World Alzheimer’s Day

World Alzheimer’s Day

World Alzheimer’s Day is celebrated on the date 21, every year of September. It is an international campaign organised by the health organisation to spread awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds the disease.

It is the most common form of dementia, a group of disorders that impairs mental functioning. Alzheimer is a progressive brain disease that results in loss of memory and thinking skills. This disease affects the part of the brain which controls thought, memory, judgement and communication. It is a very serious problem for human life. At the initial stage effects of this disease is slow but as time passes it gets worse.

Theme Of  World Alzheimer’s Day 2021- “KNOW DEMENTIA, KNOW ALZHEIMER’S”

 

History Of World Alzheimer’s Day

In 1901 a german psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer first identified this case in 50 years, an old lady of the german country and this disease was named after him. In 1984 Alzheimer international was founded. In 1994 on their 10th anniversary they announced the first world Alzheimer’s day to be observed on September 21. World Alzheimer’s month was also celebrated in September month in some countries, which is launched in 2012.

Symptoms

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Early Stage of

• One of the most common Alzheimer diseases is memory loss, patients forget the name of a person, address and appointments.
• Less interest in work and social activities.
• Some people who live with dementia they can not face solving problem and challenges.
• Patients get confused with date, time and season.
• Patients with Alzheimer disease face vision problems e.g. colour, distance, trouble in reading and due to these symptoms they face issues in driving.
• Patients lose recent memories, they forget their conversation.
• They face mood swings that involve depression or lack of interest.

Moderate Stage

• Patients don’t dress according to the weather.
• They face trouble in sleeping.
• They get angry easily sometimes lashing out at family members.
• Delusions, such as thinking a caregiver is trying to hurt them.

Severe Stage

• Patients face confusion about past and present.
• They can not express the thought of themselves, remember and information.
• They face problems with swallowing and control of their bladder and bowels.
• They can not move easily on their own.
• They suffer from hallucinations ( seeing, hearing or feeling things that are not really there).
• They suffer from seizures, skin infections, and other illnesses.
• They lose their weight.

Causes Of Disease

• Brain protein fails to function normally and disrupts the work of brain cells (neurons). It triggers a series of toxic events. Hence neurons get damaged and they lose their connection to each other and they eventually die.
• Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that affect the brain over time.
• It is caused by specific genetic changes that virtually guarantee a person will develop the disease.
• In a person with Alzheimer’s the brain tissue has fewer and fewer nerve cells and connections and tiny deposits, known as plaques and tangles, build upon the nerve tissue.
• Plaque develops between the dying brain cells. They are made from a protein known as beta-amyloid. The tangles meanwhile occur within the nerve cells. They are made from another protein tau.

Treatment

There is no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, It is not possible to reverse the death of brain cells. Family and social support play a key role.

Prevention

There are preventions that relieve its symptoms and improve the quality of time of the person.

• Reading
• Writing for pleasure
• Swimming
• Walking
• Yoga or meditation
• Playing a musical instrument
• Walking

Frequently Asked Question

Question- When is World Alzheimer’s Day celebrated?
Answer- It is celebrated on 21 September every year.

Question- What is the theme of Word’s Alzheimer’s Day 2021?
Answer- “Know Dementia Know Alzheimer’s”

Question- Why was 21 September selected as World Alzheimer’s Day?
Answer- World Alzheimer’s Day was launched at the opening of ADI’s(Alzheimer’s Disease International) annual conference in Edinburgh on 21 September 1994 to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

Question- Who is responsible for World Alzheimer’s Day and month?
Answer- World Alzheimer’s Day is an initiative of ADI. Each year ADI seeks financial support to produce and distribute World Alzheimer’s Day material around the world, enabling members to organize events in their different countries.

Question-  What is dementia?
Answer- Dementia is a collective name for progressive degenerative brain Syndromes which affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion.

Conclusion

World Alzheimer’s Day is celebrated to spread awareness about the disease to the people and this day show support and solidarity of people living with Alzheimer’s.

Disclaimer

This content is for information purposes only and should not be constructed as advice or as a substitute for consulting physicians.

References

www.nhp.gov.in, www.webmd.com, www.medicalnewstoday.com, www.alzint.org