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Article Series: Alzheimers Disease
Help Me Understand Alzheimer's Disease
Are
There Preventative Measures Against Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's is a disease that is characterized
in the brain by the evidence of tangled fibers and protein
clumps. It appears to generally affect people who are older
and thus for a long time was lumped together with other more
common forms of dementia or senility.
After the discovery of Alzheimer's and the subsequent realization
that there was no immediate cure - the next imperative question
was whether or not it was possible to prevent the disease from
starting in the first place.
To determine whether or not it was preventable it needed to
be determined how high the risk factor was if genetics played
a role. To date, the best information has come from the study
of identical twins with the same genes but who have lived life
in different fashions. The results demonstrated that while
one may develop the disease the other while at obviously greater
risk didn't necessarily get it. In other cases, while both
twins got Alzheimer's it was not to the same degree. This showed
that other factors played a role besides any genetic influence.
This opened the possibility that there were factors that could
be focused on and altered that would lower the risk of getting
the disease.
One connection that is noted is the link between those that
have suffered a severe head trauma and the existence of Alzheimer's.
It is a disease that attacks the nerve cells in the brain.
Any severe head injury could logically open up the brain to
this vulnerability. Thus a very practical measure is to protect
the brain by safety measures such as wear a helmet when bicycling,
skate-boarding or indulging in any high risk activity.
Another facet of working to prevent this disease is to keep
the brain stimulated. By challenging ourselves to learn new
things, perhaps the playing of a musical instrument, learning
a new language or activity, doing crossword puzzles, playing
numerical games, or just reading and researching subjects outside
our normal environment we encourage the growth of neural pathways
and thus work at keeping our brain growing and healthy. Vital
stimulation can also come from staying socially active and
involved in talking with and caring for others. Besides encouraging
good mental health this can go a long way to promoting emotional
health and this is important in fighting any disease.
Given the nature of this particular disease it seems logical
that the best preventative measures that we can take involve
living a productive and active life. We do well to underscore
this with good choices in what we eat and by keeping our body
physically active. This will keep our body's healing mechanism
at it's optimum and go a long way in preventing the development
of Alzheimer's.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2009
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