Taking
Preventive Measures towards Alzheimer’s Disease
How Vitamins C and E
Found in Acai Can Help
Have you watched the film The Notebook?
If you did, then you are probably aware of how a person with
Alzheimer’s disease
acts. The lead female character, Allie, struggles with
Alzheimer’s disease –
she does not recognize her husband, she does not remember her past, and
she keeps having panic fits when she lapses back into her demented
condition. Though the movie was a romanticized take on
Alzheimer’s, it
nevertheless depicted how everyone suffers from this depressing
condition.
What
Is Alzheimer’s?
Considered to be the most common form of dementia,
Alzheimer’s disease
is an illness that usually afflicts older people, aged 65 and above.
However, there are also evidences of early-onset
Alzheimer’s,
wherein the illness can start as early as 30 years of age, though these
cases are extremely rare.
Alzheimer’s disease
has a poor prognosis, since it is incurable and degenerative. In the
end, a person with
Alzheimer’s
loses the means to live independently and properly take
care of oneself.
The disease starts with a gradual onset and progresses over time. It is
difficult to diagnose
Alzheimer’s
during its early stages because the initial symptoms include memory
problems that are considered to be a normal part of aging. However,
these memory problems start to interfere with the normal functioning of
the patient, and that’s when the patient’s family realizes that it’s
not normal anymore. Examples of these memory problems include
forgetting what he ate just a while ago, or forgetting events that he
just attended the day before. These can be coupled with personality
changes, like having the tendency to be less sociable and more
withdrawn.
As the disease progresses, problems regarding cognitive functions and
abstract thinking start to surface. There are also problems with regard
to behavior and physical appearance. During the latter stage of the
disease, the patient may lose the ability to properly take care of
himself, thus having a deteriorated state of health. The patient may
die due to complications, although this is not exactly a leading
underlying cause of death among elderly people.
The
Four Stages Of Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s
disease can be divided into four stages, which shows how the
patient’s functioning deteriorates over time.
First, the predementia state shows the early symptoms of
Alzheimer’s,
which are considered as part of the normal aging process. Memory loss
is the key symptom during this stage, and there are also some abstract
thinking and attentiveness problems involved. Patients in the
predementia state are observed to be apathetic.
When a patient enters the early dementia state, there is increased
learning and memory impairment. This is usually the time when a person
is officially diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s.
Language problems and deterioration in performing fine motor tasks may
also be present. However, those in the early dementia state can still
perform tasks independently and may only need supervision in the most
demanding tasks.
In moderate dementia, complete independence is already out of the
question as the condition of the patient deteriorates. Speech
difficulties are already present, and there are problems involving
reading and writing skills, complex motor activities, and performance
of daily living activities. Long-term memory starts to get affected,
and behavioral changes are apparent. Some people even develop delusions
and urinary incontinence.
Finally, in advanced dementia, the patient cannot function without his
caregivers. There can be complete loss of speech, although the patient
can often understand emotional signals. All tasks need to be assisted,
and the patient may even lose the ability to feed himself. Death comes
as a result of being bedridden, such as pneumonia or pressure sores.
Causes
There are different theories that seek to explain what causes
Alzheimer’s disease.
One of these theories is the cholinergic hypothesis, which states that
the lack of the acetylcholine causes the disease. Acetylcholine is a
neurotransmitter in the autonomic nervous system responsible for
excitatory actions. However, this theory is not widely supported, since
medications used to increase acetylcholine have not been particularly
effective in treating
Alzheimer’s.
Another theory is the amyloid cascade hypothesis, stating that the
excess production of the protein amyloid beta in the brain is
responsible for the development of
Alzheimer’s disease.
This is the most widely discussed
Alzheimer’s
theory nowadays.
Finally, the tau hypothesis works on the idea that the abnormalities
found in tau protein are what starts the
Alzheimer’s
cascade. Until now, the real cause for
Alzheimer’s is
unknown.
Risk
Factors
People aged 65 years old and above are more at risk in
developing
Alzheimer’s
disease. The older a person is, the more at risk he becomes,
even though there are growing evidences of early onset
Alzheimer’s.
Women are also found to be more at risk for
Alzheimer’s disease.
Estrogen is somehow linked to the development of the disease, though
its actual connection is not clear and is still under research.
Alzheimer’s is
also associated with people with low educational level, reflecting a
decreased “cognitive reserve.”
Treatment
There are different medications that are available for
Alzheimer’s disease
nowadays. However, these pharmaceutical options are usually symptomatic
and palliative, meaning they only manage the symptoms and not
necessarily cure the disease. These drugs are cholinesterase inhibitors
(donepezil hydrochloride, rivastigmine, galantamine, and tacrine) and
partial glutamate antagonists (memantine). Psychosocial interventions
are also available.
< style="text-decoration: underline; font-weight: bold;">Prevention
Although there is no proven way to prevent
Alzheimer’s disease,
it wouldn’t hurt if one still takes an active role in preventing
Alzheimer’s.
There is growing evidence that antioxidants have the potential to
protect one against
Alzheimer’s disease.
Antioxidants can be found in fruits and vegetables, and one of the
fruits that is known to be high in antioxidants is
acai berry.
Acai berry
is rich in vitamins C and E, which are the main antioxidants that are
said to prevent the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease.
There have been studies in the past that show that a combination of
vitamins C and E in one supplement can actually prevent
Alzheimer’s by
protecting the brain against free radical damage. They might also
contribute to the slowing down of the disease process for people
already afflicted with
Alzheimer’s.
However, these studies still need more conclusive evidence in order to
be counted as a fact. Still, taking in vitamins has never been
considered bad for the health, right?
What
Acai Form Is Better For Me?
Acai berry
supplements are best taken in powder form, since this is the
most concentrated type of
acai berry
supplement. Unlike the liquid form, the powder or capsule form
does not contain preservatives, so consumers are assured that they are
getting 100%
acai
berry. Of course, it is better if you can eat the
acai berry in
its raw form. However, exporting the fruit exposes it to radiation,
which is required by the law in order to kill microorganisms. This
radiation may do more harm than good to your health, so the best
recommended way to take
acai berry is
through its freeze dried or powdered capsule form.
