Ramallah – the world of the homeland
Scientists have hailed what is believed to be a “landmark breakthrough” in the fight against the brain-degenerative Alzheimer’s disease, after antibody treatment licanamab was shown to slow the onset of the condition during clinical trials.
According to (Russia Today) website, this development comes after decades of failed attempts to find a way to stop the progression of the disease.
Lecanamab clears the brain of a toxic protein known as amyloid, which builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease and destroys cells, leading to memory loss and communication problems associated with dementia.
Although dementia and Alzheimer’s disease do not represent one health condition, both are often used when talking about diseases that eat memory.
Unfortunately, both diseases affect millions of people worldwide and are a leading cause of death globally.
What is the difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease?
For those unable to tell the difference between them, Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that causes damage to nerve cells that transmit vital messages from the brain.
Dementia does not refer to a specific disease but rather is used as a term to summarize a group of symptoms that occur as a result of the actions of such cognitive diseases.
There are many different types of dementia, and because one of the most common forms is Alzheimer’s disease (accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases), this is why people often get confused in distinguishing between dementia and Alzheimer’s, and use the names indiscriminately.
Dementia occurs when mental decline is severe enough to negatively affect a person’s ability to work and carry out daily activities, and to cause problems with thinking, reasoning and memory.
Dementia is particularly common among the elderly, with one in 14 people over the age of 65 suffering from this condition, and one in six over the age of 80. Women are statistically more likely to develop this disease than men.
But this does not mean that dementia is an essential part of aging.
There are many different types of dementia, each associated with a specific type of brain cell damage.
Dementia can be divided into two main groups, but some conditions fall into both categories: Cortical, which causes severe memory loss (such as that seen in Alzheimer’s disease). and subcortical, which affects the speed of thinking and activity (as seen in Parkinson’s disease).
The other most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease, is vascular dementia. Both are rare in those under the age of 65.
Other common forms of dementia include frontotemporal dementia, and it is mostly diagnosed in people under the age of 65.
Lewy body dementia, in which nerve damage gradually worsens over time, leading to slowing of movement, is also classified as one of the common forms of dementia.
As for Alzheimer’s disease, it is the most common cause of dementia, a degenerative brain disease that results from complex changes in the brain after cell damage.
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not yet fully understood, but a number of factors are thought to encourage its development, including advanced age, family history of the disease, untreated depression, and lifestyle factors associated with cardiovascular disease.