Jakarta, CNN Indonesia –
Situation pandemic Covid-19 erratic conditions, negative news flow, information on the number of cases to someone closest to the infection clearly triggers stress.
Many studies related to stress have suggested stress levels are associated with an increased risk of disease. Not only colds, stress can trigger asthma and even Alzheimer’s disease.
What is Alzheimer’s?
Yuda Turana, a neurology expert at FKIK Atma Jaya University Jakarta, said when talking about Alzheimer’s means talking about the life cycle. As the body ages, organs including the brain also age. The brain is characterized by shrinking and shrinking. But in those with Alzheimer’s, the brain’s aging process occurs faster than it should.
“We cannot stop the aging process. There are only two choices, whether to accelerate or slow down. Of course the choice is slowed down,” said Yuda in a webinar with BCA and Alzheimer Indonesia (ALZI), Saturday (5/9).
The brain shrinks
Yuda shows a comparison of a healthy brain and brain condition with Alzheimer’s. A healthy brain looks dense whereas a brain with Alzheimer’s looks shrunken and smaller, especially seen in the hippocampus.
The hippocampus is the center of memory. When you have Alzheimer’s, the hippocampus shrinks and shrinks, which can affect function.
The hippocampus also serves as part of the memory for remembering and forgetting. Thanks to the hippocampus, people can remember positive things and forget about negative things.
“The case of Alzheimer’s which becomes a problem is the ability to remember important things, the longer it decreases. (And) leaves a brain deterioration in forgetting negative things. Hence, there is often the question of why people who have Alzheimer’s who are remembered are negative things, easily suspicious, easily angry. , “explained Yuda.
The brain actually remembers everything. However, Alzheimer’s makes people forget neutral memories first. Then when it gets heavier, the positive emotional memory disappears. As a result, leaving only negative emotional memories. From this arises behavior which is the result of residual negative emotional memories.
Until now, there is no medicine that can stop the brain aging process. In fact, this is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Thus, Yuda suggested early detection to prevent this disease.
You also need to avoid other risk factors such as hypertension, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, being overweight, stress, depression, lack of physical activity, and lack of brain activity that triggers staying active.
(ex / ex)
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