Facts and Myths About Alzheimer’s Disease

There are many facts and rumors doing the rounds regarding everything in life. Life would not be the same if there were no superstitions. There are people who love to argue on a certain point and then again there are people who love to counter argue on these arguments. You must have heard about the myth about not crossing the street after a black cat has passed it. This is a point many people love to argue about. The counter claimers love to point out that there are people who have won a jackpot after passing a path that was crossed by a black cat.

So why are we talking abut such things especially when the topic is about Alzheimer’s disease? There are many myths regarding this disease and they should be dispelled of otherwise they will create unnecessary tensions and misunderstandings. There are certain people who are of the opinion that Alzheimer’s is hereditary. This is a misconception and there are no positive scientific indications that prove otherwise. There have been rare cases when the offspring of a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease also suffered from Alzheimer’s, but those are rare incidences and not a standard.

As of date, it has not been proved scientifically if Alzheimer’s disease is totally hereditary and there thousands of persons who are suffering from this life threatening disease, but whose sons and daughters are perfectly fine even after passing the threshold of 65 years - the age that is accepted by medical circles as the point when people get affected with Alzheimer’s. Though genetics do play a role in Alzheimer’s disease, they account for just about 7% of the total sufferers.

At best it can be said that people whose parents or parents are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have a slightly increased risk of also being affected by this disease. Till now, it had been believed that only aged persons, specifically those above the age group of 65 were prone to being affected by Alzheimer’s disease, but of late it has been found that even people in the age group of 40 to 50 have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. There are some sites on the net that claim cures for Alzheimer’s disease. One should stay away from such sites for there is no proven cure for this malady till date.

There are some new medications that can improve the lives of those who are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, but they cannot cure the disease. There is some good news though. Recent researches into this disease have resulted in drugs whose clinical trials prove that they might be used to combat Alzheimer’s disease. There is one more myth that needs to be shattered. Just because you are forgetting things of late and are experiencing memory loss does not mean that you are also suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Many people who suffer from memory losses go into a shell thinking that they too have been afflicted with this deadly disease.