The Hidden Layers of Alzheimer's
- Tehreem Adil
- Jun 15
- 2 min read
I was watching ‘The Notebook’ recently, and something clicked in my mind —the part
where an older Allie can’t remember her own children, yet for a brief, magical moment, she recognizes Noah — it evoked a sense of dread in me, that there is a trivial possibility that I might succumb to a situation where I am unable to recognize my loved ones ones or worse, myself.
To forget what makes you laugh, to forget the ice cream flavour you loved as a child, to forget the face of your mother. It is a fate worse than death because it blurs the lines between living and the mere act of existing.
It wasn’t long before I realised that Alzheimer’s isn’t just memory loss; perhaps it runs deeper than that. Here are ten things that you should know about Alzheimer's:
1. It reshapes your Identity.
Though Personality changes occur in late-stage Alzheimer’s, it is inevitable. The patients lose interest in the activities they used to enjoy, act confused, aggressive, and insensitive, or, in rare scenarios, fall in love with someone else. Minor inconveniences might trigger them, such as moving to a new place, new schedules, or travelling.
2. Being young doesn’t save you from Alzheimer’s
What shocks me is that about 10 percent of the Alzheimer’s population is young onset, with the youngest patient at age 19. Of the more than 55 million people living with dementia worldwide, approximately 60% to 70% of them have Alzheimer's disease. And of those 33 to 38.5 million people with Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, or other symptoms began before age 65, in 10% of them. However, there are striking differences between the younger and older patients. Younger-onset Alzheimer’s combines episodic memory—trouble forming and recalling recent memories- whereas old-onset Alzheimer’s combines Alzheimer's-related memory loss with the natural cognitive decline of aging, affecting working memory and self-awareness. You might think younger patients have it better, but the truth is that they are more likely to face depression and anxiety as the prime years of their life are lost in fighting a battle with a disease that has no cure. They are also more likely to experience family issues because of it.
3. Alzheimer’s shows up in the eye
Since the optic nerve is directed from the brain, the neurological changes experienced by patients have a significant effect on their eyesight, resulting in poor eyesight, reduced peripheral vision, and problems with recognizing facial expressions.
4. Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer's
Almost two-thirds of Alzheimer's patients are women! Since women live longer than men, they are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is age: the older you are, the more likely you are to develop Alzheimer's disease. If that reason is not convincing enough, here’s one more: women are about twice as likely to have an autoimmune disease compared to men. Their immune system is stronger than men's due to evolutionary changes, allowing their bodies to protect the fetus. This, in turn, contributes to higher chances of amyloid plaques, which affect the neurological connections in the brain.
Works cited from:
Comments