Although certain familial forms of Alzheimer's Disease do run in families, these forms are extremely rare, accounting for less than 5 percent of all cases. So just because your mother or your brother got Alzheimer's Disease doesn't automatically mean that you're going to get it as well.

No test can predict whether you'll get Alzheimer's Disease unless you have the very rare inherited form of AD. A blood test exists that can tell you whether you have a certain form of a cholesterol-carrying protein associated with a higher incidence of Alzheimer's Disease, but that's all that it can tell you. The test can't tell you whether you'll actually develop the condition because at least 50 percent of the people who have the risk factor never actually get AD.

For ethical reasons, healthcare professionals advise against taking this blood test or undergoing other genetic testing because they want to spare their patients unnecessary worry about something that'll probably never happen even if the tests do come out positive. They also recommend against testing because if a person does find that he or she has inherited the gene or the risk factor, this information may negatively impact the person's ability to get health insurance and long-term care coverage.

Looking at Symptoms and Causes

Doctors and researchers still aren't sure exactly what triggers Alzheimer's Disease, but the symptoms are all too familiar. Part I of this book looks at current theories about causes and reviews the range of symptoms that may be present at each stage of the disease. You can also find information to help you decide whether to take your loved one to a doctor for testing.

As we mention earlier, Alzheimer's Disease has no method of diagnosis that's 100 percent accurate (other than an autopsy at death). But the range of diagnostic tools is so good that most doctors can now diagnose Alzheimer's Disease with about 90 percent certainty. The results of a battery of workups - a physical exam, lab tests, imaging, and evaluations of thinking, memory, and day-to-day functioning - are used to determine the likelihood of Alzheimer's Disease.

Discovering Treatment Options

Just four drugs are FDA approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. As we discuss in Part II, the standard of treatment calls for the administration of one of the three drugs still in use, along with a recommended 2000 I.U. of vitamin E daily. Depending upon your loved one's condition, additional medications may be used to treat other behavioral symptoms of AD that can occur at any point in the course of the disease. If your loved one has an underlying condition like diabetes or cardiovascular disease, he may have to take additional medications for those conditions as well. Your doctor will work with you and your loved one to determine which medications and treatment options are best suited to your particular case.

Tackling Financial and Legal Issues

A diagnosis of AD requires some thoughtful planning from families so that they can manage the complex legal and financial issues that will crop up as their loved one's capabilities diminish. Make your legal and financial decisions as soon as possible, and put plans in place before your loved one becomes incapacitated; otherwise, you may have a court peering over your shoulder every time you try to pay a bill or shift funds to cover expenses. Part III presents practical tips that could save your family thousands of dollars and hours of time.

Making Medical Decisions and Providing Care

If you don't have a medical background, accepting the responsibility for making medical decisions for your loved one can be a daunting task. You can find out how to determine whether your loved one is receiving the optimum care by comparing the treatments he or she is getting to the Alzheimer's Disease Standard of Care. You'll also gain insight into the process that doctors follow to make a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease.

If your family is like most families, you'll opt to provide in-home care for your loved one for as long as possible, particularly in the early, more manageable, stages of the disease. Part III also discusses what care options are available in most communities along with a comparison of the cost, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of each. You can discover how to find good caregivers and how to share the caregiving burden among various family members. You also find tips for juggling work and family with the responsibilities of caregiving.

Finding Respite

Even if you're Superwoman (or Superman), you need a break from your caregiving chores sometimes. Caregiving is demanding work. Remember to schedule regular breaks to keep yourself from burning out. In Part IV, you can find lots of creative ideas for relaxing and taking time off that are both time and cost effective. You can find out how to take good care of yourself even as you provide care for your loved one.

What Should I Do Now?

Losing someone you love is never easy, but losing a loved one to Alzheimer's Disease seems particularly cruel. People recognize each other in so many ways - by voice, by a glance or gesture, by a familiar and comforting touch. But the glue that truly binds loved ones to each other is their shared memories.

Alzheimer's robs all of these. It's a thorough and impartial thief that steals away the landmarks of your most cherished relationships and leaves you lost. It takes mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and beloved friends and turns them into strangers. And it does so ever so slowly, by agonizing inches and degrees.

In a recent interview, Nancy Reagan simply and eloquently called Alzheimer's Disease "the long goodbye." Anyone whose life has ever been touched by Alzheimer's knows instantly what she means. The person you love is there in front of you but isn't there. You can touch them, but not reach them. Like so many other grieving husbands and wives before her, Nancy Reagan has watched as Alzheimer's silenced her beloved husband, Ronald Reagan, the former President we called "The Great Communicator."

Although researchers have come a long way in their search for the cause of Alzheimer's Disease, doctors still don't have a complete answer. They've identified anomalies in the brains of Alzheimer's victims but don't know what causes them or how to prevent them. Some effective treatments have been developed, but most people with AD never get the opportunity to try one of these medications, or if they do, they only stay on the drug for a short period of time because most physicians misunderstand what the drugs are capable of doing. Unlike some other diseases that may strike and kill relatively quickly, AD allows its victims to live for 4 to 8 years after diagnosis, and cases are reported of individuals living as long as 20 years in a completely dependent state. This obviously creates a tremendous strain on the family that is caring for an Alzheimer's patient.

Families with an AD patient have hundreds of questions, as do AD patients themselves. What causes Alzheimer's Disease? Can it be cured? Is it hereditary or contagious? What are the best treatments?

Although not every question can be easily answered, Alzheimer's For Dummies gives you the latest and most up-to-date information available to help you make informed decisions about medical care, prescriptions, care options, and legal and financial issues. And if you can't find the answer in these pages, we'll show you some Internet resources that can point you in the right direction.

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Excerpted from Alzheimer's For Dummies by Patricia B. Smith Mary M. Kenan Mark Edwin Kunik Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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