Common Conditions of Aging
Alzheimer’s Disease / Dementia
Alzheimer’s (pronounced AHLZ-high-merz) disease is a brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities. As Alzheimer’s progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or agitation, as well as delusions or hallucinations.
Although there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, new treatments are on the horizon as a result of accelerating insight into the biology of the disease. Research has also shown that effective care and support can improve quality of life for individuals and their caregivers over the course of the disease from diagnosis to the end of life.
Alzheimer’s disease advances at widely different rates. The duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are affected first, but as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain. Eventually, the person with Alzheimer’s will need complete care. If the individual has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function itself will cause death.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, a group of conditions that all gradually destroy brain cells and lead to progressive decline in mental function. Vascular dementia, another common form, results from reduced blood flow to the brain’s nerve cells. In some cases, Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia can occur together in a condition called "mixed dementia." Other causes of dementia include frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Arthritis
Arthritis causes pain, loss of movement, and sometimes swelling. It is commonly thought to be a single disease, but is actually a term that refers to over 100 medical conditions. These conditions all affect the musculoskeletal system; specifically, the joints.
Arthritis-related joint problems include pain, stiffness, inflammation and damage to joint cartilage. This damage can lead to joint weakness, instability and deformities that, depending on the location of joint involvement, can interfere with everyday tasks such as walking, climbing stairs, or using the computer.
However, arthritis generally affects more than joints. Many forms of arthritis can damage almost any bodily organ or system, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels and skin.
Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s Disease, which affects approximately 1 million people in the United States, is a brain disorder with symptoms that include tremors, slowness of movement, stiffness, and difficulty with balance.
This disease usually develops after age 65 and slowly progresses with age, although 15% of those diagnosed are under 50. No treatments have yet proven to slow the condition, although many drugs are available to treat symptoms.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease that affects millions of Americans, but women are four times more likely than men to develop the condition, in which bones become fragile and are likely to break. Left untreated, osteoporosis can progress until a bone breaks. These breaks typically occur in the hip, spine, and wrist. Spinal or vertebral fractures can cause height loss, severe back pain, and deformity.
Anxiety and Depression
Depression is considered by most people to be a condition of being sad and in a low mood, but clinical depression is far more than the ordinary "blue" moods that everyone experiences at times. Depression affects thinking, emotions, behavior, and physical health. Some people have trouble remembering, or can’t make decisions like they used to. Activities one once enjoyed become uninteresting.
Depression is more than the feeling of grief after a loss of a loved one; a depressed mood is a normal reaction following a loss, but if the grief does not go away for a few months, it may be clinical depression. As many as 3 out of 100 people 65 and older experience clinical depression.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body cannot produce insulin and correctly break down sugar in the blood. Symptoms include hunger, thirst, excessive urination, dehydration, and weight loss. Diabetes treatment requires daily insulin injections, proper nutrition and regular exercise. Seniors are at a higher risk for stroke, heart disease, blindness, and loss of limbs from poor circulation as an effect of this condition.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma damages the optic nerve in the eye, and gradually leads to blindness. Elevated pressure in the eye is a risk factor, but even people with normal pressure can lose vision to glaucoma. There is not yet a cure for glaucoma. Everyone is at risk for glaucoma, and there may be no symptoms. It is commonly a hereditary condition.
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness, is an incurable disease that affects more than 10 million Americans. The macula, which is the central portion of the eye’s retina, is responsible for focusing central vision in the eye. When macular degeneration is present, the macula detoriates.
Hearing Loss
About one-third of Americans over the age of 60 have hearing problems; about half of those over 85 suffer from hearing loss. Whether one cannot hear certain sounds or is profoundly deaf, hearing loss is a serious concern. Problems can worsen if they are not treated. Hearing loss can be caused by a virus or bacteria, but also because of heart conditions, stroke, head injuries, tumors, and certain medicines.
ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease)
This disease was named after the baseball player, who died from a very rare form of degenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This disease damages spinal cord pathways and motor neurons, causing muscles to no longer receive signals from the brain. As a result, muscles become smaller and weaker, and eventually the body becomes partially paralyzed. However, even at an advanged stage, an invididual with ALS can still see, hear, smell, and feel touch. The people most commonly affected by Lou Gehrig’s Disease are between the ages of 40 and 70, with 5-10% of cases being hereditary.
Heart attack / Heart disease
As people age, their risk of heart attack and heart disease increases. A heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself is severely reduced or stopped due to blockage, damaging that part of the heart. Signs of an impending heart attack include pressure, tightness, or heaviness in the chest, spreading to the neck, shoulders or arm; and/or discomfort in the chest along with fainting, lightheadedness, or shortness of breath.