white matter disease

[Tingya]

My husband  was diagnosed  two years ago with    white matter disease, ( an enormous amount).,  not related to stroke.  The recent MRI shows a 30 to 40 % jincrease in the disease.  Would one expect the disease to continue to increase at the same rate?

[Tingya]

He is in stage 3 as described above by Dr. Noorpur.....finding it difficult to solve problems related to fixing electrical and plumbing around the house, and of course a lot of memory and math  difficulty for 2 1/2 years.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

The progression of Alzheimer’s disease is highly individual. It can be anywhere between 3 yrs to 20 yrs but varies from person to person.
Reisberg scale is used to measure the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It has 7 stages.
Stage 1 there is mild forgetfulness, stage 2 has difficulty in finding words, stage 3 has difficulty in handling work related issues, stage 4 has mild difficulty in planning tasks like shopping, dinner for friends etc, stage 5 needs help to choose clothing, stage 6 has difficulty in dressing, stage 7 is advanced stage where the patient has very limited vocabulary and loses the ability to sit and stand.
Each patient progresses through these stages at their own rate. Please let me know if you need more information. Take care!

[tonyad]

Ok, so he has an actual dx of Alzheimers.
Now at least we can see that you are not in such a broad "category" like thought in your previous post.
Unfortunately, there is no crystal ball to know how the disease will progress.
There is a new medication out on the market that can be taken at any stage of the disease.
Do you know what stage he is in??

~Tonya

[Tingya]

Yes we know the cause.   After  extensive tests over 3 months, he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.Because the white matter disease is so extensive and grown a lot in two years, am I to expect it to continue to advance as fast in the next two years?

Tingya

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
There can be many causes of white matter disease like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, high BP, high cholesterol, diabetes, migraine and stroke.
What symptoms does your husband have?
Please keep his BP, cholesterol and blood sugar under control.
The exact diagnosis can be made by a detailed medical history and neurological examination.
Please consult a neurologist as soon as possible as rapidly progressing white matter disease can affect mental agility and thought process. Take care!

[Tingya]

YES HE IS ON ALL OF THE MEDS.  I AM JUST WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT THE SPEED OF PROGRESSION.  THANK YOU.   TINGYA

[tonyad]

Is your husband on any medication to help slow down or treat this???

I do know that part of the on going care is maintaining blood pressure and cholesteral to normal levels as well as a healthy diet, not smoking, excersise regularly, if diabetic keep tight reins of sugar levels. Another risk factor is cardiovascular disease that can go hand in hand with white matter disease.

Hope some of this info helps :)
~Tonya