There's a new hope for all Alzheimer's patients. A new study has revealed a testing method, which can detect the disease a decade in advance.

Gravitas: New hope for Alzheimer's patients

Every year on September 21, World Alzheimer's Day is observed globally to raise awareness and address the common stigma that surrounds Alzheimer-related dementia.

Every year on September 21, World Alzheimer's Day is observed globally to raise awareness and address the common stigma that surrounds Alzheimer-related dementia. Dementia is not a specific disease but is a state in which a person suffers a continuous decline in thinking, behavioural and social skills. These symptoms affect a person's ability to function independently. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia. This disease is a progressive neurological disorder, that impairs memory and other mental functions. It causes the brain to shrink and the brain cells to die. ALSO READ | A severe Victorian disease is making a comeback in UK, warns NHS. Read all about the symptoms and more On World Alzheimer's Day, WION spoke to a neurosurgeon, who explained the best possible ways to take care of Alzheimer's patients at home. From his personal and professional experiences, Dr Nishant Shanker Yagnick, who is a senior consultant of neurosurgery at the Manipal Hospitals, Gurugram shared some unique ways of taking care of an Alzheimer's patient. He said, "Taking care of Alzheimer's patients can be a very difficult and tricky problem." "For many years I have professionally and personally faced the challenge of taking care of someone with his unique set of problems," said Dr Yagnick. He mentioned that he took care of his grandfather, who was an Alzheimer's patient. Identity card He said that the first thing you need to know is that a patient of Alzheimer's, even early Alzheimer's, can "forget where they live, who they are, and become lost". It is not uncommon that a patient of Alzheimer's can wander out onto the street and be lost from the family which is a very sad event. "The number one advice given to all patients is: that they should have ideally a necklace with steel tags, just like we manufacture in Army, which has the patient's name, contact number, and address," he said. ALSO READ | Adults under 65 should get routinely screened for anxiety, recommends a US study panel Community support The second thing you can do is you can make the surroundings of the patient (watchman, members of the society, etc) understand the patient's problem. Any time they see the patient doing something that can be dangerous for their health, they can call for help. "Alzheimer's patients will fight a lot, they can become very aggressive because even though they lose their memory, they don't change their moods. And that's why they get very frustrated if someone tries to stop them from doing something. And that's why community support is absolutely essential to take care of a patient of Alzheimer's," Dr Yagnick added. Puzzles and games He explained that in the later stage of Alzheimer's, the patients just don't lose their memory, they also lose the ability to make new memories quickly, so their learning is reduced. "It's very useful to make sure that such patients get stimulated using puzzles, games, online messages, photographs of their past days and present days, and photographs of what is happening in the world to keep up with current affairs," he noted. Normal treatment He said one should not think that Alzheimer's patients wouldn't remember anything and so one should not take care of them. "Treat them as if they are absolutely normal. Make them sit at the breakfast table, and lunch table," said the doctor. He suggested, "Talk to them about world affairs, talk to them about their day, your day and make sure that you show them pictures because visual memory is good as compared to verbal memory. So, show them pictures of what's happening in the world." While concluding, Dr Yagnick said, "Believe me, these things can slow the progress or delay the ultimate effect that Alzheimer's patients have and in the end, you want the person to feel that they have an absolutely normal life as much as possible." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

World Alzheimer's Day: Expert tells WION how to take care of Alzheimer's patient at home

According to a UK university, researchers have identified 42 genes associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

The research published in the journal Nature Genetics informed that the genome of more than 100,000 people with Alzheimer’s disease were studied and it was compared with 600,000 healthy individuals in order to find out more about genetic makeup.

"This study more than doubles the number of identified genes influencing risk for the more common form of Alzheimer’s disease," Dr Rebecca Sims, co-leader of the study said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/lifestyle/news-change-in-age-related-sleep-pattern-could-be-early-signs-of-dementia-states-new-study-409655">Also Read: Sleeping for long hours may be early sign of Alzheimer’s disease: Study&nbsp;</a>

The study showed specific biological signalling pathway involving TNF-alpha, a protein which plays an important role in the "inflammation and the immune system" was "implicated in Alzheimer's".

The study also found "dysfunction of microglia, immune cells in the brain that are responsible for eliminating toxic substances that contribute to disease pathology."

The study is considered a breakthrough in dementia research as scientists study how likely patients with cognitive impairment may&nbsp;develop Alzheimer's within three years of first showing symptoms.

Watch:&nbsp;US approves new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/united-states-approves-new-drug-to-treat-alzheimers-disease-390063/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Although the current research is not intended to be used in clinical practice, however, the report said researchers hope it would help to improve the evaluation of new drugs in clinical trials.

The research hopes to identify people who have the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer's before they develop the condition and also broaden studies on demographics since the present study is primarily conducted on Caucasian populations.&nbsp;

The worldwide study involved genome samples from the EU, Argentina, New Zealand, UK, US, Canada, Iceland, Australia and Brazil.

(With inputs from Agencies)

According to a UK university, researchers have identified 42 genes associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The research published in the journal Nature Genetics informed that the genome of more than 100,000 people with Alzheimer’s disease were studied and it was compared with 600,000 healthy individuals in order to find out more about genetic makeup.

According to a UK university, researchers have identified 42 genes associated with increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The research published in the journal Nature Genetics informed that the genome of more than 100,000 people with Alzheimer’s disease were studied and it was compared with 600,000 healthy individuals in order to find out more about genetic makeup. "This study more than doubles the number of identified genes influencing risk for the more common form of Alzheimer’s disease," Dr Rebecca Sims, co-leader of the study said. Also Read: Sleeping for long hours may be early sign of Alzheimer’s disease: Study The study showed specific biological signalling pathway involving TNF-alpha, a protein which plays an important role in the "inflammation and the immune system" was "implicated in Alzheimer's". The study also found "dysfunction of microglia, immune cells in the brain that are responsible for eliminating toxic substances that contribute to disease pathology." The study is considered a breakthrough in dementia research as scientists study how likely patients with cognitive impairment may develop Alzheimer's within three years of first showing symptoms. Watch: US approves new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease Although the current research is not intended to be used in clinical practice, however, the report said researchers hope it would help to improve the evaluation of new drugs in clinical trials. The research hopes to identify people who have the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer's before they develop the condition and also broaden studies on demographics since the present study is primarily conducted on Caucasian populations. The worldwide study involved genome samples from the EU, Argentina, New Zealand, UK, US, Canada, Iceland, Australia and Brazil. (With inputs from Agencies)

In major breakthrough, study discovers 42 new genes linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease

According to researchers, changes in the texture of the retina may help to detect&nbsp;Alzheimer’s disease.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/inside-french-village-constructed-for-alzheimers-patients-332094/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The early detection of changes in the retina through the latest imaging technique may help health officials to fight the disease, a recent study has claimed. Alzheimer’s&nbsp;is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60 per cent to 80 per cent of cases in America.

According to a report, Alzheimer which becomes worse with time is thought to begin 20 years or more before symptoms arise. The symptoms occur when nerve cells in parts of the brain involved in thinking, learning and memory get damaged or destroyed.

Difficulty in remembering recent conversations, names or events is often an early clinical symptom, according to Alzheimer's Association report.

Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by noticeable memory, thinking or behavioural symptoms that impair a person’s ability to function in daily life, along with evidence of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes, the Alzheimer's Association claims.

Scientists have now unveiled the mouse model of Alzheimer’s which can potentially detect Alzheimer’s early and help in slowing the progress of the disease. &nbsp;The "non-invasive approach to identify measurable changes that will aid in clinical diagnostics", the study has said.

According to the report, there are currently 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s with the disease recently becoming the sixth largest cause of death in the US.

The study said layer-specific differences between pathological and control retinas are consistent with the known morphological changes associated with Alzheimer’s pathology.&nbsp;

"The data trends revealed in this study have a potential to serve as biomarkers of Alzheimer’s and with further development, may enable better identification of&nbsp;Alzheimer’s in human patients," it said.

According to researchers, changes in the texture of the retina may help to detect Alzheimer’s disease. Watch: The early detection of changes in the retina through the latest imaging technique may help health officials to fight the disease, a recent study has claimed.

According to researchers, changes in the texture of the retina may help to detect Alzheimer’s disease. Watch: The early detection of changes in the retina through the latest imaging technique may help health officials to fight the disease, a recent study has claimed. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 60 per cent to 80 per cent of cases in America. According to a report, Alzheimer which becomes worse with time is thought to begin 20 years or more before symptoms arise. The symptoms occur when nerve cells in parts of the brain involved in thinking, learning and memory get damaged or destroyed. Difficulty in remembering recent conversations, names or events is often an early clinical symptom, according to Alzheimer's Association report. Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is characterised by noticeable memory, thinking or behavioural symptoms that impair a person’s ability to function in daily life, along with evidence of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes, the Alzheimer's Association claims. Scientists have now unveiled the mouse model of Alzheimer’s which can potentially detect Alzheimer’s early and help in slowing the progress of the disease. The "non-invasive approach to identify measurable changes that will aid in clinical diagnostics", the study has said. According to the report, there are currently 5.8 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s with the disease recently becoming the sixth largest cause of death in the US. The study said layer-specific differences between pathological and control retinas are consistent with the known morphological changes associated with Alzheimer’s pathology. "The data trends revealed in this study have a potential to serve as biomarkers of Alzheimer’s and with further development, may enable better identification of Alzheimer’s in human patients," it said.

How changes in texture of retina may reveal signs of Alzheimer's disease

Residents of the purpose-built village near Dax in southwestern France shop for groceries, get pampered at the hair salon and enjoy music recitals just like anyone else. This is, however, no gated community for the general public. Each one of the 105 permanent residents has Alzheimer's disease.

Inside French village constructed for Alzheimer's patients