Seth Rogen and the "Brutal" Alzheimer’s Disease

When Seth Rogen said that Alzheimer is ‘brutal’, he resonated with millions of caregivers across the world who see their loved ones slip into oblivion. Indeed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is brutal in that it slowly takes the person away from society, friends and family into death. The operative word is ‘slowly’.  We’ll learn some more about this disease.

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s Disease is classified as a neurodegenerative disorder. It affects the brain of the person, causing it to shrink and lose its cognitive functionality slowly, over time. The disease usually spans 4-8 years, causing death of the affected person at the end of the term, but in some cases can have a longer tenure.

Who does it affect? What are its symptoms?

AD typically affects people with over 65 years. It typically starts with what many people identify as “forgetfulness”. Since the disease predominantly affects the elderly, most people wrongly associate early symptoms with age-related issues. Typical early symptom is short-term memory loss where people start forgetting what happened recently. This slowly progresses into irritability, confusion and inability to remember events from the past (long-term memory loss) to the extent that, in advanced stages, people with AD fail to recognise their own kith and kin. Slowly, the person starts losing body functions ultimately leading to death.

It is estimated that 1.18% of world’s population will have AD by 2050. The increase in incidence can be correlated to increasing life-span of people due to advances in medicine.

Are there tests to detect AD?

AD cannot be diagnosed with a single test. A host of considerations are taken before deciding that a person has AD. A doctor will order a series of tests to come to a conclusion that the symptoms that the person is exhibiting are indeed because of AD and not other dementia-family diseases that have similar symptoms. A doctor might do physical examination, consider a person’s family history, do a neurological examination that includes testing a person’s reflexes, speech, etc, do a mental status test to see if the person is aware of “here and now” and may order Brain imaging.

What are the treatment options?

As of today, there is no cure for AD. The disease’s progression can neither be stopped nor reversed. Treatment is mainly palliative and is targeted at symptoms. The idea is to have a balanced diet and have regular mental stimulation exercises aimed at deferring degeneration.