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The lives of Jose and Elaine Belardo were disrupted last year when he was diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. KCUR / Alex Smith
José Belardo of Lansing, Kansas has spent most of his career in the United States Public Health Service. He has worked on the front lines of disasters in other countries like Haiti, Colombia, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. At home with his three children and his wife, Elaine, he had always been infallibly reliable, so when he forgot about their wedding anniversary two years in a row, they began to worry both
"We have recognized that something was wrong, "said Elaine
but the symptoms increased.Last year, while José was 50 years old, he was the subject of an evaluation at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that included a battery of cognitive tests and a PET scan of his brain.The scanner detects beta-amyloid plaques – sticky clumps of protein fragments that tend to accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease (although some older, healthy adults also carry these plaques)
19659006] Jose stated that his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease Early Alzheimer came co even an embarrbading shock, yet he and his wife said that they believe that it is better to have a diagnosis than no. Jose said that he was determined not to let the shock of the diagnosis distract him from living a full life.
"I have responsibilities, man, I can not leave," Jose said. "I have kids, I have graduations coming in. I have all this stuff coming in. I'm not going to let Alzheimer's get away." it's safe. "
Rear Admiral José Belardo traveled the world and worked with national leaders in the US Public Health Service KCUR / Alex Smith
The prospect of having Alzheimer's disease can be so scary, and the current treatment options so few, that many people rule out memory problems or other symptoms rather than to study them, say Alzheimer's experts, it is estimated that up to half of all cases are undiagnosed.
But this may soon change. Researchers are making progress in measuring beta-amyloid biomarkers and other biomarkers of Alzheimer's in the blood that could possibly identify reliably, inexpensively, and non-invasively years before cognitive symptoms develop.
Experimental Tests [19659003] For the time being, PET scans for beta-amyloid are not yet widely available, and most other biomarker tests are still experimental. But Dr. John Morris, a researcher on Alzheimer's disease and professor of neurology at the University of Washington in St. Louis, predicted that these physiological measures would herald a new chapter in the management of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's
. people "before the stage of dementia, before the stage where memory and thought are affected, in an effort to delay memory loss and thinking ability or even prevent it."
Meanwhile, he said seeing a doctor at the first development of mild cognitive symptoms is because the symptoms may come from something else that is quite treatable. "For example, sometimes a low rate of thyroid hormones can produce a condition similar to dementia," he said. , "And that can be easily treated with thyroid replacement therapy."
And even though the underlying problem is Alzheimer's disease, a recent study by the Alzheimer's Association suggests that the exact diagnosis of the disease at an early stage of mild cognitive impairment – or even before the symptoms appear – the patient could save $ 64,000 per patient in terms of health and long-term care costs during his lifetime
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Earlier diagnosis also allows the patient to become more involved in planning for their own future and that of the family. This can help reduce the emotional burden of the disease on everyone.
After the diagnosis of José Belardo 's illness, the family rushed to put his affairs in order. They got in touch with the Alzheimer's Association, which provided support groups and other helpers.
And before long, as Elaine explained, the shock started to disappear.
"What I would say is after being diagnosed with something that is incurable and progressive and maybe even aggressive: pause and breathe, and think about where the person is right at the moment. Because at that time, José did not die, and at that moment Jose did not die. "
The researchers hope that more patients with the disease Alzheimer's will be diagnosed early, more people with the disease, like Jose, will get the most out of the disease. This story is part of a partnership that includes KCUR NPR and Kaiser Health News, an editorialally independent program of the Kaiser family . Foundation .
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