JEDDAH — Alzheimer's patients suffer not only from their disease, but also from the absence of specialized centers for their care. Misunderstandings of the disease and the continuous monitoring by families only increase the patients' problems. Families of Alzheimer's patients are calling for the establishment of specialized centers to care for their patients and prevent the progress of the disease. Working children of Alzheimer's patients are probably the most affected by the current situation because they often have to stay away from work to care for parents with the disease, as house workers cannot be entirely trusted with the task. According to neurosurgeon Dr. Saeed Al-Zahrani, there are no accurate statistics about the number of Alzheimer's patients in the Kingdom. This is due to the lack of the national record for patients. In addition, many families are ashamed to report such cases. Aging is the main cause of the disease, and chances of incidence are high for people with a family history of the disease. International statistics show that people above 60 years of age are the most affected.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurologic disease of the brain leading to the irreversible loss of neurons and the loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and reasoning, which become severe enough to impede social or occupational functioning. During the course of the disease plaques and tangles develop within the structure of the brain. This causes brain cells to die. Patients with Alzheimer's also have a deficiency in the levels of some vital brain chemicals which are involved with the transmission of messages in the brain — neurotransmitters. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. The disease gets worse as it develops — it is a progressive disease. There is no current cure for Alzheimer's, although there are ways of slowing down its advance and helping patients with some of the symptoms. There are estimated to be between 2.4 million and 4.5 million Americans who have Alzheimer's. There are approximately 417,000 people in the UK with Alzheimer's. Al-Zahrani said there is no cure for Alzheimer's but there are medicines that delay its progress. Psychologist Dr. Zahra Al-Muabbi advises families to care for, and take more interest in their patients. Patients should be reminded of many aspects of their life, or of those around them. Alzheimer's patients like to repeat old stories, and their families have to bear with that. Sometimes, patients become completely silent, and refuse to talk about any subject. In such cases, they should be left unbothered, but closely monitored. Dr. Adel Al-Jamaan, a specialist of social behavior and family problems, said some patients experience aggressive behavior during the first two stages of the disease. During the third stage, patients normally become weak, and immobile. Dr. Nisreen Jastaniyah, a geriatrics consultant at King Abdulaziz Medical City, said the correct diagnosis of the disease is important to exclude diseases of similar symptoms. Alzheimer's is a physical disease, and not a psychological one, she added.
