Alzheimer's causes changes in brain function that gradually get worse. This is the most common cause of dementia - a group of disorders that lead to gradual loss of intellectual and social skills, severe enough to lower the quality of life. In Alzheimer's disease the brain cells are destroyed and die, causing a steady deterioration of memory and mental functions.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, which can notice people are often growing forgetfulness and at times have had mild confusion. Over time, the disease will have an increasing impact on memory, the ability to speak and write coherently, make judgments and solve problems. Patients may not notice that with them that something is wrong, even when the changes will become apparent to family members, friends and colleagues.

Memory

Every person from time to time there are "memory lapses". Forget where you put your keys or the name of the person you have not seen - is normal. In Alzheimer's disease memory impairment may have the following features:

• The patient repeatedly asks the same question or reports share the news;
• Man forgets appointments, matters, does not remember some of the events;
• It appears before uncharacteristic habit of constantly shifting from place to place things; often the patient puts them in the wrong place (for example, the TV remote in the refrigerator);
• Patients forget the names of family members, the name and designation of everyday objects - it happens in the later stages of the disease.

Disorientation, violation of feelings of space and time

The patient can not remember what day, time of year or a year and / or do not know where he is, do not remember the important circumstances of his life. Alzheimer's disease also disrupts the brain's ability to interpret what one sees, because of which the patient can get lost even in familiar places.

Speech and Writing

Patients can be difficult to find the right words to describe even simple objects, to express their thoughts or participate in conversations. Over time, it impairs the ability to read and speak.

Thinking and attention

Patients with Alzheimer's disease can be difficult to focus on the subject, summarize and classify information.

As the disease progresses, patients have difficulty performing even tasks such as dressing and washing.

Changes in personality and behavior

For people with Alzheimer's disease is characterized by:

• Depression;
• Increased anxiety Anxiety - how to distinguish normal from disease? ;
• Social isolation;
• Mood swings;
• Distrust of others;
• High, often unwarranted, stubbornness;
• Irritability and aggressiveness.

Causes

Experts believe that in most cases, Alzheimer's disease is caused by the gradual effects on the brain of factors such as genetics, lifestyle and environment. Less than 5% of Alzheimer's disease is caused by specific genetic changes that cause the development of this disorder.

Factors that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease:

• Age. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease increases with age. After 65 years, the risk doubles every five years; likely to develop Alzheimer's disease at the age of 85 years is approximately 50%.
• Family history and genetics. The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is particularly high for those whose close relatives were ill or sick with the disease. Scientists have identified rare mutations in three genes that are virtually guaranteed that the person will sooner or later develop Alzheimer's disease. However, these mutations occur in only 5% of cases.
• Paul. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease in women is somewhat higher than in men - partly due to the fact that the first, on average, live longer.
• Lifestyle. It is assumed, though not proven, that factors such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, uncontrolled diabetes, may contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
• Education and social activities. Research has shown that learning and social activity throughout life reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The high level of formal education, work, motivating to the constant development, hobbies associated with intellectual efforts (such as reading, playing musical instruments, chess, and so on), and extensive social connections help to reduce the likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists can not explain why exactly this regard. According to one theory, mental activity promotes the formation of a large number of connections in the brain that prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease. Supporters another theory believe that people who are constantly engaged in mental activity and social activity, assess the degree of deterioration of the brain work harder. However, some experts believe that the fact that people with Alzheimer's disease lose their propensity to employment, stimulates mental activity, long before they are diagnosed.

Labile medicine called instability of physiological, psychological processes, and other phenomena. Accordingly, vegetative lability - is the instability of the autonomic nervous system - or rather, the processes for which it is responsible.

What is autonomic lability

Vegetative or autonomic nervous system - is part of the nervous system which regulates the functioning of internal organs (heart, stomach, intestines, etc.) as well as the circulatory and lymphatic systems. Under its control are also numerous glands in the body. Thus, by the autonomic nervous system depends, for example, perspiration, blood pressure, pulse rate, thermoregulatory ability, and many more. It plays an important role in stressful situations requiring human reactions of the type of "fight or flight". Her work largely depends on how well a person is resting (here meaning physical, bodily relaxation), and how food is digested and absorbed, which he uses.

However, there are techniques that are expected to help the person to gain control over some of the functions for which it is responsible (for example, to slow heart rate), but their action is poorly understood, and their development requires a lot of time.

The two major divisions of the autonomic nervous system - a sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (SNS and PNS, respectively). The first of them is responsible mainly for the more active (at least outwardly) the activities of the body, in particular for the fight or flight response, which was mentioned above. When exposed to a stressor, which sets the human choice - to flee or fight, SNA, for example, causes an increase in blood pressure and increased heart rate. PNS is responsible for digestion, lowering blood pressure, as well as the endocrine system and metabolism.

In a healthy person the autonomic system is not responding adequately to external stimuli - temperature, stress How to beat stress? Create an oasis , and others. Patients with autonomic lability usual stimuli can cause abnormal reactions. For example, they may be under the influence of minor stressor dramatically increases blood pressure, they may sweat profusely at not too high temperature, and so on. Vegetative lability - this is not an independent disease; it may be the first sign of vascular dystonia (VVD) or less, other disorders. By the way, very often the IRR is also a sign of a variety of disorders. The reasons for the vegetative lability, we'll talk later.

Researchers believe that the worldwide number of people who have a more or less pronounced vegetative lability, tens if not hundreds of millions. Many patients have long not pay attention to her attributes or deliberately ignore them, believing that they are the result of stress, fatigue, and soon will be on their own.

Symptoms of autonomic lability

Since vegetative lability may be a greater or lesser degree affect all areas that are under the control of the autonomic nervous system, the symptoms can be very diverse. Among the possible symptoms of autonomic lability:

• Dizziness and fainting;
• Increased extremely fatigue during exercise or physical work related to the fact that the autonomic nervous system can adjust the heart rate according to the load;
• Excessive or insufficient sweating;
• Digestive problems, because of which there may be diarrhea or constipation, flatulence, loss of appetite, and so on;
• Difficulty urinating;
• The problems in the sexual sphere. Men can appear difficulties with erection Erection - what hinders and what helps a man to be a man In women is often a vaginal dryness Vaginal dryness - hormonal balance And they are less conventional orgasm;
• Vision problems. Patients with autonomic lability often complain of blurred vision and / or sensitivity to light. This may be due to the fact that the pupil is not fast enough to react to changes in lighting;
• The intolerance to heat or cold;
• Sleep problems Dreams: how to understand our dreams ;
• Hand tremors (usually not very strong);
• Rapid heartbeat, high or low blood pressure for no apparent reason.

In addition to these symptoms, patients may complain of slight discomfort, which is present almost continuously, listlessness, apathy, weakness.