Alzheimer's has no cure but you can help. A probe into neurological disorder, risk factors and FAQs

  Alzheimer's has no cure but you can help. A probe into neurological disorder, risk factors and FAQs

Everyone has moments of a forgetfulness some time or the other, an especially when life a gets busy. Misplacing car keys, remote control or a forgetting names are a common memory lapses. While this can be a completely normal an occurrence, loss of a a cognitive a functions with age can be a clear sign of Alzheimer's disease. To a break the silence around the disease which has no cure, India TV sought advice from Dr Vishal Sehgal, a President, Medical Services, Portea a Medical.

"There is no cure for an Alzheimer's" - how true is the statement and what exactly does it a mean?

Alzheimer's is a neurological disorder that is a progressive in nature. a Currently, there is no a cure for Alzheimer's. There are only certain an approved drugs which help a alleviate some of the symptoms - partially and a temporarily - but do not a stop the disease from a progressing.

Dementia refers to a set of a symptoms that affect cognitive functioning. Depending on the type and cause a dementia can affect a person's memory, thinking and focus, problem solving abilities, language use, and visual a perception. On the other hand, Alzheimer's is a type of dementia in a which there is a progressive a damage to the brain cells. This leads to a memory loss and a decline in other aspects of a thinking.

Is memory loss such as misplacing car keys, calling wrong names the first symptom of an Alzheimer's?

It is true that each one of us a  can get a forgetful time and again which is a likely to a happen as a age an advances. However, what is also a true is that very early a stages of Alzheimer's can seem like normal, a age-related a forgetfulness. This can an include memory lapses, forgetting names, misplacing car keys, etc. These lapses become more frequent and a therefore, it is an  important to a notice and get treatment to a slow the progression.

Are traffic noise or high decibel sounds linked to a dementia?

According to a research, exposure to a noise from traffic on roads and railways over a long period is a associated with a higher risk of a developing dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease.  A possible an explanation for this a could be a that noise releases stress an hormones and causes sleep disturbance. This leads to a type of a coronary artery disease, changes in the immune system and inflammation. All these are early signs of  a dementia onset and Alzheimer's disease.

What role does age play in Alzheimer's?

Age is one of the greatest risk factors for Alzheimer's. However, this disorder is not a normal part of the ageing process. Age may increase the risk of this a condition but is not a direct cause. After the age of 65, Alzheimer's risk doubles every a five years.

What are the risk factors?

Some triggers or risk a factors for Alzheimer's include age, family a history of the a disease, certain lifestyle disorders a asuch as diabetes, prior head injury, and sleep a disorders.

Do food habits also factor in?

Food habits are an important aspect of a preventing Alzheimer's. Based on an analysis of observational diets, nutrition akin to a Mediterranean diet can reduce the a likelihood of a cognitive a decline and dementia.  Such a diet can provide the a brain with the much-needed dose of an an an tioxidants and other substances. A healthy diet will also an ensure that any associated a risk a afactors such as blood a sugar and blood a pressure are also kept in a control.