Between 5 and 10 per cent of the population over age 65 suffer Alzheimers disease, according to experts.

Marbella, 2011-September Alzheimer’s disease affects over 700,000 people in Spain, and it is estimated that each year 100,000 people develop symptoms of this disease. However, as warns Dr. Manius Von Maravic, head of the Neurology unit hospital USP Marbella, the exact number of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease is not known because many people are not diagnostic. However, we can conclude that roughly between 5 and 10 per cent of the population over 65 will suffer from this disease ”, says the expert. The ageing of our Western society makes this estimate percentage is double in year 2020 and reach triple within 40 years.

Disease is the most shocking of the elderly, the most common cause of disability, dependency and death in this stage of life. Alzheimer’s disease is a dementia and cause between 60 and 70 per cent of all dementias. Dementias understand all illnesses that generate the brain disturbances causing impairments of memory and intellectual function with evolution of at least 6 months ”, explains Dr. Von Maravic.

From the Neurology unit of USP Marbella, emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease is a disease of the brain, not the mind. It is a neurodegenerative disease that produces progressive and irrepressible death of neurons or brain cells.

The most relevant symptoms that can alert us to a case of Alzheimer’s could be the following:

-loss of memory.

– questions frequently repeated.

-difficulty naming or referring to objects common.

– concerning the place forgotten where have placed the things.

-disorientation in places known.

-loss of orientation with respect to time.

-lost interest and before the activities of life.

-disabilities and difficulties to perform life tasks daily.

-claim ever more aid.

-personality, mood changes and humor.

-progressive loss of verbal expression and writing for

In any case, symptoms do not appear all at the same time, if not that developed slowly and gradually.

The diagnostic process is not as easy as it may seem at first. Practitioners use various procedures of diagnosis such as a battery of neuropsychological tests to study the degree of impairment of memory and intellectual capacities. Moreover, it is highly recommended to conduct a study of the brain or MRI image for degenerative changes and to rule out other causes of dementia such as advanced vascular processes, brain tumors etc …. ”, continues Dr. Von Maravic.

About USP hospital

Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Madrid, USP hospital is the first hospital private group in the Spanish market. Currently, USP hospital boasts a network of 12 hospitals, 20 health centres and 4,000 doctors annually serving more than two million patients. In 2010 the company recorded 331.494 clinical stays, 118.931 surgery, 11.202 births and 424.511 er.