We talk about Alzheimer's, treatment and research in the new episode of "15 minutes with..." the in-depth talk on the health of the Cagliari university hospital in collaboration with the Unione Sarda group, which will be broadcast live on Tuesday 30 May at 17 on the social networks of the Aou of Cagliari (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter), on the website www.aoucagliari.it, on the Facebook page of the Unione Sarda and on www.unionesarda.it. As always, viewers will be able to ask questions live. On Wednesday, readers of the Unione Sarda will find in-depth information in the newspaper's “Salute” insert.
Guest of the column, conducted by the journalist Fabrizio Meloni, head of Communications and External Relations of the Aou of Cagliari, will be Dr. Gianluca Floris neurologist of the Duilio Casula Polyclinic.
Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly population of developed countries. It is a neurodegenerative pathology with a chronic and progressive course that affects about 5% of the population over the age of 65, about 20% of the over-85s and in several cases it can also show an early onset around the age of 50.
The underlying cause of the disease would appear to be linked to the alteration of the metabolism of the amyloid beta precursor protein which, for still unknown reasons, at a certain point in the life of some people is metabolized forming a neurotoxic substance.
Symptoms can vary a lot from person to person. The earliest, which you need to pay attention to, is memory loss. This can be followed by sleep and behavioral disturbances, depression, spatial and temporal disorientation, and speech disturbances.
The treatment involves the use of drugs able to improve the symptoms of the disease and temporarily slow down its progression but also to control the most disabling and disturbing symptoms of the disease such as depression, sleep disorders and behavioral disorders.