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-

1. Anti-anxiety medications
2. Hitting on the head too many times
3. Regularly sleep-deprived
4. Loneliness
5. Diabetes in the brain
6. Old age
7. Genetic line
8. Down’s syndrome
9. Cardiovascular diseases

Symptoms:
Alzheimer’s disease damages the brain, so the clinical signs and symptoms begin to show very early. The symptoms are-

1. Memory loss
2. Agitation and mood swings
3. Poor judgment
4. The trouble with money calculations
5. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
6. Trouble in planning or solving a problem
7. Confusion with time and place
8. Difficulty in communicating
9. Loss of motivation
10. Inappropriate behavior
11. Aggressive personality
12. 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-

1. Eating more fruits and vegetables.
2. Eating berries every day.
3. Increasing omega-3 fatty acids.
4. Taking folic acid supplements.
5. Drinking grape juice or red wine with evening meal.
6. Doing the Mediterranean style diet.
7. Controlling the blood pressure.
8. Having strong social support.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease:

1. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is a long time process.
2. 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.
3. Then comes the blood test to find the cause of confusion and memory loss by checking the thyroid disorder and vitamin deficiency.
4. Then they perform the neuropsychological test and check the mental status.
5. Then there are other tests, like MRI, CT, and PET.
6. 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.

Children should be brought up with utmost care. A child should not be your centre of attraction only because it is incapable to fend for itself, but also because it is not half as aware as you are or could be about its problems. Parents punish their children for the slightest of their mistakes; they at times even threaten children to bring home a lesson. Patience and observation are two key things in good parenting. The foibles of your child might indicate at an underlying medical condition. Instead of fixating over the mistakes try and locate the root cause. Early diagnosis of autism can save your child from a bleak future.

The following are a few symptoms of autism in children:

1. Social interaction is a huge challenge: Children suffering from autism are usually noticed to live in a world of their own. They hardly listen to people around them or hardly talk. The presence of many people can scare them or make them conscious. When spoken to, they look away. They do not feel comfortable in revealing their joys or fears. Autistic children like to play alone; they are not interested in group activities with friends.

2. Difficulties in communicating their needs: Communication is the biggest problem autistic children seem to face regularly. They are not able to express their needs and emotions. If they are hungry they might scream or break things but not ask for food. They even fail to comprehend instructions and seem confounded by simple situations. Their speech could comprise of mumbling. Autism in children could make them develop a condition popularly known as echolalia under the effect of which they mouth words without knowing their meanings in an extremely strange tone.

3. An obsessive, repetitive behavior: Children with autism could be persistent in some of their actions. Their body gestures could be repetitive; for instance, they can continue flapping their arms for hours together. Children in certain cases are also very particular about routine. Quite strikingly, objects affect them and they might scrutinize an object meticulously.

4. Sensory problems: Light sound and touch can have a huge impact on children suffering from autism. Patches of light and shade intrigue them whereas high pitched sounds could depress or intimidate them. They usually prefer deep pressure touch and might not respond to anything else.

Homeopathy For Autism

Being a holistic branch of medicine, homeopathy takes into account the complete physical as well as the mental makeup of the individual. Additionally, in this alternative medicine, the homeopath also takes into consideration the details of the disease while recommending remedies. Remedies like Carcinocin, Secretin and Thuja are favored the most for treating the condition. At the same time, the appropriate remedies are recommended after having a thorough understanding as to whether the individual falls within the constitutional makeup of the remedies considered.

Another essential aspect of this branch of medicine in the treatment of this brain development disorder is the practice of using LM potencies (homeopathic medicines on the last scale of potencies). These remedies are not only acted faster but are also gentler compared to others.

Suffering seizures? Homeopathy can help!

It is undoubtedly a disturbing yet concerning experience to watch somebody have a seizure. One-off incidence may not be serious, but epileptic seizures need care; be assured, homeopathy can help!

Before you start reading the blog, please understand epilepsy is not a disease; it is a symptom of a brain disease. A single seizure does not mean epilepsy. It is just an indication of an investigation. A seizure is indeed an abnormal clinical event created by electrical discharges from the brain; however, epilepsy is defined as ‘the tendency to have seizures.' 

Significant numbers, especially for India

Approximately 50 lac people have epilepsy worldwide, and each year 24 lac people are diagnosed with epilepsy. Of these patients, 80% live in the low- and the middle-income countries. Four to 10 people per 1,000 suffer from epilepsy, but certain studies also estimate the incidence as high as between seven to 14 epilepsy patients per 100 persons in low-income countries. One-fifth or about 10 lacs of the global 50 lac epilepsy patients are in India.

I consult many epilepsy cases in my clinic, of which, the majority (60%) are pediatric cases within the age group of two to eight years. The most common type of epilepsy in the clinic is primary generalized epilepsy. Absent seizures account for the rest of the 40% epilepsy cases in the clinic.

Don't be afraid; your awareness helps the patients

I agree, for a common person witnessing or experiencing an epileptic seizure may be scary or traumatic – mentally and sometimes physically too. However, we must understand that a seizure or even epilepsy is not the end of life. With early diagnosis and proper treatment, a patient can lead a normal, independent life. The lack of diagnosis and treatment is often due to the lack of awareness among the patients and the people around them, and also the social and cultural stigma attached to seizures. Depending upon the type of epilepsy, the signs and symptoms may include temporary unconsciousness, confusion, involuntary jerking movements of arms or legs, and sometimes fear and anxiety too.

Many other health conditions may be confused with epilepsy, for example, it may be wrongly diagnosed as a psychological disease and referred to a psychiatrist, or may be diagnosed merely as a fainting spell. Especially among females, the chances of wrong diagnoses of seizures – from hysteria and attention-seeking behavior to even wholly ignoring the symptoms.

Care is essential, not the cover-up or wrong treatment

Epileptic seizures can lead to further complications and emergencies. A sudden fall to the ground during the seizure can lead to minor or major injuries to the patients. An epileptic patient needs to be cleared by the doctor to be able to drive and ride a vehicle; these patients have an unusually high risk of vehicular accidents. These patients need to take regular treatment to avoid seizure incidences that may put their or the lives of the people around them at risk. For example, the patient with epilepsy has a far higher risk of drowning in water, if not supervised or if the help is not quickly available. Status epilepticus is a medical emergency where the patient suffers longer seizures lasting as long as over 30 minutes or has two seizures without gaining full consciousness in between them. In severe cases, epilepsy may cause the death of the patient.

Diagnosis needs advanced investigations

The diagnosis of the causes behind epilepsies requires a thorough neurological examination. The investigations may include the seemingly complicated and expensive, perhaps not easily accessible, imaging technologies. EEG (electroencephalogram) plays a crucial role in the accurate diagnosis of epilepsy. To further investigate and rule out the other causes such as infections and tumors or cysts, specific blood tests and CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may be advised by the physicians.

Homeopathy helps with patient-centric approach

A homeopathic physician will carefully access and analyze a patient's case history, as with any other patient. I suggest my patients that meticulously maintaining a ‘seizure diary’ helps to describe the exact nature of patient symptoms to the physician. Such minutely detailed information helps in prescribing the most accurate and the most effective homeopathic treatment for the patient. It is a good idea to visit the homeopathic physician with a person who is around the patient so the physician can appraise the patient’s exact condition to the people close the patient.

A 22-year-old young lady described her case to me – she suffered regular seizures since her first period. The episodes occurred before her menses, sometimes leading to her collapse. The twitching of face and extremities was a regular feature. During the six months of the treatment she responded well; however, she soon discontinued the treatment as she got married. She hid condition from her husband and the in-laws. During the two-year lapse of the treatment, her condition aggravated, when she returned to my clinic. She was counseled about the importance of regular medication, and her family was apprised of her condition. They were very supportive, so she continued the treatment. She is leading a normal, symptom-free life with regular homeopathic treatment.

Another success story from my clinic is of a 4-year-old boy. A diagnosed case of partial epilepsy, he developed twitching and jerking movements in his left arm. His seizures would start as soon as he would wake up in the morning with a frequency of about two days. The child was very fearful and timid due to his condition. Considering his medical history, including tonsillitis, he was prescribed a homeopathic medicine for 15 days; his seizure-frequency lowered to once a week. With regular examination at the clinic and treatment compliance for a year, his EEG was completely normal, and the boy lived symptom-free. The child has been assessed once a year since and has grown-up to be a good sportsperson, leading a normal and worry-free life as any young man. 

These representative and many more cases in my clinic underline two things: the lack of awareness and social stigma delay the diagnosis and the treatment for the patients, losing many months and years and increasing complications due to epilepsy; and a timely and quality homeopathic treatment can help you lead a fulfilling life even with epilepsy or help you cure the condition completely.