preview

Alois Alzheimer's Research Paper

Decent Essays

In 1906, German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer noticed one of his patients had extreme memory loss, unpredictable behavior, and difficulty speaking. Her condition continued to worsen and ultimately lead to her death. After his patient died he examined her brain, where he discovered an excessive amount of unusual clumps. This was the discovery of Alzheimer’s disease, and although Dr. Alois Alzheimer didn’t know it at the time, his discovery would be one that uncovered a dangerous future for millions of individuals around the world. “Slow, frustrating, heartbreaking, tragic.” These are words commonly used when someone is asked what Alzheimer’s disease is. With an estimated 5.3 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s every year, this disease …show more content…

It is a gradual neurological disease of the brain that causes irreversible problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. It begins in the part of the brain that affects learning, otherwise known as the hippocampus. Usually these microscopic changes in the brain begin long before the first signs start appearing. Studies have shown that as early as a decade before the first symptoms appear, a person with Alzheimer’s will already be undergoing neurological damage. Although researchers still do not know the exact cause of the disease, they have discovered what happens within the brain when a person is affected with Alzheimer’s. They believe that two different proteins are responsible for the death and damage of nerve cells. Plaques and tangles. Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta- amyloid that build …show more content…

It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and is the third leading cause of death for Americans over the age of sixty-five. Almost two thirds of all Alzheimer’s patients are women, and though it seems to be much more common in females than in males, no one has discovered why. Those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s experience an array of troubling symptoms. It usually begins with the person forgetting their short term memory. Because Alzheimer’s begins in the hippocampus – the learning part of the brain- they may have trouble remembering names when they are introduced to new people. In the second stage of Alzheimer’s disease, patients can expect to be disoriented at times, have sudden mood and behavior changes, and often develop suspicions about their family, friends, or caregivers. During the end of this stage, they may also experience hallucinations, delusions, and have extreme paranoia. During the third and final stage of Alzheimer’s, patients have difficulty speaking, walking, and swallowing. In this final stage, the brain shrinks to about one-fourth the size of a normal brain, and the person will most likely pass away. Those who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are expected to live only about eight years after their diagnosis, due to its progressive nature and worsening over

Get Access