Diabetes treatment can beat Alzheimer’s Disease?

Recently, a British-led research team discovered that an often-prescribed drug for the treatment of diabetes can reduce memory loss and the build-up of destructive plaque in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease and Depression

Yes, memory-loss. We forget about things in our day to day lives, and forgetting is definitely a normal part of our everyday life. However, memory loss becomes a problem as people age. It permanently affects the brain, making it very hard for older people to remember even the most basic things. As a result, this undermines their ability to care for themselves and function in society.

Alzheimer’s, afatal disease that hasbeen around for a long time now, is a type of dementia, a term used to classify conditions that damage the brain cells.After more than twenty years of research, no one can say for sure what the cause of the disease is. According to BCC Research, the top medications for Alzheimer’s amounted to a whopping $6 billion. For years now, the trigger for Alzheimer’s disease has been said to be due to brain plaques. These clumps of brain plaques are said to kill nerve cells and as a result skew memory and thinking. Unfortunately, even though some drugs clear the clumps, the condition of Alzheimer’s disease continues. People continue to deteriorate and die of Alzheimer’s every year.

Not surprisingly, people with Alzheimer’s disease also tend to be afflicted with depression as well. Recently, our understanding of depression has changed; the cause has been found to be the atrophy of brain cells, rather than a low serotonin level in the brain that causes depression. Our brain cells communicate with each other through neurotransmitters, and that is how we function. For a person afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, brain cells shrink and eventually die. Though antidepressants such as SSRIs are prescribed for Alzheimer’s disease, we know now that SSRIs are more of a healing pill rather than a happy pill. They heal the neurons, but are not miracle pills.

Treating Alzheimer’s involves a number of things; medicine, counseling and company are very important. With or without drugs, patience, understanding, and love are of utmost importance in caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s disease. Being cruel to them does not help. Instead, it may just perpetuate their depression or worse—the patient may develop other mental illnesses as well.

Question:Is it Alzheimer’s disease or depression?

Answer:Both Alzheimer’s disease and depression have similar symptoms. Some examples include apathy, withdrawal from society, difficulty focusing and impaired thinking. To make matters worse, besides not being able to articulate their thoughts—people with Alzheimer’s are also not able to express the various nuances in their emotions: sadness, anger, torment and depression. You could say that their ability to emotionally express themselves is impaired as well.