{"id":6635,"date":"2010-02-17T01:45:01","date_gmt":"2010-02-17T01:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/"},"modified":"2010-02-17T01:45:01","modified_gmt":"2010-02-17T01:45:01","slug":"alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: Treating the Symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Over the last three posts, we have looked at 10 warning signs of Alzheimer\u2019s, risk factors for the disease and understanding the seven stages of Alzheimer\u2019s. I would now like to finish this series by taking a look at several treatments.\u00a0 At this time there is no cure for Alzheimer\u2019s disease and no way to stop the death of brain cells associated with the disease.\u00a0 However, research has shown that some treatments may help both cognitive and behavioral symptoms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cognitive Symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

In regard to treating symptoms that affect memory, awareness, language, judgment and other thought processes, there are currently only two types of drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.\u00a0 The first type is cholinesterase inhibitors.\u00a0 According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, these inhibitors prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a chemical messenger essential for memory and learning.\u00a0 While this treatment may delay the worsening of symptoms for six to 12 months, it is only effective for about half of the people who take them.\u00a0 You might recognize three cholinesterase inhibitors under the names of:<\/p>\n

-Aricept (Donepezil), approved in 1996<\/p>\n

-Exelon (Rivastigmine), approved in 2000<\/p>\n

-Razadyne (Galantamine), approved in 2001<\/p>\n

According to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association, the second type of drug used to treat cognitive symptoms works by regulating the activity of glutamate, a different chemical messenger involved in information processing.\u00a0 Currently, Namenda (Memantine) is the only drug approved in this class.\u00a0 Namenda is approved for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer\u2019s disease and may temporarily delay the worsening of symptoms for some people.<\/p>\n

Behavioral Symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oftentimes, the behavioral changes of an individual are the hardest on family members or loved ones.\u00a0 The first step in treating behavioral symptoms is understanding the possible cause of the symptoms.\u00a0 Often times, behavioral symptoms can be treated without the use of medications.\u00a0 The following three steps are from the Alzheimer\u2019s Association on how to develop non-drug treatments.<\/p>\n

1. Identify the symptom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Understand its cause.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some symptoms may be caused by drug side effects or drug-drug interactions when taking multiple medications.\u00a0 Symptoms may also be caused by treatable medical conditions, such as infection or illness, or by environmental influences such as moving to a new residence or adapting to a new caregiver.<\/p>\n

3. Changing the caregiving environment to remove obstacles or challenges.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may include talking to your doctor and pharmacist about medications or monitoring the individuals comfort in the home.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though Alzheimer\u2019s is a very sad disease for families and loved ones to cope with, there is hope for the future.\u00a0 This from the Alzheimer\u2019s Association:<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Alzheimer\u2019s is at the forefront of biomedical research, with 95 percent of what we know discovered in the last 15 years.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like more information on how each one of us can make a difference in Alzheimer\u2019s research, visit www.alz.org.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the last three posts, we have looked at 10 warning signs of Alzheimer\u2019s, risk factors for the disease and Learn More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[956,944],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alzheimers-dementia","category-senior-health-wellness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlzheimer\u2019s Disease: Treating the Symptoms - Preferred Care at Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: Treating the Symptoms\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the last three posts, we have looked at 10 warning signs of Alzheimer\u2019s, risk factors for the disease and Learn More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Preferred Care at Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-17T01:45:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jody Guerrieri, RN.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jody Guerrieri, RN.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/\",\"name\":\"Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: Treating the Symptoms - Preferred Care at Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-17T01:45:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-02-17T01:45:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/61f2c3006d6a22b84f97faa0af9f82dc\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/blog\/alzheimers-disease-treating-the-symptoms\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Alzheimer\u2019s Disease: Treating the Symptoms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/\",\"name\":\"Preferred Care at Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/61f2c3006d6a22b84f97faa0af9f82dc\",\"name\":\"Jody Guerrieri, RN.\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/preferhome.com\/locations\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807ca605f0528a2171baad04dd9805b47a39223979ae7632df92434dba4b264f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/807ca605f0528a2171baad04dd9805b47a39223979ae7632df92434dba4b264f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jody Guerrieri, RN.\"},\"description\":\"Jody Guerrieri, RN, is the vice president and co-founder of Preferred Care at Home. 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