What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s and Dementia?

The terms “Alzheimer’s” and “dementia” are often used interchangeably. But the two conditions are actually quite different. You can think of the distinction in terms of an analogy to squares and rectangles. All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Similarly, Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia — but not all dementia qualifies as Alzheimer’s.

Dementia is something of an umbrella term. It refers to a wide range of symptoms, including memory loss, diminishing attention span, difficulty focusing, and poor judgement. The symptoms of dementia disrupt a person’s ability to live a normal life.

People often assume that Alzheimer’s is a worsened state of dementia — that dementia occurs first, in a more mild form, and Alzheimer’s may follow. But that’s not really true. Alzheimer’s is not the only kind of dementia there is. Other forms of dementia include conditions such as Huntington’s disease or Parkinson’s. Additionally, the terms are nonspecific to severity or need for treatment. A person can have dementia that is “worse” than another person’s Alzheimer’s. Conversely, it is possible to have Alzheimer’s that has progressed further than someone else’s dementia.

But Alzheimer’s is definitely the most common risk for cognitive decline, responsible for the majority of dementia cases. Patients with Alzheimer’s suffer memory loss and confusion due to a buildup of plaques and fibres in the brain. These compounds can get in the way of nerve signals and destroy nerve cells. Once these cells are destroyed, they cannot be regrown.

Alzheimer’s can be prevented and its progression can be slowed — but unfortunately, the disease is irreversible and cannot be cured. Watching out for the little-known warning signs of the disease is probably a good idea as you or your loved ones age.

So how does one prevent these conditions? The best tips to prevent Alzheimer’s and to stave off dementia are also pretty similar. Many of these preventative measures include lifestyle habits, such as getting enough sleep and engaging in physical exercise. But the foods you eat could have an impact, too. These foods could help lower your chances of cognitive decline.

 THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                
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This natural sugar supplement could help fight cancer

Mannose-- a nutritional supplement -- found naturally in fruits such as cranberries can aid in slowing the growth of tumours and improve cancer treatment, a study has shown.

The findings showed that mannose enhanced the effects of chemotherapy in mice with multiple types of cancer including leukaemia, osteosarcoma, ovarian and bowel cancer. It slowed tumor growth, reduced the size of tumours and even helped increase the lifespan of some mice.

Tumours use more glucose than normal, healthy tissues. However, it is very hard to control the amount of glucose in your body through diet alone. Researchers found that mannose can interfere with glucose to reduce how much sugar cancer cells can use.

"Tumours need a lot of glucose to grow, so limiting the amount they can use should slow cancer progression. The problem is that normal tissues need glucose as well, so we can't completely remove it from the body. 

"In our study, we found a dosage of mannose that could block enough glucose to slow tumour growth in mice, but not so much that normal tissues were affected," said the lead author of the study.
 
"This is early research, but it is hoped that finding this perfect balance means that, in the future, mannose could be given to cancer patients to enhance chemotherapy without damaging their overall health," he added.

For the study, the team first examined how mice with pancreatic, lung or skin cancer responded when mannose was added to their drinking water and given as an oral treatment. They found that adding the supplement significantly slowed the growth of tumours and did not cause any obvious side effects.

To test how mannose could also affect cancer treatment, mice were treated with cisplatin and doxorubicin -- two of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs. 

Some cells responded well to the treatment while others did not. It was also found that the presence of an enzyme that breaks down mannose in cells was a good indicator of how effective treatment was.



THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        PS- THOSE INTERESTED IN RECIPES ARE FREE TO  VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                           https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com/                                                                                                                                                                             FOR INFO ABOUT KNEE REPLACEMENT, YOU CAN VIEW MY BLOG-                                                                                                                             https:// kneereplacement-stickclub.blogspot.com/                                                                                       FOR CROCHET DESIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 https://gscrochetdesigns.blogspot.com