A lot of things can be done to cope with the initial stages of dementia. A person goes through a wide range of emotions such as fear, denial, frustration, and anger, post the diagnosis. Here is a list of tips that will help a patient with dementia to cope better:

Physical health: For a dementia patient, it is very important to take care of one s health. A good diet along with regular exercise and adequate rest is a prerequisite to manage this disorder.
Regular check-ups: Regular medical check-ups with the doctor are necessary in this condition. Depression and other mental health problems should be discussed with a professional.
Quit alcohol: Alcohol might give momentary pleasure from the misery, but it has long-standing implications. It reacts with the medicine and creates additional health and memory-related complications.
Allocate time for difficult tasks: With time, it can become difficult to perform even the simplest of tasks. The patient should accordingly schedule the time to perform the tasks which may be difficult to carry out. Adequate breaks should be taken while performing a task to avoid getting fatigued.
Redefine work: If a patient is suffering from dementia is still working, it should be ensured that the work is more manageable from a desk. Planning an early retirement may be a good idea in order to cope with dementia.
Be organised: Keeping track of things can get difficult with time. It, therefore, makes sense to organise all belongings systematically. Putting labels on doors and drawers also help.
Continue pursuing your hobbies: Amidst the difficulty and the depression, it is a good idea to continue doing things that are fun. While such activities might require some assistance from the doctor and family members, this helps the patient to be cheerful and healthy.
Maintain notes: Since dementia is involved with forgetfulness, it makes sense to maintain a diary and keep records of phone numbers, people, appointments, etc.
Communication channel: Maintaining a direct communication channel with family, friends, and relatives is a good idea. Sharing feelings will go a long way in maintaining relations with loved ones.
Support group: Joining a dementia support group can be highly beneficial for the patient. It will not only give the patient company but also make sure that the patient gets a lot of useful information about the disorder. It also helps in keeping the morale up.
Getting ready for the future: Things need to be meticulously planned well in advance to ensure that when the disease progresses, the patient has enough people to look after him. Things such as medical arrangements, financial assets, and property details should be carefully handed over as per the patient's wish. This will ensure a smooth run of the patients  life when they can no longer take care of themselves.

Dementia - Easy Tips To Help You Cope With It!

With age, just like other body functions, the mind too begins to slow down. This could lead to problems in communication, focus, recall, reasoning, and thinking. So with dementia, the person faces problems which are a combination of above-mentioned activities. Dementia is a symptom associated with many diseases and is not a disease on its own.

Alzheimer s is the main cause of dementia, followed by stroke or brain injury, Huntington s disease, and Lewy body disease. However, there are some symptoms that can be indicative that a person is gradually progressing into dementia. Watching out for these symptoms can help one seek help at an early stage, thereby helping the affected person, and slowing down its progress.

Short term memory loss: With age, people tend to forget what happened recently, and this can even be something as recent as the previous day. However, they can very clearly recollect events from the past. They might forget things like where they have placed their glasses, where the television remote control is, etc. They may also ask for the same information repeatedly, even after it is answered.
Mood changes: Rapid mood swings is observed in a person suffering from dementia. Their emotions keep changing within a matter of seconds, and they may show also less emotion than what they used to show previously.
Personality changes: Since dementia affects reasoning and judgment, someone who was earlier shy could suddenly become outgoing. Their inhibitions which led to a shy personality are lost, making them more outgoing.
Difficulty in performing regular tasks: Be it forgetting things like laying out tables, keeping things back in their places, or organising medical kits, with dementia setting in, these tasks slowly become more difficult to do. Also, learning new tasks, even simple ones, seem tough and are often not accomplished.
Losing storylines: The elderly would usually be good with telling and appreciating stories like telling tales to their grandchildren or following television soaps and stories. However, as dementia begins to set in, they tend to lose storylines, both when observing and telling.
Repeating actions: As they are not able to register things, they tend to repeat things, both in words and in actions.
Feeling lost: Things like heading out to a store to buy something and then wondering why they came there are common. Short-term memory loss can cause such situations. This confusion, especially with regard to time and things, is very common.
Spatial and time orientation: There could be problems relating to space and time, seasons, and they may often ask questions like what time it is, etc. Routine tasks like paying bills, cooking using recipe books, which were easily managed, suddenly begin to look difficult.
Apathy: Losing interest in people, hobbies, or other things like puzzles, which they once enjoyed, become boring and unenjoyable.

9 Early Symptoms of Dementia!

Alzheimer s disease is a neurological, irreversible, progressive brain disorder. It is a chronic neurodegenerative dementia that causes the death of brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. It affects a person s thinking and behavior. The symptoms develop slowly and get worse as time passes.

Causes:
As it is a kind of dementia, Alzheimer s is caused by the death of brain cells. Over a course of time, brain cells die progressively and at the end, the tissue is left with fewer nerve cells and connections. As a result, the total brain size shrinks. Tiny inclusions called plaques and tangles can be seen in the postmortem. These cannot be seen or tested in a living Alzheimer s affected brain. These plaques are given the name  amyloid plaques  because they are found among the dying cells of the brain when a protein called beta-amyloid builds. The tangles stay in the neurons; they are formed from a protein called tau.

There are several reasons behind all this, some of which are listed below-

Anti-anxiety medications
Hitting on the head too many times
Regularly sleep-deprived
Loneliness
Diabetes in the brain
Old age
Genetic line
Down s syndrome
Cardiovascular diseases
Symptoms:
Alzheimer s disease damages the brain, so the clinical signs and symptoms begin to show very early. The symptoms are-

Memory loss
Agitation and mood swings
Poor judgment
The trouble with money calculations
Difficulty doing familiar tasks
Trouble in planning or solving a problem
Confusion with time and place
Difficulty in communicating
Loss of motivation
Inappropriate behavior
Aggressive personality
Childlike behavior
Preventing Alzheimer s disease:
Alzheimer s disease ultimately results in death. Even if there are treatments, they cannot fully cure it. So it s better to try to prevent it before it happens. Ways to prevent Alzheimer s disease are-

Eating more fruits and vegetables.
Eating berries every day.
Increasing omega-3 fatty acids.
Taking folic acid supplements.
Drinking grape juice or red wine with evening meal.
Doing the Mediterranean style diet.
Controlling the blood pressure.
Having strong social support.
Treatment of Alzheimer s disease:

Treatment of Alzheimer s disease is a long time process.
First of all, doctors perform a physical exam to check the overall neurological health. By this, they check muscle strength, reflexes, walking ability, sense of sight and hearing, coordination and balance.
Then comes the blood test to find the cause of confusion and memory loss by checking the thyroid disorder and vitamin deficiency.
Then they perform the neuropsychological test and check the mental status.
Then there are other tests, like MRI, CT, and PET.
After all this, drugs are given and a safe and supportive environment is created with proper exercise and nutrition.
Alzheimer s disease is undoubtedly the worst kind of disease. Hence, it is highly recommended to contact a doctor as soon as any symptom is noticed.

All About Alzheimer's Disease!

The skin is an elastic organ (yes, it is an organ!), but only to a certain extent. It has a limit to which it can accommodate the underlying tissues. With the increase in bulk, for example, puberty, pregnancy, muscle mass building or surgical implants, the skin is made to stretch beyond its limits. What happens is this stretch causes the skin to stretch too, and these stretch marks or striae become an unpleasant thing that needs to be hidden. 

Dressing needs to be changed so that they are not showing. Dermatologists see a big demand for getting rid of these marks too. There have been conventional, time-tested methods which help in getting rid of these. However, with newer advancements in dermatology, the platelet rich plasma is being widely used for getting rid of these stretch marks.

Why stretch marks? 

In any of the scenarios above, the stretch marks appear because there is a lack of underlying supportive tissue when it is stretched out. There is a lack of collagen and connective tissue, causing stretch marks. These are most evident in fat collecting areas like breasts, abdomen, thighs, upper arms, etc.

What is platelet-rich plasma or PRP? 

The blood is composed of a liquid portion known as plasma, which contains three main types of cells i.e. white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. The white blood cells are the ones responsible for fighting infections. The red cells give blood its color and also are responsible for carrying nutrients to the various organs. The platelets are tiny fragments of cells which help in blood clotting. Platelets are also rich in what are called totipotent cells, which can grow into any type of cells. When the body is affected, due to injury, infection, trauma, etc., these get concentrated in the affected area and are produced in large numbers to help in the recovery of the particular affected area.

Technique: 

The area to be treated is isolated and prepared. Blood is centrifuged to remove other cells and obtain platelet rich plasma. This RPR is injected into the underlying layers of the skin. This induces the release of growth factors into the connective tissue space. Collagen is produced over a period of time, which causes the skin to become taut and lose the stretch marks. The injection can be repeated if required on the topmost layer. It can also be mixed with thrombin to form a gel, which is then used similarly. Using it both in the underlying and superficial layers helps in completely getting rid of the marks.

Studies have shown a reduction in both the depth and size of the stretch marks and some might require two to three repeat injections.


Stretch Marks - How PRP Therapy Can Help You?

Alzheimer s disease is one of the most severe forms of dementia that is, memory loss which also comes with other disorders such as reduced muscle movement. A patient with the Alzheimer s disease practically forgets even the most basic day-to-day activities and hence, the disease interrupts the lives of people suffering from it and the ones who are related to them. A commonly observed pattern in the patients suffering from the Alzheimer s disease is that most of them are aged 60 years and beyond. In simple words, it is the death of the brain cells, that is, the nerve cells which causes the memory loss at first and then the cognitive decline of other bodily functions.

Symptoms:

A patient of the Alzheimer s disease might show one or more of the following mentioned symptoms. Read the symptoms carefully and help identify the symptoms if you see them in anyone in your surroundings. Most people mistake this symptom to be something else which causes a delay in the diagnosis. But if the disorder is diagnosed at an early stage it might help people survive, or at least have a little longer until their memory stays intact. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to know about the symptoms that are given below:

The inability to remembering the information 
Repeating questions or actions
Unable to find the way on a rather regularly visited road
The decrease in decision-making ability
Poor judgment
Unable to solve complex puzzles or do tough activities
Unable to recognize familiar people such as colleagues and relatives
Unable to dress up properly
Inability in speaking mother tongue or word formation
Uncontrollable mood swings
Rude and un-empathetic social behavior such as being outspoken
They will be unable to maintain their own finances unlike before.
Stages of Alzheimer s disease
It is not unknown a fact when someone says that detecting a disease at an early stage is beneficial than at a later stage. The reason being that if a disease is detected earlier, there are more chances of treating it successfully, or in case of the Alzheimer s disease there are more chances of a medication to work on slowing down the adverse effects of the disease since there is no permanent cure available for it. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that one is aware of the early onset of the disease and also, the symptoms to make a quick diagnosis. The disease affects people between the age of 30 and 60, generally, the symptoms begin at the very early age of 30 but they do not become persistent before reaching a later-on stage. The three stages are:

Preclinical when the individual hasn t recorded any symptoms
The beginning with mild symptoms
Complete dementia

Alzheimer's Disease - Know Its Symptoms!

With age, most body organs begin to deteriorate in their function. This happens to the brain also, thereby reducing the overall speed of functioning of most organs. While slowing of bodily movement is visible, the internal organs functioning also slows down, which is not that obvious. Memory loss or dementia is one of the main manifestations of this degeneration of the brain.

Alzheimer s is the most common form of dementia, and the associated symptoms includes reduced reasoning abilities and cognitive defects. Though it is seen only in the elderly, not all elderly people will have Alzheimer s. The overall quality of life of the affected person is reduced with difficulty remembering things that were recently learned. It is a progressive disease and as it gets more severe, a full-time caretaker may be required.

Causes: The brain cells are affected by protein masses known as plaques and tangles. These hamper the way communication between the brain cells happens as well as affect nutrition from reaching all parts of the brain. This leads to shrinking of the brain, eventually leading to memory loss and other problems. There is also a strong genetic linkage, as most people with Alzheimer s have the lipoprotein A gene.

Symptoms: Though memory loss is the most common symptom, there are other symptoms:

Being confused about places, people, and times
Inability to find the right words during conversations
Regular objects are misplaced
Becoming irritable, (in someone who was not so previously)
Mood swings
Personality changes
Inability to organise thoughts
Not able to make the right decisions
Repetitive talks and actions
Forgetfulness (not something the person always does)
Difficulty with numbers (again, not something calculations
Difficulty managing everyday tasks and minor problems
Suspicion of others (like immediate family members and friends)
Risk factors: While age is definitely a risk factor, the fact that not all aged people develop Alzheimer s is to be borne in mind. Other risk factors include the history of stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, and poor lifestyle choices.

Diagnosis: While there is no definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer s, symptoms along with brain scans and neuropsychological function testing are useful ways to confirm the diagnosis.

Treatment: This is aimed at two things reducing the rate of disease progression and treat (or reverse) symptoms if possible.

Cholinesterase inhibitors improve cellular communication in the brain and also manage depression and agitation. Memantine is used to slow the pace of disease progression.
In people with the disease, small changes are useful to help them with the symptoms. These include keeping essential things like keys and wallet in the same place, keep a daily diary to help them remember things, keep pictures of friends and family within visible distance.

Alzheimer's - An Overview!

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