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Alzheimer's boy dementia patients have a hard time
In Germany alone, around 1.5 million people suffer from dementia. Although early detection is one of the key points to counteract the disease, dementia is often recognized too late. An indication of Alzheimer's can also be hallucinations. Experts complain that aid offers for those under 65 are still rare.
Younger dementia patients have a particularly difficult time. Picture: goodluz - fotolia Younger people also suffer from dementia
According to the German Alzheimer's Association (DAG), about 1.5 million - especially older - people in this country suffer from dementia. The number of people with dementia will rise enormously, warned the World Health Organization (WHO) a few months ago. According to estimates, the number of patients could double by the year 2050, provided that no breakthrough in therapy succeeds. Younger people are generally less affected. According to the DAG, around 24,000 people under the age of 65 live with dementia in Germany. According to the news agency dpa, according to the EU project "Rhapsody", there are 4,800 new cases each year. Among other things, the project compares how different countries adapt to the needs of young patients. The DAG managing director, Sabine Jansen, explained that also because of the improved diagnostics the topic had become aware. DAG is a project partner.
Hallucinations can point to Alzheimer's
In the American-French film drama "Still Alice" from the year 2014, the actress Juliane Moore jogs in her role through the city and looks physically fit on the outside. But then she stops abruptly, turns around several times and looks around uneasily and only makes her way home after a while. In this way, the film shows the first signs of dementia. At a relatively young age, brain decay is rare, but no less dramatic than in the elderly. The dpa reports on the Munich Gudrun T, whose diagnosis is four years ago. After the disease was diagnosed, she joined a week, told the now 66-year-old. The disease started with hallucinations: She had a sheikh as a husband and 18 children. "It was awful." One day, she was finally found disoriented in a park. Experts then examined her and a computerized tomography showed that she has Alzheimer's. According to the information, the disease is very, very slow for the former homeschooler living alone.
Often wrong diagnoses are made
So far, it is still unclear what the exact cause of the disease. However, a number of factors have been identified that play a role in the development and development of Alzheimer's disease. In addition to high age, these include a genetic predisposition, diseases such as diabetes mellitus type 2, metabolic syndrome, oxidative stress or inflammation. On the question of what makes the younger especially sick, explained Prof. Frank Jessen (University of Cologne / German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases), that in some of the affected genetic causes make the difference. In addition to familial Alzheimer's disease, which is said to go back to individual gene mutations, younger were also often affected by the so-called frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Nervous cells are said to first die in those parts of the brain that control feelings and social behavior. "Both forms are now well diagnosed by experts, for example in memory outpatient clinics," says Jessen. However, not always with the family doctor, as Sabine Jansen stated: "In patients of this age, memory problems are more likely to be associated with stress or burnout."
Fruit salad in the apartment since Christmas not findable
Gudrun T. told on the phone that she had been the fit "chick" on her first visit to a dementia group of workers' welfare. From there, she was referred to the local Alzheimer's Society a few months after the diagnosis. Through contact with other younger sufferers, she was able to come to terms with the disease bit by bit. "Normally, people with little social contact will not find help much later," said social worker Dagmar Aimer, who looks after Ms. T. at the facility. Meanwhile, the patient takes misadventures with humor: sometimes she notices in the evening that she has put on her pants on the left. A fruit salad, which she believes to have prepared for Christmas, they have not found until today. She takes it easy: "It still does not stink in the apartment." Nevertheless, she has given up cooking for safety's sake.
Medically there is little to do in Alzheimer's
A nursing service brings the drugs past once a week. "They'll see if I'm still there." However, according to experts, medically there is little to do in Alzheimer's. Special counseling services that help in everyday life would therefore be all the more necessary. Many of the patients in their younger years are still working, have children in the house and, in addition to the diagnosis, an immediate reason for bereavement. "Especially in structurally weak regions, the contact points are missing," said Jessen. DAG expert Jansen said that there is a lack of special homes or day care throughout the country. Gudrun T. has told many of her dementia, "In the beginning I was struggling. Now I'm very open about it. "Although people often reacted positively, but by no means all. Especially in the early days she missed support. "Now I do not need them anymore," she told angrily. For relatives, the situation is often difficult: "It should not be that marriages and friendships are broken by the disease." A goal of "Rhapsody" is an e-learning program, with which relatives can be trained in coping with the disease. Gudrun T. knows that her memory will let her down more and more. For care services and the visit of Alzheimer groups she gets from the nursing care about 200 euros a month. "It will only be more, if you come to the home." She hopes that it will take a long time to get there. (Ad)
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