Advancements in drugs have seen the variety of aged folks enhance 12 months on 12 months, explaining the rising prevalence of dementia. The sooner the illness is identified, the longer medical doctors are capable of lengthen the standard of lifetime of victims. Some research counsel brain decline may be accompanied by modifications within the hair and nails.
In a 2015 report titled Skin Lesions: A precious signal within the analysis of dementia syndromes, consultants raised the difficulty of pores and skin lesions in sufferers with Alzheimer’s illness.
They famous that cognitive decline was “often accompanied” by pores and skin lesions ensuing from uncared for hygiene.
These cutaneous manifestations have a tendency to incorporate bedsores, the place the pores and skin is injured because of extend strain on the pores and skin.
Excoriation dysfunction (continual skin-picking), mycoses (brought on by an infection with a fungus), and post-traumatic wounds because of disturbance of gait, have additionally coincided with brain decline.
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Elsewhere within the report, the authors famous: “In Alzheimer’s disease, lesions occur in the hair and nails […].
“[…] It seems that the skin manifestations associated with dementia syndromes can serve as a valuable sign in the course of diagnosis.
“In those patients who sudden from dementia associated with vascular lesions, cutaneous manifestations are often observed in the form of livedo reticularis which is an important diagnostic criterion.”
These physiological modifications may end result from different shifts within the chemical make-up of the physique, it was advised.
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The authors added: “Studies show a correlation between a reduction in the concentrations of mercury and the duration and severity of dementia.
“Changes in the concentration of micronutrients in the nail plate are obsessed as the earliest stages of the disease.”
Interestingly, changes in the hair structure of patients with the disease are equally common.
“Studies of human hair show that in 85 percent of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease the hair structure is abnormal,” added the authors.
READ MORE: Dementia symptoms: Early signs of the brain condition
The research in question, published in JAMA Dermatology, found 70 percent of hair samples of patients with Alzheimer’s disease consisted of pseudo pili torti.
Pili torti is medically defined as a hair shaft disorder characterised by hair that does not grow long and is easily broken.
The hair often takes on a coarse or spangled appearance as a result.
What’s more, researchers found evidence of trichorrhexia nodosa in 38 percent of the remaining hair samples.
In this condition, thickened or weak points along the hair shaft cause hair to break off easily.
The researchers concluded their report by noting that the need for accurate and fast diagnosis of dementia has never been more apparent.
“Coexistence of skin lesions perceptible at an early stage appears to be significant in the diagnosis of [dementia syndromes],” they added.
“Also, we should be aware that many dermatological aspects coexist with the underlying disease, i.e. itching, iatrogenic lesions, and skin lesions resulting from neglected hygiene.”
