engleski

Risk assessment and prevention of Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) devastate the patient and caused the emotional, physical and financial burden of the patients family. In clinical work we are faced with questions: "Why does AD occur in some people and not others? How can patients minimize their risk to avoid AD?". Aim of our work is to represent the risk assessment and prevention of AD based on an hypothetical story. Mrs. B states to the psychiatrist her preoccupation about getting AD like her father. What can we advise Mrs. B? In addition to no modifiable genetic risk factors for AD, modifiable protective and risk factors for AD have been identified. For the evaluation of genetic risk in an individual, it is necessary to receive information about the diagnosis of AD and the age - of onset in affected family members. The risk to a person who has a first-degree relative with late- onset AD is rather higher than the risk in the general population but much lower than the risk to someone with a familial pedigree of early- onset disease. Familial late-onset pedigrees can occur with no responsible genes identified. Early-onset AD which may have a significant genetic component, exhibit autosomal dominant transmission over more than one generation. Early-onset AD and familial AD are not synonymous. Sporadic cases of earlyonset AD can occur with no family history and no genetic mutations. Possible modifiable protective factors for AD are: social activities, physical activity, ongoing intellectual stimulation, higher education, moderate alcohol intake, anti - inflammatory drugs, omega-3 fatty acid intake, ginkgo biloba intake. Likely modifiable risk factors for AD including: vascular risk factors (smoking, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiac bypass surgery, metabolic syndrome) and head injury. Each of this protective or risk factors can have most importance at diverse times in the life course of an individual. Delaying the devastating symptoms of AD is becoming a realistic goal thanks to the progress in the identification of AD risk factors and their treatment. Genetic testing can be recommended to confirm the diagnosis of AD in individuals with a strong family history or clinical signs of dementia.

risk ; prevention ; Alzheimer's disease

Indexed / Abstracted in: Neuroscience Citation Index ; EMBASE / Excerpta Medica