No more trip down memory lane
March 23, 2004 | 12:00am
It starts with the little things. You forget the dates such as birthdays and the particular days of the week. You see familiar faces but have a hard time remembering names. Then you start repeating yourself, asking questions over and over like a broken record, to the exasperation of the people around you. Barring any overdose from anesthesia, selective amnesia, or as that lovable fish character Dory in Finding Nemo would say, short-term memory loss, memory lapses could very well be warning signs leading to Alzheimer’s disease.
But before you start panicking, know that Alzheimer’s disease generally affects those over the age of 65. If your age is way below that, then you could just be suffering from a mild case of forgetfulness due to inattention or lack of focus. However, experts say 11 percent of individuals suffering from mild cognitive impairment may convert to, and is a step closer to, dementia.
According to Dr. Socorro Martinez, head of St. Luke’s Memory Center and president of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines (ADAP), dementia is "a chronic illness characterized by the progressive decline in the individual’s cognitive function." There is also a progressive decline from the previous level of functioning, she adds, including social, occupational or the carrying out of day-to-day activities. And one of the more common forms of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
"It’s wrong to say that pag-uulyanin or dementia is part of aging. Dementia is a clinical syndrome and should be treated accordingly," says Martinez who has been a neurologist for the past 20 years and whose subspecialty is cognitive neurology.
Her father having suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, Martinez has taken it upon herself to discover ways to prevent, if not treat, the illness. "I want to better the lives of individuals suffering from dementia as well as those taking care of dementia patients for they, too, are adversely affected by this," she says.
Martinez tells us that it is estimated that by 2010, the number of Filipinos above 65 will double. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, says Martinez, increases exponentially above 65 years old. The greatest non-modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s is age. Thus, according to the NEDA, by 2030 about 14.5 million Filipinos would be at risk. According to studies, there would be more patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in 2030 in the Asia-Pacific region than in western countries simply because the former has a growing aging population.
Dementia is not synonymous with psychiatric illness, Martinez emphasizes. Becoming isip-bata is, in fact, the result of the "progressive destruction of different portions of the brain mainly concerned with cognition."
It has been noted, too, that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is higher in women past the age of 80 than in men. This is due to the decline in the estrogen levels being produced by women in this age level. Experts say that estrogen in women protects the body from various diseases, including Alzheimer’s, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician who first described the illness in 1906.
In a progressive illness like Alzheimer’s, one of the first to go is the memory. Sons, daughters and grandchildren won’t be recognized or their names would be exchanged. Sometimes, the patient won’t even remember his own name. According to Martinez, it’s not uncommon for older people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s to remember past events clearly and forget recent events quite easily. This probably explains why your lola and lolo can describe the littlest details about, say, their wartime experiences. This also explains why they like to dwell on the past, reliving every bittersweet memory because it’s something familiar that they can hold on to.
Elderly patients also feel disoriented most of the time, feeling lost and not knowing the exact time of day. It’s possible for a patient to forget where he lives or how to go back home.
Then, too, poor judgment is a common occurrence, like wearing mismatched clothes or, in extreme cases, wearing underwear over a pair of pants (or what we like to call the Superman complex). When your lolo or lola start wearing the same dress for days, it’s probably time to be suspicious about his/her health.
Constantly misplacing things is not a cause for concern unless one puts dentures in the freezer or dumps the screwdriver in the pantry. When you lose things in the house and these turn up in the most unlikely places, it’s more likely due to Alzheimer’s rather than the work of duwendes.
Patients may also have a difficult time learning new skills and expressing themselves properly. Changes in behavior or personality are not far behind since the patient is undergoing a great change and can thus become depressed, cranky, suspicious, confused or even overly dependent. Your once active lola may suddenly become very passive and just sit in her room for hours, or look out the window as if in daydreaming. She may sleep more than the usual or sit up all night staring into space.
An alarming sign of Alzheimer’s disease is the tendency of the patient to wander off so it’s important that a patient has a companion at all times. In really extreme cases, says Martinez, a person with advanced stage of Alzheimer’s doesn’t recognize himself in the mirror. It could get so bad that the patient would become agitated seeing a "stranger" in the mirror and resort to violence.
As a preventive measure, Martinez encourages people, young and old, to exercise the brain often. "It’s either you use it or lose it," she says, adding that "in a healthy body resides a healthy mind."
Physical exercise, therefore, is important in controlling the risk factors of Alzheimer’s. A 30-minute exercise is said to decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s disease by 30 percent. Also, if the individual is socially active, the risk for acquiring this disease is lessened.
Martinez points out that the caregivers – especially when they are immediate family members – are more distressed than those caring for patients suffering from other diseases. "They have to do almost everything to assist the patient in carrying out their daily activities. The hard part is that the patient could no longer adequately communicate his needs. Second-guessing becomes a necessity and this could be stressful to the caregiver," explains Martinez.
All these concerns about the Alzheimer’s patient and the caregiver are being addressed by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines (ADAP). Formed in March 2000, ADAP is bent on combatting Alzheimer’s disease via a comprehensive educational campaign and research about the disease. Composed of family members, caregivers, nurses, social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, among others, ADAP aims to "search for the best evidence available in local and international literature that will form a body of culturally sensitive, scientific recommendations to prevent, diagnose and manage Alzheimer’s disease."
Since its inception four years ago, ADAP has had four lay fora on the proper care of Alzheimer’s disease patients. In Martinez’s experience after each forum, there would be an upsurge of individuals seeking help to find out whether their loved ones are likely candidates for Alzheimer’s. This proves the lack of awareness about the disease which, if left unnoticed, could result in misconceptions about Alzheimer’s. "In a study conducted by one of our specialists after a health forum, he found out that 70 percent of health workers in seven hospitals in Metro Manila still think of pag-uulyanin as part of aging. This is the greatest mistake one could make," says Martinez.
Being aware of the disease and having the right attitude about it can lead to early detection and diagnosis. According to Martinez, most medications for Alzheimer’s work best during the early stages of the disease. As they say, prevention is still better than a cure.
Alzheimer’s disease can be a traumatic experience for a human being for it denies him the privilege of looking back at a life richly lived. The mind is a powerful tool for living and if this is taken away, a person might as well be a zombie going through the motions, barely surviving in a world of forgetfulness.
For more information about Alzheimer’s disease, call the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines at 373-2262 and 716-5384; e-mail at adap@alzphilippines.com; or visit www.alzphilippines.com.
But before you start panicking, know that Alzheimer’s disease generally affects those over the age of 65. If your age is way below that, then you could just be suffering from a mild case of forgetfulness due to inattention or lack of focus. However, experts say 11 percent of individuals suffering from mild cognitive impairment may convert to, and is a step closer to, dementia.
According to Dr. Socorro Martinez, head of St. Luke’s Memory Center and president of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines (ADAP), dementia is "a chronic illness characterized by the progressive decline in the individual’s cognitive function." There is also a progressive decline from the previous level of functioning, she adds, including social, occupational or the carrying out of day-to-day activities. And one of the more common forms of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.
"It’s wrong to say that pag-uulyanin or dementia is part of aging. Dementia is a clinical syndrome and should be treated accordingly," says Martinez who has been a neurologist for the past 20 years and whose subspecialty is cognitive neurology.
Her father having suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, Martinez has taken it upon herself to discover ways to prevent, if not treat, the illness. "I want to better the lives of individuals suffering from dementia as well as those taking care of dementia patients for they, too, are adversely affected by this," she says.
Martinez tells us that it is estimated that by 2010, the number of Filipinos above 65 will double. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, says Martinez, increases exponentially above 65 years old. The greatest non-modifiable risk factor for Alzheimer’s is age. Thus, according to the NEDA, by 2030 about 14.5 million Filipinos would be at risk. According to studies, there would be more patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in 2030 in the Asia-Pacific region than in western countries simply because the former has a growing aging population.
Dementia is not synonymous with psychiatric illness, Martinez emphasizes. Becoming isip-bata is, in fact, the result of the "progressive destruction of different portions of the brain mainly concerned with cognition."
It has been noted, too, that the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is higher in women past the age of 80 than in men. This is due to the decline in the estrogen levels being produced by women in this age level. Experts say that estrogen in women protects the body from various diseases, including Alzheimer’s, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician who first described the illness in 1906.
In a progressive illness like Alzheimer’s, one of the first to go is the memory. Sons, daughters and grandchildren won’t be recognized or their names would be exchanged. Sometimes, the patient won’t even remember his own name. According to Martinez, it’s not uncommon for older people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s to remember past events clearly and forget recent events quite easily. This probably explains why your lola and lolo can describe the littlest details about, say, their wartime experiences. This also explains why they like to dwell on the past, reliving every bittersweet memory because it’s something familiar that they can hold on to.
Elderly patients also feel disoriented most of the time, feeling lost and not knowing the exact time of day. It’s possible for a patient to forget where he lives or how to go back home.
Then, too, poor judgment is a common occurrence, like wearing mismatched clothes or, in extreme cases, wearing underwear over a pair of pants (or what we like to call the Superman complex). When your lolo or lola start wearing the same dress for days, it’s probably time to be suspicious about his/her health.
Constantly misplacing things is not a cause for concern unless one puts dentures in the freezer or dumps the screwdriver in the pantry. When you lose things in the house and these turn up in the most unlikely places, it’s more likely due to Alzheimer’s rather than the work of duwendes.
Patients may also have a difficult time learning new skills and expressing themselves properly. Changes in behavior or personality are not far behind since the patient is undergoing a great change and can thus become depressed, cranky, suspicious, confused or even overly dependent. Your once active lola may suddenly become very passive and just sit in her room for hours, or look out the window as if in daydreaming. She may sleep more than the usual or sit up all night staring into space.
An alarming sign of Alzheimer’s disease is the tendency of the patient to wander off so it’s important that a patient has a companion at all times. In really extreme cases, says Martinez, a person with advanced stage of Alzheimer’s doesn’t recognize himself in the mirror. It could get so bad that the patient would become agitated seeing a "stranger" in the mirror and resort to violence.
As a preventive measure, Martinez encourages people, young and old, to exercise the brain often. "It’s either you use it or lose it," she says, adding that "in a healthy body resides a healthy mind."
Physical exercise, therefore, is important in controlling the risk factors of Alzheimer’s. A 30-minute exercise is said to decrease the risk for Alzheimer’s disease by 30 percent. Also, if the individual is socially active, the risk for acquiring this disease is lessened.
Martinez points out that the caregivers – especially when they are immediate family members – are more distressed than those caring for patients suffering from other diseases. "They have to do almost everything to assist the patient in carrying out their daily activities. The hard part is that the patient could no longer adequately communicate his needs. Second-guessing becomes a necessity and this could be stressful to the caregiver," explains Martinez.
All these concerns about the Alzheimer’s patient and the caregiver are being addressed by the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of the Philippines (ADAP). Formed in March 2000, ADAP is bent on combatting Alzheimer’s disease via a comprehensive educational campaign and research about the disease. Composed of family members, caregivers, nurses, social workers, doctors, psychiatrists, among others, ADAP aims to "search for the best evidence available in local and international literature that will form a body of culturally sensitive, scientific recommendations to prevent, diagnose and manage Alzheimer’s disease."
Since its inception four years ago, ADAP has had four lay fora on the proper care of Alzheimer’s disease patients. In Martinez’s experience after each forum, there would be an upsurge of individuals seeking help to find out whether their loved ones are likely candidates for Alzheimer’s. This proves the lack of awareness about the disease which, if left unnoticed, could result in misconceptions about Alzheimer’s. "In a study conducted by one of our specialists after a health forum, he found out that 70 percent of health workers in seven hospitals in Metro Manila still think of pag-uulyanin as part of aging. This is the greatest mistake one could make," says Martinez.
Being aware of the disease and having the right attitude about it can lead to early detection and diagnosis. According to Martinez, most medications for Alzheimer’s work best during the early stages of the disease. As they say, prevention is still better than a cure.
Alzheimer’s disease can be a traumatic experience for a human being for it denies him the privilege of looking back at a life richly lived. The mind is a powerful tool for living and if this is taken away, a person might as well be a zombie going through the motions, barely surviving in a world of forgetfulness.
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