Dec 6, 2024
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Health
Watch for Alzheimer’s signs and keep your brain healthy
Before someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, changes could have been going on in their brain for two decades. The brain can sometimes overcome the changes that are taking place for a while — but eventually, it gets to be too much.
This Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, recognize the signs of Alzheimer’s disease and be sure to do what you can to keep your brain healthy.
At TidalHealth Neurology in Salisbury, we’ve recently started the TidalHealth Mild Cognitive Disease Clinic to help patients experiencing conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia, and it makes up about 60 to 80 percent of all dementia cases.
The major problems are difficulty with cognition, which involves issues with both memory and learning. Forgetfulness is usually the hallmark.
Someone with dementia may experience the following:
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Amnesia: Difficulty remembering new information
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Agnosia: Difficulty recognizing things they are familiar with
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Aphasia: Difficulty with speech
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Apraxia: Difficulty carrying out motor tasks without another reason for the weakness
People with Alzheimer’s have a buildup of amyloid plaques, as well as a buildup of phosphorylated tau, or p-tau, in the brain. They generally start out having problems remembering recent things and eventually develop problems with walking, speaking and swallowing. It’s also common for Alzheimer’s patients to have problems with their mood.
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Risk factors
There are numerous causes of dementia, and we’ll screen for reversible causes of dementia before proceeding to Alzheimer’s tests. For example, someone could have reversible dementia relating to vitamin deficiency, thyroid dysfunction, or infections such as syphilis or HIV.
For Alzheimer’s, age — getting older — is the biggest risk factor. Other risk factors include genetics and family history as well as education level — it’s better to have a higher education level. Having Down syndrome is another risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s, because people living with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome.
By the time someone is age 85 or older, about one in every three people has Alzheimer’s dementia, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Comparatively, about 5.1 percent of people ages 65 to 74 and 13.2 percent of people ages 75 to 84 have the disease.
The complications of Alzheimer’s are lethal. From 2000 to 2022, the number of death records citing Alzheimer’s disease has increased 142.4 percent, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
We don’t want to miss the chance to intervene.
Treatment
Once someone starts having symptoms, it’s best to get them looked at right away. We can do tests to look for biomarkers in the brain, including a quantitative brain MRI, a PET scan and a spinal tap.
Alzheimer’s has several stages, and two new Alzheimer’s treatments can only be used if someone has mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s stage – not if the disease has progressed further. Lecanemab (Leqembi) became available in 2023 and donanemab (Kisunla) became available in 2024. Although Alzheimer’s can’t be cured, these medications can help slow the progression of symptoms.
Prevention
Since the risk factors include age and genetics, Alzheimer’s can’t be completely avoided, but there are things you can do to keep your brain healthy.
The six pillars of brain health
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Exercise: It’s recommended to get at least 30 minutes a day of cardiovascular workouts five days a week.
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Eat a healthy diet: One I recommend is the Mediterranean diet, which includes items like extra virgin olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, legumes and one serving of seafood and two servings of poultry per week. Foods to avoid include red meat, cheese, sweets, and fatty and fried foods.
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Get enough sleep: Be sure to get adequate sleep – whatever that means for your body.
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Be socially engaged: Spend time with family and friends, even if you’re starting to notice symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
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Be cognitively engaged: Always keep your mind active. This can include things like learning a new language or skill, playing an instrument and creating art.
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Practice mindfulness: Spend time to focus and meditate. To help in this process, you can use a free app like Insight Timer or a paid one like Calm or Buddhify.
If you or a loved one is experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, contact your primary care provider or reach out to TidalHealth Neurology for an appointment. If you need a primary care provider, TidalHealth Primary Care is accepting new patients.
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