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Do you know the Symptoms for Alcohol related dementia?

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DO YOU KNOW THE SYMPTOMS FOR ALCOHOL RELATED DEMENTIA?

Do you know the symptoms for alcohol related dementia– or did you know such a  diagnosis existed? I was surprised, myself.

Shocking findings are now indicating that drinking alcohol – even in moderation – can cause Alzheimer’s in later life. A study reported by the BBC, monitored 1,300 women over the course of 20 years and discovered that cognitive impairment was more apparent in those who did consume alcohol, as opposed to those who did not.

Furthermore, it’s believed that alcohol can cause one in four cases of dementia, adding to an endless list of why alcohol is harmful to our bodies.

Alcohol related dementia

The type of Alzheimer’s known as Korsakoff’s Syndrome, is caused by a lack of thiamine – or Vitamin B1 -which results in brain cells being unable to function. Thiamine allows the cells to turn sugar into energy so that the brain can work properly and, without this, brain function deteriorates and Korsakoff’s Syndrome can develop.

This condition is caused by excess consumption of alcohol because those who misuse alcohol tend to have poor eating habits, which prevent them from getting Thiamine from their diet; thiamine can be found in nuts, grains and meat, so consuming a balanced diet is recommended.

However, more tellingly, alcohol can prevent the conversion of thiamine, thus preventing it from being used by brain cells.

Korsakoff’s Syndrome is also caused by other conditions, such as AIDS and other conditions linked to poor nutrition.

Early symptoms include changes in vision, for example, double or blurred vision. Symptoms can then progress into muscle and memory problems; muscle co-ordination will deteriorate and forming new memories and remembering old ones becomes difficult.

How to treat Korsakoff’s Syndrome

If you believe you’re suffering from the early signs of Korsakoff’s Syndrome, it’s vital that you seek professional medical help right away. As, with close monitoring and medication, the syndrome can be managed and prevented from getting much worse.

The majority of the symptoms can be alleviated by an injection of vitamin B1 into the muscle – this should prevent further damage. However, memory loss in this case is often permanent.

It’s also vital that the patient gives up alcohol immediately, so they may need to be admitted to inpatient care and treated for alcohol withdrawal if they have an issue with alcohol misuse. In addition, the patient will be encouraged to eat a full, healthy, balanced diet so that they have a constant supply of vitamin B1 in order for their brain function to return to normal.

To prevent Korsakoff’s Syndrome from happening, if you’re unwilling to reduce your alcohol consumption, vitamin B1 supplements are available, although a balanced diet is also an adequate way of getting the vitamin into your body.

Author: Laura Chapman

 

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Beyond the Influence: Understanding and Defeating AlcoholismCheck PriceWhy You Drink and How to Stop: A Journey to FreedomCheck Price

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 NOW Foods Vitamin B-1 (Thiamine) 100mg, 100 TabletsCheck Price BulkSupplements Pure Thiamine HCL (Vitamin B1) Powder (100 grams)Check Price

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Lewy Body Dementia A Common Brain Disease Explained

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Lewy Body Dementia

lewy-body-dementiaLewy body dementia, a surprisingly common type of brain disorder that causes changes in the ability to think and move. The two main types—dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinsons’ disease dementia—differ in the earliest signs.

This book is written by Judy Towne who took care of her husband with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) at home.

Ms Towne offers many hints and tips for caregivers who are caring for a loved one at home, plus many informative facts about Lewy Body Disease as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Each of these illnesses have some symptoms in common, especially various forms of dementia.

As I did with my Mom, so does Judy Towne wish she had known the symptoms sooner. I think we all have a tendency to brush off symptoms like losing our balance or forgetting something we did yesterday. Yet, if we recognize these odd moments for what they are: early symptoms, then we may get help sooner when drug treatments may be more apt to have an effect.

Judy Towne’s husband had many of the symptoms that we hear on Alzheimer’s Support everyday. Our loved one suffers from Sleepless nights, stumbling due to poor balance, the necessity of notepads if they intend to hold a thought for longer than a few hours.

As most of us did, she considered the symptoms as a part of aging, until she finally made a medical appointment after the incidents began to effect her husband’s work life.

Judy Towne also explains many symptoms that don’t occur in Alzheimer’s dementia. If you aren’t sure what your loved ones medical condition is, or if you know that they have Lewy Body Dementia— you will thoroughly appreciate this book.

Judy is wonderful at sharing her story and her feelings through this process. This book is easy to read straight through. Each chapter is written to cover a particular characteristic that might be present in someone with Lewy Body Dementia. You can search the Contents Page or Index to find the information you re searching for.

As Judy says: “This book is written to give Caregivers meat and potatoes suggestions to make their jobs easier. Little suggestions that work can have a significant impact to the stress level of both the caregiver and the patient (spouse or loved one.) 

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20 years Before Dementia Begins -Plaques and Tangles are Found?

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Recent News

Plaques and Tangles Found 20 years earlier?

An article from Bloomberg yesterday reports that Doctors at Melbourne’s Austin Hospital found that amyloid beta accumulates in the brain for 20 years before causing signs of dementia. In this study they followed 200 seniors for more than three years to chart any decline in cognition and brain size against the deposition of abnormal protein (excess amyloid beta) in their brains. 

Some of this group already had Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. The Austin Hospital found that it takes about 20 years for the deposits, known as amyloid beta, to lead to dementia.

The findings, published in the medical journal the Lancet Neurology — startled me. We all realize that cognitive decline can last for many years once it begins. And It may take years for family and friends to notice that it’s more than a little forgetfulness. And eventually we watch as they lose yesterday, last week, last year and finally they forget us altogether. But this happens AFTER Alzheimer’s, after the amyloid has filled the brain with plaques and tangles.

I check the study again to be sure. This study clearly states that it takes 20 years for the amyloid beta to lead to dementia. To me, that means 20+ years where something could be done; a pill, a shot, a minor surgery. This study shows there may be more time to fix the problem. Like a heart getting a bypass, or a knee getting an artificial joint, mabye we’ll be able to swallow a pill that dissolves the amyloid beta in our brains.

Lots of things cause dementia besides amyloid beta, but Alzheimer’s is the main reason for this type of dementia, (The build up of amyloid beta on the brain), which afflicts 35.6 million people globally — a number the World Health Organization says will double by 2030 and triple by 2050.

As strange as it seems, not everyone who has this buildup of amyloid beta on the brain has Alzheimer’s. But, everyone who has Alzheimer’s has the excess amyloid beta. A strange disease indeed.

For Alzheimer’s to develop, the brain needs to accumulate large amounts of amyloid “and you need it there for a long time,” Rowe, a study co-author, said in a telephone interview from Florence, Italy. The authors also found, “The data indicate that there is a prolonged period in which amyloid beta is forming plaques in the brain without the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.” So perhaps, those who have of amyloid beta but no Alzheimer’s did not live long enough to accumulate enough for symptoms to appear.

Now they know that amyloid beta is forming plaques in the brain without symptoms of Alzheimer’s much longer than first thought, and that brain shrinkage occurs several years before the memory is affected, hopefully researchers will find a way to take action during this time span.

Counting the years that amyloid beta may have been occurring yet undetectable, Rowe believes we may have many years to take some kind of action. “The entire process is now getting up toward more than 25 years,” Rowe says. “This is much longer than people expected.”

“You have a much greater chance of stopping a disease than trying to repair a brain that’s severely damaged,” Rowe said. “This is the great hope now.”

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New Perspectives of Central Nervous System Injury and Neuroprotection (International Review of Neurobiology)The Living Brain and Alzheimer’s Disease (Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer’s Disease)Alzheimer’s Disease: Cause(s), Diagnosis, Treatment, and CareThe Family Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease DVD Video SeriesThe Alzheimer

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What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?

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What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Many of us are brought into caregiving a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease without knowing What Alzheimer’s Disease really is.

I’ve often stated, David Shenk’s:  “The Forgetting: Portrait of an Epidemic” was the first I found while searching for understanding after my Mom’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.

Most of what I knew, thought, and believed about Alzheimer’s was wrong and I was filled with fear about what Mom and myself (as her caregiver) would ultimately face in the future.

“The Forgetting,” is the most comprehensive book I’ve read about Alzheimer’s and I’m glad that it was also the first book I read. There are few caregiver’s stories and more basic facts. Yet, that’s what I needed to understand in the beginning when I had no caregiver stories of my own to compare.

Recently, a friend suggested that I view a new video at You Tube. “What is Alzheimer’s?”

Like “The Forgetting,” she said, this new video makes understanding Alzheimer’s simple and clear.

I watched the video and was surprised to see how simply it explained such a complicated disease. “What is Alzheimer’s?”

After viewing this video, you’ll find many questions answered about origin and nature and the progression of Alzheimer’s on the human brain. It’s Brief but enlightening.

After viewing it myself, I was not surprised to learn that it had been Written and Directed by David Shenk.

View the Video “What is Alzheimer’s” below,  and let us know what you think –

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What is Alzheimer’s – You Tube

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The Forgetting: Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic

 

Afflicting nearly half of all persons over the age of 85, Alzheimer’s disease kills nearly 100,000 Americas a year as it insidiously robs them of their memory and wreaks havoc on the lives of their loved ones. It was once minimized and misunderstood as forgetfulness in the elderly, but Alzheimer’s is now at the forefront of many medical and scientific agendas, for as the world’s population ages, the disease will kill millions more….

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Five Clues That Your Loved Ones’ Unpredictable Emotional Outbursts May Not be Depression

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Five Clues That Your Loved Ones’ Unpredictable Emotional Outbursts Could be Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA) instead of Depression due to symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

As Alzheimer’s Awareness month in November approaches, caregivers are recognized for the critical role they play for loved ones with this disease.

Caregivers wear many hats and may notice symptoms or behavior changes that could otherwise go unnoticed.

One such condition that can be often overlooked or misdiagnosed as depression is pseudobulbar affect or PBA.

There are five clues/signs designed for caregivers to help distinguish this condition as a separate one to address at an upcoming doctor’s visit.

Five Clues Which Could Predict Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA) include:

  1.  The patient bursts out crying or laughing for no apparent reason.
  2.  The patient cries or laughs at inappropriate times.
  3.  The patient experiences outbursts of emotion that are exaggerated or inappropriate for the situation.
  4.  Patients can’t control their tears or laughter, even when they try to.
  5.  Patients socially isolate themselves out of fear of having an episode in public.

What is PBA?

PBA is a neurological condition that affects people with an existing primary neurological condition, like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), stroke or traumatic brain injury. People with PBA have sudden outbursts of involuntary emotional displays they cannot control.

Charles Darwin first described this health condition now known as PBA more than 130 years ago, but many patients and members of the medical community don’t realize that this debilitating disorder may affect approximately 2 million people in the U.S. The episodes of involuntary crying and/or laughing occur unpredictably, and can be frequent and severe. Since laughter and crying are two of the most basic human emotions, it’s extremely difficult for people with PBA to interact with others without being able to have control over these emotions, which often leads to social isolation.

Author: Erik P. Pioro, MD, PhD, FRCPC, director of the Section for ALS and Related Disorders at the Cleveland Clinic, says in the company’s news release that pseudobulbar affect is “a disabling neurologic condition found in patients with underlying neurologic diseases or injuries” that often causes embarrassment “due to their unpredictable emotional outbursts, leading to disruption of their interpersonal relationships as well as isolation from other social events.”

To learn more about PBA, please visit www.pbainfo.org and talk with your neurologist or primary care doctor about you or a loved one if you notice any of the above symptoms.

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Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA): Information for Caregivers & PatientsThe Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression without DrugsThe Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing YourselfDepression : Coping With Depression, Beating Depression and Be HappyHow to Help Someone with Depression (Updated)Overcome Depression and End Your Suffering Now

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