIA
Progressive loss of memory
AGNOSIA
Loss of object recognition
APHASIA
Loss of oral expression and language
APRAXY
Inability to perform movements
DISEASE PREVENTION
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
All body activity is good. Also think about relaxation, meditation and deep breathing exercises, such as yoga. In addition to staying in shape, these activities help to reduce the stress that doctors suspect is a contributing factor to the worsening of the disease.
INTELLECTUAL EXERCISE
Like the body, the mind needs exercise. This intellectual stimulation can take a playful form: letter games (scrabble, crosswords), question games (Trivial Pursuit), reasoning games (dominos, puzzles), skill games (mikado), strategy games (Monopoly), construction games (models)...
SOCIO-CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Going to the cinema, the theatre, conferences, continuing to read books are also possible activities. If you enjoy reading less, you can still listen to recorded books. You can also engage in a writing activity: emails, letters, postcards, newspapers...
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
MEDICAL RESEARCH IN THE WORLD
There is a lot of research underway to better understand Alzheimer's disease, detect it early and treat it.
Currently, the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is based on neuropsychological assessment and brain imaging tests.But this method would not detect more than half of all people with Alzheimer's disease.
However, recent studies indicate that the first neural diseases may be present up to ten years before diagnosis. One of the challenges is therefore the development of an assay for biological markers in the blood. Tests are also underway to test high-performance brain imaging techniques. At the same time, epidemiological studies aim to identify risk factors by studying a large number of people over many years.
These results are based on an assessment of neuropsychological conditions. One of the challenges is therefore the development of an assay for biological markers in the blood. Tests are also underway to test high-performance brain imaging techniques. At the same time, epidemiological studies aim to identify risk factors by studying a large number of people over many years.
In neuroimaging, researchers have developed radiotracers to detect plaques;amyloid;in-vivo in patients. Several teams are now working on the development of radiotracers to visualize Tau pathology.
A research challenge is to develop and identify new biomarkers.These should be easily usable (e. g. blood testing techniques) and indicate the presence of the disease reliably. Such biomarkers will be essential tools for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and should allow for better management of people with the disease.
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