Alzheimer's disease is a chronic
degenerative disease causing dementia and
associated with certain characteristic changes in
the brain. It is one of group of brain diseases
that lead to the loss of mental and physical
functions.
Dementia seen as a normal part of
aging is not Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease is not yet
curable or reversible.
A very small minority of alzheimer's
patients are under 50 years of age. However, most
are over 65.
The prevalence of dementia doubles
with each 5 years increase in age, from 3 % among
all those aged 60, to 4-5 % among all aged 65 and
30-40 % among those over the age of 80 years
By the 2020 over 75 % of all people
with dementia in the world will be living in the
developing countries, mainly India , China, and
Latin America.
The onset of Alzheimer's disease is
usually very slow and gradual
Problems of memory, particularly
recent or short-term memory, are common early in
the course of the disease.
The average course of the disease
from the time it is recognized to death is about
6 to 8 years, but it may range from under 2 years
to over 20 years.
Research has
suggested that women who take estrogen are less
likely to develop Alzheimer's. But new study
found that once the mind-robbing disease sets in,
the female hormone offers no benefit.
Herbs that have been used for
Alzheimers Disease are gingko
biloba,ashwaghandha, Asian
ginseng,
astragalus, and Siberian
ginseng.
