This month, IU Health-affiliated neurologist Ann Hake, M.D., talks about Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain condition that affects your memory and your thinking. It starts with mild memory problems and then progresses to affect other aspects of your thinking like being able to keep track of the time.
Eventually it can affect behavior and mood and in severe cases, patients need help with basic activities of daily living.
What physical effects does Alzheimer’s have?
Certain proteins start to build up both inside and between the brain cells – we don’t know exactly why. The buildup starts damaging brain cells causing chemical imbalances and the cells can’t talk to each other.
What are some early warning signs?
One is trouble remembering things. You have to be careful because everyone can have memory lapses, but if you start noticing consistent problems with things that used to be easy, like the names of family members, that might be a red flag.
Can we predict who is most at risk?
One risk factor we can’t do anything about is age. It tends to be more common in women than in men. It’s also more common in African-Americans and Hispanics and we’re wondering if that’s partly because of the higher rates of high blood pressure and diabetes in those communities. So we urge people to take steps to control their high blood pressure and their blood sugar.
Are there tests for early detection?
If you’re concerned and you go to get checked, the doctor will ask you what problems you’re noticing. You should bring somebody along who knows you to talk to the doctor because you might not realize how much you’re forgetting.
They’ll want to check for things we can treat like vitamin deficiencies or thyroid problems, which can cause memory problems. They’ll do some memory and thinking tests and they’ll probably send you in for a brain scan to check for strokes or a brain tumor.
So, after we rule out other problems, we can be 90-plus percent sure that it is Alzheimer’s disease. It’s still true that the only way you can know for sure is to look at the brain tissue under a microscope and we really don’t like to do that in people who are still using their brains. So researchers are trying to develop a direct test.
What treatments exist for Alzheimer’s?
Today’s treatments help with symptoms, keeping your memory and thinking problems from worsening as quickly so you’re still able to do daily activities and participate in decisions about your future. That didn’t used to be possible.
What kind of Alzheimer’s research goes on at the IU School of Medicine?
Our scientists helped test many current Alzheimer treatments, and have helped identify biomarkers that may lead to new treatments. There are studies working on the damaging proteins and on the chemical imbalances. We have people coming in for scans and other tests as researchers look for clues, such as genetic influences that may help predict who’s susceptible to getting Alzheimer’s.
For more information, or to contact Dr. Hake or IU Health Physicians Neurology, call (317) 948-5450. For more information about IU Health Neuroscience, visit iuhealth.org/neuroscience.
Dr. Ann Hake is an associate professor of clinical neurology for the Indiana University School of Medicine and a neurologist with IU Health Physicians Neurology – the nationally recognized neurology group that will soon occupy the IU Health Neuroscience Center, an expansive neuroscience complex being built across the street from IU Health Methodist Hospital. The first building of the complex – a 270,000 square footmbulatory care and imaging center – is scheduled to open in summer 2012.
