Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease
Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD), is one form of dementia that gradually gets worse over time. It affects memory,thinking, and behavior.
Causes
This disease is more likely if you:
* Are older. However, developing AD is not a part of normal aging.
* Have a close blood relative, such as a brother,sister, or parent with AD.
* Have certain genes linked to AD, such as APOE epsilon4 allele
The following may also increase your risk, although this is not well proven:
* Being female
* Havinghigh blood pressure for a long time
* History of head trauma
There are two types of AD:
* Early onset AD: Symptoms appear before age 60. This type is much less common than late onset. However,it tends to get worse quickly. Early onset disease can run in families. Several genes have been identified.
* Late onset AD: This is the most common type. It occurs in people age 60 and older. Itmay run in some families, but the role of genes is less clear.
Symptoms
Dementia symptoms include difficulty with many areas of mental function, including:
* Emotional behavior or personality* Language
* Memory
* Perception
* Thinking and judgment (cognitive skills)
Dementia usually first appears as forgetfulness.
Exams and Tests
A diagnosis of AD is made when certainsymptoms are present, and by making sure other causes of dementia are not present.
Tests may be done to rule out other possible causes of dementia, including:
* Anemia
* Brain tumor
*Chronic infection
* Intoxication from medication
* Severe depression
* Stroke
* Thyroid disease
* Vitamin deficiency
Computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ofthe brain may be done to look for other causes of dementia, such as a brain tumor or stroke.
* In the early stages of dementia, brain image scans may be normal. In later stages, an MRI may show a...