MidnightCall Magazine
In this issue:
- Hear theWord of the Lord — By Thomas Lieth
- FirstThessalonians 3 and the Rapture — By Dr. Ron J. Bigalke Jr.
- Popular Prophecy:CheckingDogmaTwice — By Wilfred Hahn
News From Israel MagazineIn this issue:
- Why Jerusalem is Jewish — By Arno Froese
- ON THE HORIZON:
- Analysis: Birthright Needs to Transform on Larger Scale
- Israel Praises Turkish Authority for Preventing Hezbollah Attack
- Relationship with American Jews Is Changing
- A Festival of Discrimination—Funded by the EU
- The Cyrus Cylinder
Can Alzheimer’s disease be prevented?
There is no definite answer to this question because we still are not sure what exactly causes Alzheimer’s. The only way Alzheimer’s can be definitely diagnosed is at autopsy when the pathologist finds brain tissue that has been destroyed by “tangles” and “plaques.” Only then can he be positive that the patient died of Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but there is no definitive test for it, nor is there any cure. It is a progressive disease that begins slowly. Various theories exist for what causes Alzheimer’s. One theory is that it is caused by a gene and runs in families. Another is that certain diseases may increase the risk for developing Alzheimer’s, such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, alcoholism, and lack of exercise, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
The common form affects persons over the age of 60 and the incidence increases as a person ages. Five million Americans have Alzheimer’s at a cost of $90 billion a year. The disease is twice as common in women than it is in men, and accounts for more than 65% of the dementias in the elderly.
Alzheimer’s may be divided roughly into four clinical stages. The early stage usually begins with short-term memory loss, difficulty in finding the right word while speaking, mood swings, and personality changes. Patients may become irritable, agitated and hostile. In the intermediate stage, patients become unable to learn and retain new information. Patients may require assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, and toileting. They may wander off, become uncooperative, or physically aggressive. By this stage, patients have lost all sense of time and place. They often get lost, even unable to find the bathroom, or their own bedroom. They are at risk for falls and household accidents. In the severe stage, they are unable to walk or perform any activity of daily living and usually are totally incontinent. They may not recognize anyone, including close family members. They may be unable to swallow and eat, and are at risk for malnutrition, pneumonia, and bedsores. Seizures may also occur.
Psychiatric complications include anxiety, depression, and paranoid reactions. True psychoses include delusions and hallucinations in about 10% of the patients. The end stage is coma and death, usually as a result of infection.
Warning: Eighty percent of family members or caregivers develop depression over time! Patient management is extremely difficult. The rate of progression of Alzheimer’s is variable in different patients, but the symptoms are not reversible. Survival ranges from 2 to 20 years, with an average of 7 years. So, knowing the theoretical causes of Alzheimer’s, we offer our advice of how to help prevent it, and slow it down.
First, keep your brain active: Do a crossword puzzle daily; play card games, or even solitaire; read the newspaper and watch the learning channel to learn new things; and internet with people by going to social clubs and meetings. Second, keep your body active.
At the very least, take a brisk 30-minute walk daily. Avoid too much TV and becoming a couch potato. Third, eat healthy — spinach and broccoli are excellent foods. Avoid being overweight, smoking, and abusing alcohol. Fourth, be under the care of a good physician
regularly. And don’t forget to pray. “Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; he is their help and their shield” (Psalm 115:11).