Senile dementia, or dementia, is a serious pathology that brings a lot of suffering to the patient himself and his environment. The reasons for its development are many. One of them is Peak's disease. This disorder refers to disorders of the central nervous system and primarily affects the cerebral cortex. In today's article, we will dwell in more detail on the main manifestations of the disease and methods of therapeutic support.
Medical certificate
Peak's disease is a rare pathology of a chronic nature. It is accompanied by atrophy of the temporal and frontal parts of the brain, dementia. Most often diagnosed in women aged 50-60 years, but men do not bypass.
A. Peak first began to describe the pathology in 1892. Mental retardation in those days was studied by A. Alzheimer, H. Lipman and E. Altman. Peak suggested that the disease he discovered was a manifestation of senile dementia. However, C. Richter refuted his theory. The scientist noted the independent course of Peak's disease and identified the morphological changes characteristic of it:
- depletion of the temporal and frontal parts of the brain;
- minor changes in blood vessels;
- prolapse of areas of nervous tissue in the upper layers of the brain;
- lack of inflammation, Alzheimer's neurofibrils;
- the presence of spherical argentophilic intracellular formations.
Pathological processes gradually lead to the elimination of the border between the gray and white matter of the brain, an increase in ventricles. Another consequence of the disease is dementia - acquired dementia, characterized by a loss of knowledge and skills. The patient loses the ability to control his own actions, articulate speaking.
Reasons for violation
The exact causes of Peak's disease are unknown to science because of its rarity. However, thanks to numerous studies, it was possible to identify some patterns.
For example, the likelihood of such a diagnosis increases several times if close relatives in old age suffered from the manifestation of various forms of dementia. Most often, the disease is traced to brothers and sisters. The second most common cause is intoxication. This category includes anesthesia, which negatively affects the brain.
Much less often, pathology develops against the background of injuries and damage to the head, mental illness. It has been suggested that age-related changes that occur in the brain under the influence of viruses can affect its development.
Clinical picture
Already at the initial stages of the development of Peak's disease, changes in the patient's personality, various cognitive disorders are noted. If the personal component is noticeable well, then impaired memory and attention are mild. Relatives of the patient notice a decrease in criticality in him, a disorder of conclusions and judgments.
Symptoms of the pathology may vary depending on the location of atrophic disorders. Among its common signs, it should be noted:
- indifference and passivity to others;
- state of euphoria;
- impaired speech and motor skills;
- stereotype in actions and in writing;
- unwillingness to speak, misunderstanding of words, depletion of vocabulary;
- sexual liberation;
- short-term mental disorders: hallucinations, jealousy, paranoia;
- lethargy.
The disorder in its development passes through three stages: initial, loss of cognitive functions, deep dementia. Consider each of the stages of Peak's disease in more detail.
The initial stage of the disease
At the initial stage of the disease, patients experience personality changes of a deep type, impaired intellectual activity. Pathology always develops in stages and without sharp jumps.
The most obvious symptom of Peak's disease is the disappearance of a critical attitude from the patient to his condition. This indicates a developing dementia of a total nature. At the same time, motor and mental activity decreases, and depression of the emotional background progresses.
At the same time, the patient retains memory, he can easily navigate in space. Due to the growing dementia, there is often increased tearfulness and delusions. Headaches are possible, but as the disease progresses, they completely disappear.
Loss of cognitive function
In the second stage of the disease, new symptoms are added. For example, expressive speech begins to falter. Sometimes it comes down to a few simple phrases. Grammar noticeably worsens.
Gradually, a decrease in the susceptibility to speech of others. The patient develops stereotype. It manifests itself in the form of simple and uniform responses to the addressed speech. The patient begins to speak monosyllabic.
In some cases, weight differences are observed in patients. First comes weight gain, doctors diagnose obesity. Then there is a sharp weight loss of almost 2 times. This leads to a violation of physiological processes in the body, general weakness and exhaustion.
Deep dementia
This stage of the disease is characterized by the appearance of "revolutions of the standing type." They appear both in writing and in behavior. For example, at the sight of a funeral procession, a patient can join her, reach the place of future burial. After that, as a rule, he calmly returns home.
In approximately 35% of cases, there are mental disorders in Peak's disease. The third stage of the pathology is considered fatal. Progressive deep dementia is characterized by the inability to perform basic actions and serve yourself. Such patients are usually bedridden and immobilized. Death occurs as a result of the development of concomitant infectious pathologies typical of bedridden patients.
Peak and Alzheimer's Disease: Differences
The pathology considered in the article has much in common with Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, the doctor needs to know exactly which of the ailments he is dealing with. The following are the distinguishing features of each of the diseases.
- The identity of Peak's disease is initially lost. This is always accompanied by antisocial acts, a certain degree of childishness. In the case of Alzheimer's disease, the patient only loses himself and becomes passive only in the later stages of its development.
- Peak's disease is rarely accompanied by mental disorders. We are talking about delusions, hallucinations and false identification. With Alzheimer's syndrome, all these symptoms are especially pronounced.
- In the case of Peak pathology, speech impairment occurs in the initial stages, but they are able to read and write. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a late development of speaking problems, but an early manifestation of weak writing.
Another significant difference is considered age. A patient with Peak's disease first enters a doctor's appointment at age 50. However, Alzheimer's syndrome is almost not diagnosed until the age of 60.
Even at the stage of diagnosis, only a physical examination and talking with a sick specialist is not enough. Looking for differences between the two disorders will require interviewing relatives and close friends.
Diagnostic Features
The initial examination of the patient is carried out by a psychiatrist. First, he conducts a conversation and studies the accompanying symptoms. When identifying antisocial behavior and inadequacy of actions, a specialist may suspect Peak's disease. Diagnostics is further based on the following measures:
- CT and MRI. Allow to identify atrophied parts of the brain.
- Electroencephalography. Helps catch electrical impulses in the brain. With Peak's disease, there are extremely few of them, which is noted by appropriate devices.
It is important to exclude other pathologies that have symptoms similar to the one in question. We are talking about Alzheimer's disease, brain cancer, diffuse atherosclerosis and senile dementia.
Principles of Therapy
This disease is quite rare, which deprives physicians of the opportunity to study it well and create effective drugs for therapy. The principles for treating Pick disease are very similar to those in Alzheimer's disorder. To normalize the patient’s condition, cholinesterase inhibitors are used (Reminil, Arisept, Amiridin). A positive effect is observed after prolonged use of Cerebrolysin, NMDA blockers and nootropics (Phenotropil, Aminalon). The relief of psychotic symptoms is possible due to antipsychotics.
The patient gradually loses the ability to self-service, so he is assigned a guardian. His role is usually played by a relative or close friend. The guardian needs to consult with relevant specialists in order to know the basics of patient care and be able to adequately respond to what is happening. If the patient's condition worsens, and close relatives can not cope, hospitalization is recommended.
Life expectancy and prognosis for recovery
Close ones should be prepared for the fact that Peak's disease is incurable. Life expectancy after confirmation of the diagnosis usually does not exceed 8 years.
The prognosis for the patient is disappointing. The disease is progressive in nature. This means that his symptoms will only increase from day to day. Relatives should be psychologically prepared for an early loss in the family. In this case, you need to try to be patient and understanding the patient’s condition, because most of his inadequate actions are caused by pathology.
Some guardians are assisted by counseling from psychologists and psychiatrists. These specialists help you to properly tune in to the next changes in life. Today, there are even so-called help groups. In them, people support each other, help to cope with arising difficulties, share experiences.