Alzheimers Information

Alzheimers Treatment

As mentioned, there is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. The goal of an Alzheimers treatment , therefore, is to ease the pain and the complications of the disease for the patient and to help improve their quality of life.

The first aspect of treatment is to attempt to slow the decline of the faculties with any sort of drug or non-drug treatment schemes.

Second, the behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's should be controlled and monitored so as to help with the process within the patient. This often includes the hiring of a social worker. It is due to Alzheimer's disease being so difficult to diagnose, that examiners are often not sure of their diagnosis until the disease has progressed to such a stage that treatment is less effective.

Alzheimers Treatment Tips

Here is list of the methods for treating Alzheimer's disease:

Recently-available drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors are the first effective drug treatment for Alzheimer's.

Numerous medications are intended to reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer's, by helping to slow memory loss, control behavior problems, or improve sleep.

Antipsychotics or neuroleptics: These drugs can help control behaviors caused by Alzheimer's, such as agitation, anger, hallucinations and delusions, and insomnia (inability to sleep).

In the brains of people with Alzheimer's, there is a dramatic drop in the level of the chemical acetylcholine, which transmits messages in the brain. This chemical is important for attention and memory.

Sometimes anti-depressants are prescribed to help treat the depression that can be associated with Alzheimer's disease.

A new medication, memantine (Namenda), may be used alone or with cholinesterase inhibitors to treat moderate to severe symptoms of confusion and memory loss caused by Alzheimer's disease.

There are psychological techniques for helping to cope with Alzheimer's disease. These include techniques known as reality orientation, reminiscence therapy and validation therapy.

Art and music therapies are also used, but their effectiveness is not proven.