A degenerative disorder involves damage to a tissue or organ whose effects worsen over time.
Degenerative is an adjective that applies to everything that causes degeneration . To understand the concept, therefore, we must be clear about what degeneration is.
This term is used in medicine and biology to name the wear and tear or breakdown of the structure and/or functions of cells . From a degeneration process, the person begins to lose their normal development due to the consequences of an illness .
Degenerative disorders
Known as a degenerative disorder , therefore, is a disease that damages an organ or tissue and whose effects worsen over time. In these diseases, the body's ability to regenerate is affected and the person is involved in a spiral where their health worsens more and more.
Alzheimer's disease is an example of a degenerative disease, since it produces the death of neurons and the atrophy of various brain regions, causing the patient to progressively lose their memory and mental faculties. To date, there is no cure for this degenerative disease.
Another example of a degenerative disorder is Parkinson's disease , which also affects neurons and causes tremors, muscle stiffness , and other consequences.
Various studies have shown that these two conditions ( Alzheimer's and Parkinson 's diseases) are the most common neurodegenerative diseases since millions of people suffer from them around the world. It can be said, in short, that degenerative atrophies are those that involve the cellular destruction of a certain tissue, in a process of progressive advancement.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder.
Evolution of Alzheimer's disease
Although Alzheimer's disease causes a progressive deterioration of intellectual functions, the evolution varies greatly from one case to another, and can last as little as a few months or as long as fifteen years, for example. Generally, the average lifespan of a patient with this degenerative disorder is eight years.
It is possible to determine three evolutionary stages, each with a series of characteristic changes, although they are not fulfilled to the letter for all affected people:
mild stage
It lasts approximately between two and four years and presents the following symptoms :
- Memory problems.
- Learning difficulties:
- Moderate loss of remote memory, that is, memories that were stored in the distant past.
- Difficulty orienting yourself in space and recognizing your surroundings.
- Apathy, depression, lack of initiative and mood swings.
Moderate stage
It lasts between two and ten years and presents major brain alterations , such as the following:
- Difficulty speaking (aphasia).
- Problems performing functions as simple as dressing and using utensils to eat.
- Partial loss of the ability to recognize environments and individuals, especially if they are not very close.
- Neglect of personal hygiene.
- Alterations in posture, muscle weakness, similar to some symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
- Appearance of illusions and hallucinations, among other psychotic signs.
- Increasing dependence on another person to feel safe.
- Boredom and loss of interest in activities that were previously fun or attractive.
- Sleepiness.
severe stage
This is the most frightening condition of this degenerative disorder, and is characterized by greater rigidity in the muscles, which results in resistance to changing posture, tremors and even the possibility of epileptic seizures . Apathy grows and the ability to wash, dress, eat and walk is lost.
Other common symptoms, before dying from systemic infection, pneumonia or another similar disease, are loss of response to pain and fecal and urinary incontinence.