Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most debilitating diseases of human kind.  People who have Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, brain dementia and presenile brain pathology.  Towards the older age human brain starts to accumulate an aberrant protein known as beta amyloid protein.  It accumulates in the form of yellow plaques in the cortical and subcortical regions of the human brain.  These yellow plaques are made up of beta sheets of amyloid protein which are folded in a mutant conformation due to the defective hydrogen bonding of the atoms.  Incoherent arrangement of neurofibrillary tangles and tau protein pathology is also seen in addition to beta amyloid protein accumulation. 

There are certain medications which slow down the progression of the disease but they don’t cure it.  Therefore the disease cannot be eradicated with medication therapy.  For example, Donepezil which blocks acetylcholinesterase enzymes, is used widely in hospitals and nursing homes for this purpose.  There are many other medicaitons which work on the same principles using different scientific mechanisms.

To care for the patients it is necessary to confine them to a solitary area.  Towards the end stage of the disease when it becomes severe patient does not remember anything and has hard time figuring out the situations they are in.  It is imminent at that stage that someone should be there all the time to care for the patient and comfort them at their last hour.

Currently, there is a lot of scientific research going on Alzheimer's Disease which requires large amount of money and support from all resources available rather be it government or private.  You can contribute your share of money to any of the organizations supporting Alzheimer's research, for showing your support to the cause.