June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, an annual observance to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, as well as recognize it as a major public health issue.
In addition to raising awareness, this observance has several other purposes. The most important one is to encourage research in finding ways to prevent or cure Alzheimer’s disease. Another important purpose is to teach people how they can better care for themselves, as well as their loved ones who are living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.
Worldwide, there are an estimated 47 million people living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and without a change, these numbers are expected to grow to 76 million by 2030. It is a fatal disease that kills nerve cells and tissue in the brain, affecting an individual’s ability to remember, think, and plan. Ultimately, those with the disease will lose their ability to communicate, recognize family and friends, and care for themselves.
History of Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
The occurrence of dementia goes way back to before it was named. Ancient Egyptians, in 2000 B.C., were aware of the fact that memory declines as people grow old.
In the second century A.D., Turkish doctor Aretheus described dementia by putting it in the same group as delirium. Delirium is a reversible (acute) disorder of cognitive function while dementia is an irreversible chronic disorder.
The fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century led to the domination of theocracy during the Middle Ages. Dementia was thus regarded as a punishment from God for sins committed and the patients were considered to be possessed by demons and subject to hatred. During the 14th and 15th centuries, such patients were also victims of witch hunts.
Saint Isidore, archbishop of Seville, first used the word ‘dementia’ in his book “Etymologies” in around 600 A.D. The word is of Latin origin: ‘de’ meaning loss or deprivation, ‘ment’ meaning mind, and ‘ia’ indicating a state. So, ‘dementia’ means ‘loss of the state of the mind.’
In 1906, German physician Alois Alzheimer described the case of Auguste Deter, a 50-year-old woman with profound memory loss. This was the first recorded case of Alzheimer’s disease, although it was not called so then.
President Ronald Regan initiated the observance of Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month in 1983 to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and get people involved in the recognition of the disease as well as the types of care required by someone suffering from it.
Understanding Alzheimer's and Dementia
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases.
Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging.
The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be younger-onset Alzheimer’s if it affects a person under 65. Younger-onset can also be referred to as early-onset Alzheimer’s. People with younger-onset Alzheimer’s can be in the early, middle or late stage of the disease.
Alzheimer's worsens over time.
Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. On average, a person with Alzheimer's lives 4 to 8 years after diagnosis but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors.
Alzheimer's has no cure.
Alzheimer’s has no cure, but one treatment — aducanumab (Aduhelm™) — is the first therapy to demonstrate that removing amyloid, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, from the brain is reasonably likely to reduce the cognitive and functional decline in people living with early Alzheimer’s. Other treatments can temporarily slow the worsening of dementia symptoms and improve the quality of life for those with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Today, there is a worldwide effort underway to find better ways to treat the disease, delay its onset and prevent it from developing.
Symptoms of Alzheimer's
The most common early symptom of Alzheimer's is difficulty remembering newly learned information.
Just like the rest of our bodies, our brains change as we age. Most of us eventually notice some slowed thinking and occasional problems with remembering certain things. However, serious memory loss, confusion, and other major changes in the way our minds work may be a sign that brain cells are failing.
Alzheimer's changes typically begin in the part of the brain that affects learning. As Alzheimer's advances through the brain it leads to increasingly severe symptoms, including disorientation, mood, and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time, and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends, and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes; and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking.
Signs of Mild Alzheimer’s Disease
In mild Alzheimer’s disease, a person may seem to be healthy but has more and more trouble making sense of the world around him or her. The realization that something is wrong often comes gradually to the person and his or her family. Problems can include:
- Memory loss
- Poor judgment leading to bad decisions
- Loss of spontaneity and sense of initiative
- Taking longer to complete normal daily tasks
- Repeating questions
- Trouble handling money and paying bills
- Wandering and getting lost
- Losing things or misplacing them in odd places
- Mood and personality changes
- Increased anxiety and/or aggression
Signs of Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease
In this stage, more intensive supervision and care become necessary, which can be difficult for many spouses and families. Symptoms may include:
- Increased memory loss and confusion
- Inability to learn new things
- Difficulty with language and problems with reading, writing and working with numbers
- Difficulty organizing thoughts and thinking logically
- Shortened attention span
- Problems coping with new situations
- Difficulty carrying out multistep tasks, such as getting dressed
- Problems recognizing family and friends
- Hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia
- Impulsive behavior such as undressing at inappropriate times or places or using vulgar language
- Inappropriate outbursts of anger
- Restlessness, agitation, anxiety, tearfulness, wandering—especially in the late afternoon or evening
- Repetitive statements or movement, occasional muscle twitches
Signs of Severe Alzheimer's Disease
People with severe Alzheimer’s cannot communicate and are completely dependent on others for their care. Near the end, the person may be in bed most or all of the time as the body shuts down. Their symptoms often include:
- Inability to communicate
- Weight loss
- Seizures
- Skin infections
- Difficulty swallowing
- Groaning, moaning, or grunting
- Increased sleeping
- Loss of bowel and bladder control
A common cause of death for people with Alzheimer’s disease is aspiration pneumonia. This type of pneumonia develops when a person cannot swallow properly and takes food or liquids into the lungs instead of air.
There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, though there are medicines that can treat the symptoms of the disease.
Prevalence of Alzheimer's
The number of Americans living with Alzheimer's is growing — and growing fast. More than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's.
- An estimated 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older (10.7%) have Alzheimer’s.
- Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women.
- Older Black Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older Whites.
- Older Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer's or other dementias as older Whites.
As the number of older Americans grows rapidly, so too will the number of new and existing cases of Alzheimer's. By 2050, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer’s may grow to a projected 12.7 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow, or cure Alzheimer’s disease.
Mortality
Alzheimer’s is not just memory loss. Alzheimer’s kills.
- 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
- Deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled between 2000 and 2019, while those from heart disease — the leading cause of death — have decreased.
- At age 70, seniors living with Alzheimer's are twice as likely to die before age 80 than those who do not have the disease.
People age 65 and older survive an average of four to eight years after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, yet some live as long as 20 years with Alzheimer’s. This reflects the slow, uncertain progression of the disease.
Cost to Nation
The costs of health care and long-term care for individuals living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are substantial, and dementia is one of the costliest conditions in society.
In 2022, Alzheimer's and other dementias will cost the nation $321 billion, including $206 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments combined. Unless a treatment to slow, stop or prevent the disease is developed, in 2050, Alzheimer's is projected to cost nearly $1 trillion (in 2022 dollars). This dramatic rise includes three-fold increases both in government spending under Medicare and Medicaid and in out-of-pocket spending.
- People living with Alzheimer's or other dementias have twice as many hospital stays per year as other older people.
- Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer's or other dementias are more likely than those without dementia to have other chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease.
- Older people living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias have more skilled nursing facility stays and home health care visits per year than other older people.
- People living with Alzheimer's or other dementias make up a large proportion of all elderly people who receive adult day services and nursing home care.
10 Ways to Love Your Brain
It’s never too late or too early to incorporate healthy habits. Growing evidence indicates that people can reduce their risk of cognitive decline by adopting key lifestyle habits. When possible, combine these habits from the Alzheimer’s Association to achieve maximum benefit for your brain and body.
- Hit the books. Formal education will help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Take a class at a local college, community center, or online.
- Quit smoking. Smoking increases the risk of cognitive decline. Quitting smoking can reduce the risk to levels comparable to those who have not smoked.
- Take care of your heart. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke –obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes –negatively impact your cognitive health.
- Ride safely. Brain injury can raise the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Wear a seatbelt and use a helmet when playing contact sports or riding a bike.
- Take care of your mental health. Some studies link depression with cognitive decline, so seek treatment if you have depression, anxiety, or stress.
- Challenge your mind. Build a piece of furniture, and play games of strategy.
- Break a sweat. Engage in regular cardiovascular exercise that elevates heart rate and increases blood flow. Studies have found that physical activity reduces the risk of cognitive decline.
- Stay socially engaged. Staying socially engaged may support brain health. Find ways to be part of your local community or share activities with friends and family.
- Get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep may result in problems with memory and thinking.
- Fuel up right. Eat a balanced diet that is higher in vegetables and fruit to help reduce the risk of cognitive decline.
Observing Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
There are many ways that you can observe Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and help spread awareness about this terrible disease. Here are just some examples:
- Announce your company’s commitment to ending Alzheimer’s through social media, social channels, ad internal and external communications.
- You can either donate money online by looking up the Alzheimer’s Association website or you can donate your time by volunteering at charitable organizations that need dedicated volunteers and encourage others to participate as well.
- Communities around the world hold public events and seminars to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s. Take part in them and find out more about the diseases and how you can contribute to the fight.
- Purple represents the fight against Alzheimer’s. Share an image of you wearing purple and show your solidarity in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Use the hashtag #EndAlz and #AlzheimersAndBrainAwarenessMonth.
Sources:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-are-signs-alzheimers-disease
https://www.alz.org/media/sewi/documents/go_purple_in_june_combined_toolkit_(1).pdf
https://nationaltoday.com/alzheimers-brain-awareness-month/