Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Mother Nature has blessed mankind amongst all the entities on the earth with an
extraordinary quality of logical and rational thinking. The storehouse of immense
knowledge, 'BRAIN' is the source of this exceptional attribute. Unfortunately, the entire
system of an individual becomes handicapped as the same brain starts deteriorating. The
major culprit who is involved in the deterioration of brain is Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Alzheimer's disease is a devastating disease of brain that robs the afflicted individual of
intelligence, memory and eventually life.
As many as 2-4 % of all people of 65 years of age and older have Alzheimer's. As many
as 20 % (or more) of population over 85 years age have the AD. Alzheimer's disease
(pronounced AHLZ-hi-merz) is one of several disorders that cause the gradual loss of
brain cells. The disease was first described in 1906 by German physician Dr. Alois
Alzheimer. However, Alzheimer's disease did exist long before the birth of Dr. Alzheimer.
The research has shown that Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia; in fact
70% of dementias are due to Alzheimer's disease.
Dementia is an umbrella term for several symptoms related to a decline in thinking skills
and progressive deterioration of brain performance. Common symptoms include a
gradual loss of memory, problems with reasoning or judgment, disorientation, difficulty
in learning, loss of language skills, etc. People with dementia also experience changes in
their personalities and behavioral problems. The cumulative effect of all these changes
becomes distressing both to the individual and their families. It should be stressed that
Alzheimer's disease knows no social, economic, ethnic or geographical boundaries;
eventually those affected are unable to care for themselves and need help with all aspects
of daily life. The magnitude of this disease is huge, there are estimated to be 17-25
million people worldwide with Alzheimer's disease.

What happens to brain in Alzheimer' disease?

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive death of brain cells. This results from
two abnormal structures in the brain: Amyloid plaques (pronounced AM i loyd, which are
clumps of protein fragments that accumulate outside of cells and Neurofibrillary tangles
(pronounced NUR o FI bri lair ee), which are clumps of altered proteins inside cells.

Why these changes develop in the brain?

Research about these structures has provided clues about why nerve cells die, but
scientists have not determined exactly why these changes develop. In short, no one yet
knows exactly what causes Alzheimer's disease. Most researchers agree that the cause
may be a complex set of factors. Though Alzheimer's disease affects individuals in 40s
and 50s, studies have shown that the greatest known risk for developing Alzheimer's is
increasing age. As many as 2-4 % of all people of 65 years of age and older have
Alzheimer's. As many as 20 % (or more) of population over 85 years age have the AD. A
family history of the disease is another known risk. Having a parent or sibling with the
disease increases an individual's chances of developing Alzheimer's. Many mysterious
diseases have provided interesting clues through genetic studies. Scientists have
identified certain genes, which are very strongly related to Alzheimer's.

Other factors:
Many diverse medical theories, including the biochemistry of acetylcholine and
neurotransmitters, inflammation, oxidative stress and free radicals, and homocysteine,
nutritional and vitamin deficiencies, as probable causes of Alzheimer's disease has been
put forth. A wide array of risk factors for Alzheimer's include, disorders of blood
circulation, hormonal imbalance, head trauma, emotional stress, alcohol abuse, metabolic
defects, nutritional deficiencies, and even some infections.

How Alzheimer's presents:

Declining memory is the most common early symptom of Alzheimer's. Some change in
memory is normal as we grow older, but the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are more
than simple lapses in memory. People with Alzheimer's experience difficulties
communicating, learning, thinking, and reasoning - problems severe enough to have an
impact on an individual's work, social activities, and family life.

While it's normal to forget appointments, names, or telephone numbers, once in a while,
those with Alzheimer's will forget such things more often and not remember them later.
In addition, People with ordinary forgetfulness can still remember other facts associated
with the thing they have forgotten. For example they may briefly forget their next-door
neighbor's name but they still know the person they are talking to is their next-door
neighbor. A person with dementia will not only forget their neighbor's name but also the
context.
Individuals with AD begin to misplace everyday items, such as the car keys or
eyeglasses, and become disoriented and get lost in familiar surroundings (such as when
driving on well-known streets). With Alzheimer individual find difficult to perform even
familiar tasks and may forget the steps for preparing a meal, using a household appliance,
or in what order to put clothes on.
A person with Alzheimer's disease often forgets simple words or substitutes unusual
words, making his or her speech or writing hard to understand. Individuals with
Alzheimer's often show poor judgment about money, and mathematics.
People's personalities ordinarily change somewhat with age. But a person with
Alzheimer's disease can change a lot, becoming extremely confused, suspicious, fearful,
or dependent on a family member. An Alzheimer's may become unusually emotional and
experience rapid mood swings for no apparent reason. Alternatively a person with
Alzheimer's may show less emotion than was usual previously. In addition, they may
experience delusions (believing in a reality that does not exist), and hallucinations (seeing
things that do not exist).
In the terminal phase, Alzheimer patient enters in a world where he can recognize
nothing neither family members and friends, nor himself.
How the disease progresses: Alzheimer's disease advances at widely different rates. The
duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. Eventually, the person with
Alzheimer's will need complete care. If the individual has no other serious illness, the
loss of brain function itself may cause death.

How the condition is diagnosed:

Early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is an important step in getting appropriate
treatment, care, and support services. There is no one diagnostic test that can detect if a
person has Alzheimer's disease, but the process involves several kinds of tests and may
take more than one day to complete the evaluation. Evaluations may include the
following steps:

A medical history, which collects information about current mental or physical

conditions, prescription and nonprescription drug use, and family health history
A mental status evaluation to assess sense of time and place; ability to remember,
understand, and communicate; and ability to do simple math problems

A physical examination, which includes the evaluation of the person's nutritional

status, blood pressure, sensations, balance, and other functions of nervous system
Investigations like a brain scan like CT and MRI to detect other causes of
dementia such as stroke and laboratory tests, such as blood and urine tests, for
checking various components of blood, hormones, enzymes, infections, etc.

Treatment:
Alzheimer's disease is difficult disorder. Homeopathy system offers reasonably positive
treatment if not cure.
When we discuss the role of medicine for certain diseases, we probably do not talk of the
'cure' in real sense, but more of 'control' and 'relief'. AD is one such condition, where
homeopathy has following role to play:

To control the disease process whereby further deterioration of the brain damage
is helped to certain extent
To improve to an extent some of the symptoms: communication, failing memory,
anxiety, restlessness, etc.

Many of the problems associated with dementia such as restlessness, depression, and
agitation can be treated effectively and gently with homeopathy. It may also be possible,
especially in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, to improve someone's memory with
homeopathic medication. Timely administered homeopathy medicines can prevent further
progress of disease.
Homeopathy is over 207 years old medicine originated in Germany. Homeopathy is the
revolutionary, natural medical science and a system of medicine, which is gentle,
effective, and devoid of any side effects.
The homeopathic remedies are prepared from natural substances to precise standards and
work by stimulating the body's own healing power.
Homeopathy is one such branch of therapeutics, which believes in treating the patient
who is diseased and not merely diseased parts of the patients. This holistic approach goes
in a long way in the management of various chronic and deep-seated diseases, including
Alzheimer's.
It goes without saying that every person is unique and dementia affects people differently
- no two people will follow exactly the same course. Hence, an approach to dementia
care, which recognizes the personal history, character and individuality of the person with
Alzheimer's, has been shown to have a positive impact on the progress of the disease.
Homeopathy undertakes study of each Alzheimer's as separate entity and does in-depth
evaluation of the disease as well as patient as person. It means, the physician has to
understand the patient and his/her problems more deeply, with regards to its symptoms,

its diagnosis as well as its probable genetic background. The study also involves deep
evaluation of the mind and emotions. After appreciating the patients in his totality, a
suitable medicine called as 'constitutional medicine' is selected for the patient. The
medication based on such foundation brings deeper level healing process for the sufferers
of chronic diseases.
We, at Life Force, have some experience in treating AD; and the experience has
suggested that some definite improvement takes place with regards to memory.
It should be noted that there is no single specific remedy for all the cases of Alzheimer's.
The exact treatment is determined only on in-depth evaluation of individual case.