The culprit that promotes Alzheimer’s disease

“Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60-70%, creating a burden for patients, their families and society,” said MSc. Dr. Tran Thi Hoai Thu, Department of Neurology, Military Hospital 175, at a community health consultation program on September 21.

Alzheimer’s is a brain disease that affects the areas responsible for learning, memory and other thinking abilities, reducing the patient’s ability to live independently. In addition to the above factors, some common culprits that can lead to Alzheimer’s are obesity, head trauma, a sedentary lifestyle, stress from work, study…

Patients often have memory loss, difficulty with familiar tasks as well as language or social activities, disorientation about time and space, forget where things are stored, reduced ability to perceive and judge problems, changes in state and behavior…

According to statistics from the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Federation, every 3 seconds someone with cognitive impairment progresses to dementia. In 2023, it is estimated that there will be about 78 million people with dementia worldwide. Vietnam has about 500,000 people with dementia, but most of them are not diagnosed and treated early.

Lieutenant Colonel, MSc. Dr. Hoang Tien Trong Nghia, Head of the Department of Neurology, Military Hospital 175, said that Alzheimer’s patients in particular and dementia in general are increasing, in the context of an aging population. The disease is not currently receiving adequate attention, leading to most patients coming to clinics at a late stage. Meanwhile, early detection and early intervention, with new drugs coming out, are expected to reverse the disease process. The earlier the treatment, the higher the effectiveness.

“The disease not only affects memory but also impacts many areas of cognitive function such as attention, language, visual space, executive ability…”, said Dr. Nghia.

The disease tends to increase with age, often occurring in people over 60 years old. Recently, more people are coming to the doctor at a younger age. This may be due to a greater awareness of the disease, as well as the development of imaging, which can detect signs of the disease from very early stages.

According to Dr. Ly Minh Dang, Department of Neurology, treating Alzheimer’s patients requires multimodality, combining many methods, both drug and non-drug. The doctor will take a medical history from the patient and family, conduct a clinical examination, assess cognitive neurologic function, perform routine tests, perform imaging, cerebrospinal fluid and genetic testing when necessary, diagnose and manage the disease.

In some cases, doctors prescribe cognitive training combined with non-invasive brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and transcranial direct current stimulation. Recently, the hospital and the International University (Ho Chi Minh City National University) organized memory and cognitive training for people over 50 years old with mild cognitive impairment through the BrainTrain application. This application prevents dementia through games.

Research in recent years has shown that cognitive training methods slow the progression of the disease. In addition, patients need to change their lifestyle and nutrition. Patients are advised to follow a mind diet, including a daily portion of salad, a portion of vegetables, three portions of whole grains, and a 30 ml glass of wine. Green vegetables and nuts are needed most days. Poultry and berries should be eaten twice a day and fish once a week. Limit sweets, red meat, and fast food.