Breakthrough in Alzheimerâ€™s disease through precautionary advice

Alzheimer is a dreaded disease that is affecting an estimated 5.1 million Americans and the likelihood of getting it increases with the person reaching an age of 65 years or above. Within two years of its diagnosis, this disease can turn an individual into dud or lame duck with symptoms like incapability of recalling basic information, unable to communicate the simplest of thoughts and other linked up symptoms. Alzheimer disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States with more than $100 billion a year being spent on health care costs.

As per the opinion of Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy â€“ Professor of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and coauthor of the book â€œThe Alzheimerâ€™s Action Planâ€, there is no magic bullet and no strategy that has been proven to prevent Alzheimerâ€™s disease. However, there are certain tips or advice through which the Alzheimerâ€™s disease can be avoided. Some of the advice or more prominent treatments that have gained attention include:

1. Doing Exercises: Studies have shown a link or association between the exercise and Alzheimer but it is still not proven a cause and effect relationship. Doing exercises may probably affect hundreds of chemicals and processes in the brain and possibly help in rewiring the brain and in increasing the size of memory centers. Exercise boosts blood supply, reduces the risk for strokes, boosts the levels of nerve growth centers and spurs the brain to strengthen its connections.

2. Diet factors: Food containing too much saturated fat leads to an increased risk for strokes and deposits of amyloidal plaques that inhibits the naturally occurring protein fragments in the brains of the Alzheimerâ€™s patients that clumps together to form insoluble plaques. Obesity combined with diabetes has been indirectly linked to greater risk for Alzheimerâ€™s even though it is not fully proven. For instance, in the United States about 5% of all persons over the age of 65 have the disease while in China and Nigeria, where the fat intake is much lower, the incidence is only 1%. The advice is to load your diet with lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, taking high-potency multivitamin pills.

3. Using Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) Studies have found that persons using NSAIDs have lower chances of getting Alzheimer. Alzheimer patients who have take aspirin or other NSAIDs have better verbal and mental functioning scores and the rate of their overall deterioration is slower.

4. Avoid stress: The other advice is to avoid stress by engaging in leisure activities, adequate sleep, medication, exercises, social interaction and having full family support.Â  Â Â 

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