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september 21 is the worldalzheimer's diseaseon the 2nd, red star news reporter learned that, although the incidence of alzheimer's disease rises rapidly with age, the disease is not exclusive to the elderly, young people can also get it, and it is gradually showing a trend of getting younger.

what new discoveries have been made about the disease this year? who is more likely to develop the disease? how can young people prevent it in advance? on september 19, the reporter interviewed wang ziqi, deputy chief physician of chengdu fourth people's hospital. she said that in order to actively prevent alzheimer's disease, one should maintain a balanced diet, do aerobic exercise regularly, actively participate in social activities, and maintain good sleep in daily life. young people in particular needbe wary of light pollution, reduce the time you spend using your phone and computer, and focus on relieving stress.

▲wang ziqi

19-year-old high school studentalzheimer's disease

"in recent years, we have found many patients diagnosed in their 40s and 50s in our outpatient clinic. alzheimer's disease is not exclusive to the elderly," said wang ziqi.

for example, in the past two years, a woman in her 40s who was in the early stages of dementia has been receiving treatment in the hospital. as she could no longer go out on her own, the woman came to the hospital accompanied by her mother. the doctor asked her and learned that her recent memory had been declining in recent years. when she was receiving treatment, the woman could not even do simple housework well, and it was difficult for her to tidy up the house as before.

actually,doctorit has been found that in recent years, more and more young people have come to the hospital for treatment due to memory loss, among whom thealzheimer's diseasethe number of patients with alzheimer's disease is also showing a trend of getting younger. "there is a 19-year-old alzheimer's patient in xuanwu hospital of capital medical university." wang ziqi said that this child began to have difficulty concentrating when studying in high school, gradually experienced short-term memory loss, could not recall what happened the day before or the location of personal belongings, had difficulty reading, slow reaction, etc. he always delayed his homework because he could not remember what the teacher taught in class, and often forgot to complete his homework. his parents took him to different departments of various hospitals but could not find the cause of the disease. finally, they found the source of the disease, which turned out to bealzheimer's diseaseas his memory deteriorated, his academic performance dropped from above average to the bottom of the class, and he was unable to complete his studies.

early symptoms are not easy to detect, so you need to be vigilant when these symptoms occur

"the main manifestations of this disease are decline in cognitive abilities such as memory, language ability, and executive function, and are often accompanied by changes in personality and behavior, such as irritability." wang ziqi pointed out that alzheimer's disease has an insidious onset and early symptoms are not easy to detect. if the following situations often occur, you should be vigilant and seek medical attention in time.

one is the decline of recent memorymemory loss isalzheimer's diseaseone of the most common symptoms, especially in the early stages, is forgetting recently learned information, such as asking the same questions over and over again. at this point, you should determine whether it is due to recent stress, poor sleep, or bad mood. if these have improved but the forgetfulness persists for three to six months, it should be taken seriously.

the second is the degeneration of language function, inability to express ideas clearly or difficulty in expression.for example, they may not be able to follow or participate in the conversation, they may stop and not know how to continue, or they may repeat themselves.

third, it is difficult to plan or solve problems.they may have trouble making plans or dealing with numbers, such as problems cooking familiar dishes or managing bills. they may also have trouble concentrating and may take longer to do things than before.

fourth, they seem to become increasingly indifferent emotionally, have no interest in anything, and find it difficult to generate the desire to do anything.or noticeable changes in mood, personality, and behavior.

so, who is prone to alzheimer's disease?

wang ziqi introduced that one group of people with early onset disease have a family history of the disease, such as a close relative who has hadalzheimer's disease, and certain pathogenic genes and risk genes also increase the incidence of the disease. these patients often show some symptoms in their thirties or forties, and start seeing a doctor in their forties or fifties, entering the clinical stage.

the second category is people with unhealthy lifestyles, such as lack of exercise (sitting for long periods of time, etc.), smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke, lack of social interaction, and living in air-polluted areas. these bad habits may increase the risk of alzheimer's disease.

the third category is suffering from certain physical diseases, such ashypertension、diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, brain trauma, vision and hearing loss, etc. can also increase the risk of alzheimer's disease.

it is worth noting that wang ziqi introduced that this year the academic community has highlighted the role of low-density lipoprotein inalzheimer's diseasethe influence of such substances will increase the incidence of 7%. low-density lipoprotein is closely related to daily diet and habits, mainly involving high-fat diet. "when people reach middle age, the body's metabolic capacity decreases. if they still maintain the habit of high-fat diet, the risk will increase," wang ziqi reminded.

in addition, if there are some mental illnesses, such asdepression, will increase the risk of disease by 3%. long-term depression will damage the function and structure of our brain, and even cause atrophy of brain and memory-related parts such as the hippocampus.

how to prevent italzheimer's disease

"active prevention and intervention can effectively delay the occurrence and development of alzheimer's disease." wang ziqi suggested that in daily life, one should maintain a balanced diet and a healthy weight; regularly perform aerobic exercise, such as walking, swimming or cycling; actively participate in social activities, stay in touch with family and friends, and keep the brain active; control chronic diseases, manage diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, and maintain good cardiovascular health; maintain good sleep, because the impact of sleep on health may be comprehensive, and insomnia is a risk factor for cognitive impairment.

young people should be alert to light pollution and reduce the time spent using mobile phones and computers. "electronic device screens release blue light, which interferes with our biological rhythms and disrupts our sleep structure. especially at night, long-term exposure to such an environment can lead to depression, and studies have also confirmed that it increases the risk of disease." at the same time, wang ziqi also reminded young people to pay attention to stress relief. long-term excessive stress can damage our brains and increase the risk of disease.

photo report by red star news reporter dai jiajia

edited by li yuyi