As we age, cells in our body begin to lose their shapes and functions, as the main component of functionality in our body, it affects almost every phase of our entire lives. One of the areas most affected as we age is our neurological abilities.
Most Common Neurological Diseases
The most common neurological diseases in the elderly are listed below:
Alzheimer Disease
This gradually destroys the brain cells, causing cognitive problems such as memory loss, forgetting about people around you, and disorientation.
Alzheimer’s is the most common neurological Problem in the elderly, this is the major underlying health condition of dementia in the elderly, and it affects the highest percentage of the older population neurologically. It often begins with a moderate form of memory loss which will eventually lead to a significant inability to remember things, situations, and people in older adults.
Parkinson’s Disease
This destroys some categories of neuronal cells, dopamine neurons, and neurotransmitters. It also causes movement disorders such as tremors, and memory impairment ( though limited) this may be at a minimal level but it can still affect quality of life and impair social relationships.
Other common neurological disorders in the elderly are dementia and aging, in general, these include a variety of neurological disorders that lead to cognitive impairment.
Why Are Older People More Likely To Develop Neurological Diseases?
There are several reasons why older people are likely to develop neurological disorders. First is that the brain changes in function, and quality of cells as we age, including loss of neurons and deficient synaptic connection between neurons that help to transmit vital impulses. But is it worthy of note that not all older people have neurological or cognitive disorders?
Another reason is that older people are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, these health problems can damage the blood vessels in the brain and thereby add to elderly neurological problems.
A long time of stress experience in life, depression and repeated traumatic brain injuries can increase the risk of neurological disorders decades after it occurred.
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How To Prevent Neurological Disorders In Elderly People.
The most important thing is to maintain a good overall healthy lifestyle throughout life. Through a healthy lifestyle, these disorders can be prevented starting from a young life and also preventable even during old age by changing habits.
These habits can include eating a balanced diet that provides all the nutrients that the body needs to function properly, commonly referred to as a healthy diet. It is necessary to limit the intake of fried food, fats, sugar as well as processed foods.
Physical exercise is such an essential component of staying healthy, this will contribute significantly to reducing the risk of neurological disorders in the elderly. At least 3000 to 6000 steps or 30 minutes of physical activities per day will go along well to keep the body in a state of mental alertness and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and diabetic problems which can result in neurological diseases.
Reducing smoking and alcohol intake can significantly contribute to high blood pressure and thereby lead to nerve compression in the brain which can result in serious neurological disorders. However, it Should be noted that none of these sometimes is a necessary indicator suggesting the possibility of a neurological disorder, for example, Alzheimer’s disease can occur despite a healthy lifestyle as a result of the genetic makeup of an individual.
Learning new things in most cases can help stimulate the brain to function well, new things like reading, participating in social activities, and getting to know new people, on the contrary, a lack of social connection can lead to self-absorption and the brain becomes unstimulated for intellectual efforts.
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Screening Methods For Neurological Disorders In The Elderly
It is always difficult to recognize the first sign of neurological disorder either in the elderly or in children, for relatives and caregivers, certain weak signals are worth considering, they are:
Memory Problems that occur regularly and daily, such as forgetting an appointment, sudden and unexplained changes in behavior such as aggression and apathy, impaired walking or balance, falls, language Problems, and understanding.
As common as some of these disorders may be in the elderly, be sure not to generalize them. Some of these complications can occur occasionally in the elderly which may be due to some underlying causes and not related to neurological disorder.