Is Alzheimer's disease an inevitable outcome of ageing process?

At present, the curative approach for treating Alzheimer's disease is very limited and is confined to the early stage of the disease. More and more adults aged between 50-60 were diagnosed with Alzheimer's diseases in developed countries. Most cases were late detected and thus created problems in health and social care delivery. Research findings showed that early identification and detection of the disease would prevent delayed treatment and rapid deterioration.

How can I detect a family member who has probably developed Alzheimer's disease?

To begin with, one can use daily observation of the following changes in home setting :

Self-care abilities: gradual decline in personal hygiene such as bathing; wearing the same clothing for a few days or not keeping a clean or tidy appearance ; for a male member, stops shaving regularly or for a female member, stops caring for her own appearance.

Cognitive functioning: easy to forget or to turn up for an important appointment; or forget to switch the gas off; repetitive questioning; or repeated acts or speech.

Psychological being: lose temper and become agitated easily; appears to be very subdued at times with a low mood.

Behaviour: restlessness; wandering and getting lost due to disorientation to place and time; argumentative when making a mistake and frequent occurrence of disruptive behaviour especially at night time .

Other problems: change in sleep pattern and appears to be disoriented to time, place and/or person especially at night time; and losing personal belonging such as wallet or purse.

Where do I get more information about Alzheimer's disease?

St. James Settlement, in collaboration with medical and academic experts, will organize a series of public educational talk on Understanding Alzheimer's disease and its primary health approach from October 2004 to July 2005. Sporsored by MINDSET, the purpose of the talk is to introduce the disease and to enhance public awareness of its impact on individual, the family and society at large.

老年痴呆症是否為一個不可避免的老化問題？

今日，阿氏痴呆症的治療方法仍有所限制及局限醫治早期病發之病症。在已發展國家中，年齡界乎50至60歲被證實患有阿氏痴呆症的成年人均有上升的趨勢，而大多數的個案因太遲被發覺，導致在醫療及社會服務照顧方面出現問題。有研究發現，愈早被診斷及發現患有阿氏痴呆症有助及早治療及延緩病情惡化。

我怎樣可以知道家人是否患上阿氏痴呆症？

透過日常生活，觀察家庭成員是否有以下的改變：

自我照顧能力：個人衛生日漸衰退，如幾天都穿著相同的衣服或自己不再保持乾淨、整潔的外貌。男性不再如常剃鬚或女性不再注意儀容。

認知功能：容易忘記重要的約會，或忘記關掉煤氣爐；重覆問問題、重覆動作或說話。

心理狀況：容易發脾氣及煩躁不安；在情緒低落時表現克制及開始出現蟿援的行為。

行為：心情煩躁；遊走及因失去辦別地方及時間能力而迷路；當犯錯時與人爭辯。

其他問題：睡眠模式改變，會多了在晚上起床及不能辨別時間、地點及或家人。

我可以從何處取得更多有關阿氏痴呆症的資料？

聖雅各福群會將與醫療及學術界專家合作，於二零零四年十月至二零零五年七月期間舉行一系列精神健康公民教育講座，主題著重了解阿氏痴呆症及如何認識及面對病症。講座由「思健」贊助，目的為加深公眾對阿氏痴呆症的了解，並認識該病症對個人、家庭及社會所帶來的整體影響。