Qauestion:: Hello, my mother (83 years old) has Alzheimer’s disease for 7 years now and her condition worsens as years go by. She has suffered from insomnia for the past week and spends nights wandering around endlessly. Please, could you recommend a medication she can take before sleep to help her somehow. Thanks in advance for your help
Answer:
Greetings,
In response to your question, you will find the following information:
- What is Alzheimer’s disease;
- What causes Alzheimer’s disease ;
- Symptoms of Alzheimer’s;
- What is sundowning;
- Alzheimer’s treatment.
Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system that develops progressively and isn’t reversible (not treatable).
The exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown. Following are the considered causes:
- Vast damage to nerve cells;
- Insufficiency of a substance necessary for nerve impulse transmission;
- Genetic predisposition;
- Toxic metal poisoning;
- Traumatic brain injury;
- Brain tumor;
- Hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are:
- Progressive forgetfulness;
- Inability to recognize a known object;
- Emotional disorder;
- Depression;
- Fussiness;
- Disorientation;
- Apathy (indifference) towards surrounding objects, people and events;
- Hallucinations, delirious ideas;
- Inability to recognize people, even closest relatives;
- Difficulty moving;
- Independent thinking.
As for the treatment, nowadays it’s possible to relieve symptoms, albeit the effect of the medication is limited and lasts only for several months, they just slow the process that damages neurotransmitters.
According to your description of the patient's insomnia, it’s Alzheimer’s comorbidity called sundowning in medicine, which is characterized by so-called roaming. We can never appropriately describe what people with Alzheimer’s disease feel.
Recommending medication remotely will be unethical and unprofessional of us.
Due to the state of emergency related to coronavirus that requires people aged 70 or above to self-isolate, we advise you to remotely contact your mother's doctor and ask him/her to consult and give you recommendations
Moreover, you can visit our clinic and consult with the neurologist for the time being. If you bring the results of conducted clinical-laboratory tests, we’ll be able to select appropriate medication (for now we have three) and order a modern guideline-based treatment after an objective assessment of said documents.
- Answer to a similar question can be found at https://kirurgia.ge/shekitxva-eqims/nevrologia/20
For additional information contact us at 577 119 119 or 2 02 25 25.
Thank you for trusting our clinic, wish you health!
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