Alzheimer's Risk Factors

There are two distinct types of risks involved in Alzheimer's Disease. First are the genetic or early-life injury factors, which include the physical causes. There is family history we must consider as we age. If grandpa developed the disease at 65, and we're approaching that age, we should look for symptoms in ourselves. Other fears concern external damage our brains could have sustained in our early years, caused either by trauma or disease. Will that head wound I experienced during the Korean War cause Alzheimer's to affect me in my senior years? Or, when I suffered from polio in 1932, will the damage it did to my body affect my brain now that I'm retired?

Those questions can only be asked, and hopefully answered, during appropriate medical examinations. If you fear, for any reason, you may be showing the first signs of slowing down mentally, make an appointment with your family physician. Then, if he/she shares your concern and recommends it, you should be further studied by a gerontologist, a specialist in the illnesses of the elderly. In many such cases, the gnawing fear factor can be at least as troubling as the genetic or injury risk themselves.

Even if you don't suspect any symptoms of Alzheimer's, it is advisable for everyone by age 60 to get a complete annual physical and mental work-up by medical professionals. Of course, if the real or imagined symptoms begin earlier in life, then earlier intervention can be helpful. Although there is continuing research, and drug therapies that can lessen the effects of the disease, there is not yet a medical way to prevent nor a cure for Alzheimer's. Early intervention and knowledge can help in many ways, but the dire effects on the brain is progressive.

The other type of risk involved in Alzheimer's is the damage an undiagnosed sufferer can cause to him/herself and to others. In my family, there was a very recent example of it. When my brother-in-law was 80, he began to have accidents with his car. Fortunately, they were relatively minor. An excellent driver all his life, including four years "driving" a Navy fighter plane in World War II, he couldn't understand why he was denting other cars as he tried to park.My increasingly-confused brother-in-law also had three fender-benders when he failed to stop at stop signs and proceeded into busy traffic. He covered up by cursing the other drivers, and always insisted it wasn't his fault. Fortunately for him, his family and other drivers, his insurance company cancelled his coverage, while a court judge revoked his license.

A terrible example was the accident several years ago at a California outdoor market. An 85-year-old man was distracted and drove through the crowd, killing or injuring dozens of people. He then parked his car and walked away, unaware of what he had done. There are many stories about elderly people forgetting to turn off their stove, resulting in burned food or a house fire. Other examples are the frequency of broken hips when grandma slips in the tub or forgets the stairway has two more steps. The moral of the stories, if there can be one, should be that the person afflicted or family members must take action before more serious damage is done.

Just as we must be aware of all the risks we all face just by walking down the street, as we age, we should seriously consider the risks of developing Alzheimer's Disease. For those of us who have already reached old age, we can hope the knowledge will make our lives more comfortable. For younger people, we can pray that science will come up with a cure for the terrible affliction.