Preventive Measures in Dementia Treatment - Essay Example

"Preventive Measures in Dementia Treatment" is an inspiring example of a paper on the disorder. Alzheimer's is a disease or an illness affecting the brain of a human being.  It may also be termed as a progressive degenerative disease that affects one’s brain. Its persistence leads to a condition responsible or the brain malfunctioning; the condition is Dementia. Its effects deter a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. This comes in the wake of the person’s malfunctioning of the memory, distorted moods, emotions, language and more so his behaviors may change significantly.  It starts at early stages with memory problems where a person is not able to coordinate his memory well leading to his inability to remember most of the things (Harvard Health Publications, 2009).

How Alzheimer disease is detected, treated and prevented in Australia

Studies show that the presence of beta-amyloid molecules in the brain of an individual is an important key to the early detection of Alzheimer's disease (Jamison, 2006).  In relation to the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Flagship of Ageing (AIBL) research report, a neuro-imaging scan (PiB PET) identifies individuals with a high number of beta-amyloid molecules in the brain, which shows their vulnerability to Alzheimer disease. This detection gives symptoms of the disease at early stages more than one year and five months before the disease begins to surface its symptoms and effects of the victim.  This scan gives the presence or the possibility of the disease striking the victim even before the experience of effects like memory loss begins to affect the individual. The early diagnosis helps which is a new development is anticipated to help in identifying better methods of detecting new disease modification therapies that allow the delay or inhibition of the onset of the disease in victimized individuals. 

On the other hand, treating the disease needs to start a level where engagement of the whole family leads to better treatment, this is because when one family member is a victim, the whole family may suffer depending on the effects or symptoms presented in a particular case. The family is first educated and the education revolves around the help offered to the family in understanding the state of the disease and behavior management strategies. This helps the caregiver to handle behavior as well as the moods of the sick person, for instance, restlessness, depression and other complex situations around the victim’s life. The victim usually receives care from an elder child or the spouse of the victim. Treatment involves respite care in a nursing home or a hospital. From the research statistics, better medication keeps bettering every day and one of the most used is the cholinesterase inhibitor, which helps, in the cognitive functioning of the victim’s brain (Smith et al, 2007; Joen, Brodarty & Chenoweth, 2008).

Preventive measures, facilities accessed, mode of payment and the health care professionals for dementia treatment

             In relation to Jamison (2006), their several prevention measures in Australia put in place to handle or control the disease in the Australian population. These include; screening, periodic health examination, early intervention and control of risk factors like lifestyle and medication. There are several facilities accessed by victims of Alzheimer's, some of these are; nursing homes associated with the old in Australian society, there are hospitals, which offer treatment for dementia as well as Alzheimer's. These hospitals usually offer the treatment of Alzheimer's disease to patients visiting. Gray, Wright, Scuffhan, and Wootton (2008) assert that in Australia, patients with dementia receive funding through a social and community service, only for patients at home. There are direct payments where local authorities give the affected person and his caregiver money to pay for the services needed. Complex dementia cases receive funding form NHS continuing care.  Some of the health professionals include; neuropsychologists, social workers, speech pathologists, and psychologists. The speech pathologist is meant to diagnose problems associated with speech while the psychologists and the neuropsychologists diagnoses and treats problems associated with thinking or the mind and those of the brain various parts respectively.