There is currently no cure or treatment that will stop or reverse the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. There are however currently four FDA-approved drugs that may be able to relieve symptoms for patients for a limited time such as memory loss. Doctors may prescribe Aricept®, Exelon®,Razadyne® or Galantamine®. Moderate to severe symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can be treated with Aricept®, Exelon® and Namenda®. For more information on these products and to access prescribing information, please visit the manufacturers’ websites. There are other medications that can be prescribed to control behavioral symptoms such as sleeplessness, agitation, anxiety and depression associated with Alzheimer’s. While treating the symptoms may make situations more comfortable, they may also come with additional side effects. Please consult with your doctor.
Research has found that keeping the brain active seems to increase its vitality and may build its reserve of brain cells and connections, even generation of new brain cells. Higher levels of education, and brain activity, appear to have a somewhat protective effect against Alzheimer’s. You could still get Alzheimer’s, but symptoms may appear later.
With an aging population and increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s, and no cure or treatment out there today, the need for Give To Cure has never been greater. It is critical that we help accelerate the pace of research and get treatments to patients that need it most today.
Early diagnosis offers the best hope to treat and manage the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. While there is no single test that can show whether a person has Alzheimer’s, doctors today can accurately diagnose the presence of Alzheimer’s almost 90% of the time through a complete medical assessment using non-invasive methods. Diagnosis requires careful evaluation, including:
Researchers have identified certain genes that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or deterministic genes that directly cause Alzheimer’s.
RISK GENESAPOE-e4 is the strongest risk gene for Alzheimer’s. This test is most often used in clinical trials to identify people with a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Carrying this gene does not indicate whether a person will develop Alzheimer’s or whether a person has Alzheimer’. Such testing is controversial and should only be undertaken after discussion with your physician.
DETERMINISTIC GENESTests are also available for genes that cause a rare form of Alzheimer’s, called Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease (ADAD) or “familial Alzheimer’s”. Some people do not want to know their genetic status, while others want to learn whether they will eventually get the disease. ADAD tends to develop earlier in life and runs strongly in families.
Most people experience some level of forgetfulness. Understanding the difference between normal and an early symptom of Alzheimer’s is an important step. Alzheimer’s disease begins slowly and in its early stages, appears as short-term memory loss. Not everyone will experience the same symptoms or progress at the same rate.
| Normal | Potential Early Alzheimers Disease* |
|---|---|
| Can’t find your keys | Routinely place important items in odd places, such as keys in the fridge, wallet in dishwasher |
| Search for casual names and words | Forget names of family members and common objects, or substitute words with inappropriate ones |
| Briefly forget conversation details | Frequently forget entire conversations |
| Can’t find a recipe | Can’t follow recipe directions |
| Feel the cold more | Dress regardless of weather, wear several skirts on a warm day or shorts in a snow storm |
| Make an occasional wrong turn | Get lost in familiar places, don’t remember how you got there or how to get home |
| Feel occasionally sad | Experience rapid mood swings, from tears to rage, for no discernible reason |
| * Please consult with a physician if you believe you may be experiencing these symptoms. | |