Alzheimer disease is one of the contemporary significant problems, as there is no cure from it. According to the recent statistics approximately 23 million people have dementia: “We estimate that 24·3 million people have dementia today, with 4·6 million new cases of dementia every year (one new case every 7 seconds). The number of people affected will double every 20 years to 81·1 million by 2040. Most people with dementia live in developing countries (60% in 2001, rising to 71% by 2040). Rates of increase are not uniform; numbers in developed countries are forecast to increase by 100% between 2001 and 2040, but by more than 300% in India, China, and their south Asian and western Pacific neighbour” ( Ferri, Prince et al. ; 2005). On the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease the sick people have lapse of memory and difficulty in choosing the right words. Further development of disease causes mental confusion, they more often forget names of people, names of places, set meetings or last events. The emotional statement of the sick people is also unstable. Emotional lability is developed, the sick people feel grief or get angry. On the background of memory laps there are also developed a feeling of fear and unconsciousness. The sick people became more reserved as they loose self consciousness and growing difficulty of communication. The aim of these research to observe the recent methods of Alzheimer’s disease treatment. The innovative ideas of the contemporary investigators, Professor Raphael Mechoulam and a team of Hebrew University of Jerusalem came to the conclusion that “non-psychoactive component of cannabis, marijuana, may hold out hope for slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease” (Julian, 2008). It goes without saying that such investigations could become a real breakthrough in medical treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, which could in future provide a significant progress in treating it.
Hypothesis
To provide this research I came to the conclusion that during the treatment (we should remember that Alzheimer’s disease is incurable) of Alzheimer’s disease involves also relatives of the sick people and also significantly influence their emotional and psychological statement. That is why for this research process I set such a hypothesis
The invention of Professor Raphael Mechoulam could significantly ease the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease patients for their relatives
The question is among the most important ones as devoting all life to the relative who is ill in Alzheimer’s disease and easing the sufferings of the sick is also very important. As in the present day world situation the Alzheimer’s disease is quite a wide spread in the present day world. That is why the problem is among the most significant. What is more serious the Alzheimer’s disease has tendency to be increased especially in the countries of the third world. That is an alarm signal showing that new ways of treatment needed that would cause developmental process and find the cure for the patients ill in Alzheimer’s disease. The scientific progress does not stand still, thus the results are still does not provide effective cure for Alzheimer’s disease patients.
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Methodologies Used for the Research
The investigative process included critical evaluation of different informational sources in order to provide well grounded research. The investigative process over the contemporary facilities and ideas of treatment Alzheimer’s disease would provide a reasonable background for the research process and learn what kind of influence does it produce on the relatives who took an active part in the treatment process.
Investigation of the treatment methods suggested by Professor Raphael Mechoulam would give reasonable data and understanding how much does it influence on the patients and their relatives too, as they are also the participants of treatment process.
During the research process there were used different sources. Among them could be listed internet resources, academic articles, dealing with the subject and matter of the research process, also newspaper articles, describing this scientific and medical discovery that had a huge resonance in the society in 2008.
Thorough investigation of the given sources would provide the full picture of the research process and let to form reasonable conclusion that either support the hypothesis set on the very beginning, or refute the statement according to the examined data and sources.
Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment and Relatives’ Involvement in It
It is a well known fact that Alzheimer’s disease is incurable and there are a number of socially popular figures suffered from it, among them are Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Contemporary methods of Alzheimer’s disease treatment could not significantly infleunce on the symptoms and are mainly palliative measures. The treatment complex could be subdivided on three main parts: pharmacological, psycho-social and nursing measures of patient’s treatment.
Nursing care is one of the key treatment measures in Alzheimer’s disease treatment because of incurable and degenerative character of the illness. Very often the treatment is provided by the close relatives of the patient and it goes without saying that such a deep involvement in treatment process, seriously influence on social psychological, economical and many other life aspects of the people who take up nursing and care on Alzheimer’s disease patients. Living in a constant stress and observing temporal progress of the disease, as people might not recognize them, there could be developed urinary incontinence. Approximately 30% of patients develop illusionary misidentifications and other delusional symptoms. Subjects also lose insight of their disease process and limitations (Anosognosia) (Frostl, Kurtz, 1999). Living in a stress makes relatives to refuse from home treatment of Alzheimer’s disease patient and move them to long term care facilities (Frostl, Kurtz, 1999). The direct and indirect costs on Alzheimer’s treatment is approximately 77, 500$ per year in the United States.
As Alzheimer’s disease is incurable and gradually reduces individual’s ability to take care about himself. That is why nursing care is actually the basis of therapy related to the Alzheimer’s disease patients and need constant attention during the whole period of illness.
In first stages of Alzheimer’s disease the safety of the patient as well as difficulty of his treatment could be eased by making certain changes in the surrounding and way of life. Among such measures changing for routine day order, certain locks on the most dangerous places that would prevent the patient from doing something that would damage his health, stickers that would explain the purpose of some tools and utensils, it would significantly ease the live of relatives who treat the Alzheimer’s disease patient. The patient could also loose ability to eat himself, In this case it would be necessary to make a porridge of the food and if the patient have certain problems with ingestion, the patient would need special treatment and feeding with the special tube. In this case there is a question stood behind the family members and nursing care workers, is this effective from the medical point of view. The necessity of physical fixing of the patients ill on Alzheimer’s disease could be rarely observed on any stage of the disease, but in some situations the fixation should be used to protect the other people and patients himself from hurting anybody.
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During the development of the disease there could be observed different complications, teeth and oral cavity illnesses, bedsores, breach of feeding order, hygienic problems, respirator, eye or skin infections. They could be avoided only with thorough treatment, but if such complications have appeared only professional treatment could help to solve these problems with Alzheimer’s patients. To make the patient feel better before he or she dies is the main aim on the last stage of Alzheimer’s disease.
The short observe of nursing treatment of Alzheimer’s patients show that relatives, who take an active part in caring the patient live in the constant stress, seeing how the disease rapidly kills their deal people. That is why all the innovative technologies and scientific research are very significant not only for the patients but also for those who treat them too, as their mental, physical, social and economic life suffer from the disease as well as patient himself. We should remember that treatment of Alzheimer’s disease cost more than 70 thousand dollars and need constant attention from the family and nurses as well.
Cannabidiol and Innovations of Professor Raphael Mechoulam
The recent innovative technologies showed that some investigative process could lead to the unexpected results. In the present day world marijuana is prohibited in the majority of the whole world and is related as drug that cause addiction. But professor Raphael Mechoulam suggested developmental theory that introduce marijuana in definitely other perspective as it could help to makes the patients feel better on the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and even slows it: “The research, still at an early stage, indicates that memory loss, the main symptom of Alzheimer’s, can be slowed down significantly in mice by some of the chemicals present in cannabis. The next step will be to initiate human trials to see if the same effect can be achieved on the human brain. The research is promising for the millions of suffers of the disease and their carers. In the studies, mice were injected directly into the brain with a molecule found in the human brain of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which is known to be responsible for memory loss. These animals were then treated over a week with cannabidiol. The animals were then assessed as to their learning ability measured by the time needed for them to find a hidden platform in a maze. Mice injected with cannabidiol found the platform within 25-30 seconds, compared to 45-55 seconds of those in a control group who had not been treated with cannabidiol.” (Medical News, 2005). This decision is called scientific breakthrough as it would give the new wave of studying the Alzheimer’s disease and could significantly influence the lives of patients and their relatives too, as they are closely connected to the treatment process of sick in Alzheimer’s disease. Still the researchers are on the early stages and there are a number of problems connected with starting clinical studies: “Clinical trials have not yet been scheduled or a request made for approval. It is very complicated and expensive to run clinical trials, he said, but he hoped they would be carried out due to the massive threat to human health of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders” (The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, 2009).
still the decisions of Prof. Mechoulam team are very significant and if the clinical results would prove the fact that cannabidiol have a serious impact on the health of Alzheimer’s disease patients, that would significantly influence their relatives lives too. Now it would be very hard to define whether it would reduce cost of medical treatment, but in any way it would significantly influence the lives of those who involved in nursing caring of the patients, as slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease would ease their life and attention they got to devote to their relatives. So it would be necessary to note that the hypothesis statement is supported by the data, provided from different sources and the discovery provided by Professor Raphael Mechoulam would have
Limitations and Perspectives of the Research on Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
It is essential that this research would have certain limitations and one and the most important is the fact that clinic experiment still did not showed the result yet. Now we can speak only about laboratory results provided on rats, but still the perspectives are great as for the patients ill on Alzheimer’s disease and their relative and nursing personnel too, as working and/or living in the constant stress could also cause serious disease and significantly influence social communication and life of these people, yet not positive influence. So the theme has great perspectives for further work and developmental process as the results of investigation would be provided and they would make a significant stress in the scientific world that deals with researches of Alzheimer’s Disease, providing developmental issue to promote further research of influence innovative ideas in medical treatment of Alzheimer’s disease on the relatives of the patients too, as they are closely connected during the treatment process.
Conclusion and Personal Opinion
It goes without saying that any significant discovery in the field of incurable disease give a belief for the better. The project of Professor Raphael Mechoulam is giving a new belief to those who nare ill on Alzheimer’s Disease and their relatives too. It was mentioned a number of times, that in treatment of these disease relatives play one of the most significant parts, living and caring about the sick people, especially on early stages, it won’t be a secret that living with incurably ill people significantly influence life of these people, as they live in constant stress, not only for the lives of their relatives but as well for their personal secure as people sick in Alzheimer’s disease are often unpredictable. That is why slowing of degradation process during Alzheimer’s disease would make a good advantage for those who care about them, and influence their psychological and emotional state positively, giving them a new belief and new forces to struggle for.
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Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is a degenerative disorder that leads to memory loss and bodily functions and is the most common form of dementia.
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