Alzheimer’s Disease is a common form of dementia that progressively deteriorates one’s brain causing serious memory loss, and eventually, the inability to perform common daily tasks. This disease is also known as “The Mind Robber,” or the “Disease of Forgetfulness.” The unfortunate thing about this disease is that there is no cure. Medicines have been developed to slow the progression of the disease. It has moved up into the rankings on the leading causes of death in America to number six and the number of deaths are increasing. As of 2013, nearly 5 million Americans were suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, most of them over the age of 60. The history of Alzheimer’s Disease dates back to 1907, where Alois Alzheimer first discovered the disease. Alois was a German psychiatrist and neurologist. He was examining a 51-year old woman who had a form of dementia. (Gandy, 1) He noticed that she didn’t have many brain cells and smaller nerve cells, and had plaques instead of cells. This is what we today call Alzheimer’s Disease. After the discovery, more and more modern research was done to find out more about the disease. Modern research involves using better, and more advanced instruments such as the electron microscope which enabled the viewer to see a specimen magnified up to 10 million times. It was invented in 1931 by Max Knoll and Ernst Ruska. This was an important advancement for science, and also brought new information about Alzheimer’s Disease. Scientists were able to
Alzheimer’s is a disease in the brain that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia and is common in adults older than 65. More than five million Americans are being affected by Alzheimer’s at this moment. Alzheimer’s comes in three stages; early, middle, and advanced. The disease is caused by the shrinking of the brain due to many risk factors and genetics.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disease which slowly destroys thinking and memory skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day to day life. This irreversible disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst the elderly, with an appearance of first symptoms after age 60.
Dementia, known as one of the world 's current pandemics, is estimated to be the fourth most common cause of death in the developed country, second only to cardiovascular, cerebrovascular diseases and cancer. With the aging population, dementia has gradually become a serious threat to the health of the elderly people in Australia.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the brain wherein a person afflicted with the said disease would have compromised cognition and memory skills, and eventual deterioration of the skill to execute uncomplicated activities. According to experts, most individuals do not manifest the symptoms for Alzheimer’s disease until they are over the age of 60. This disease affects more than 5.1 million Americans.
Alzheimer's is a very common disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Working in the Healthcare Profession will allow one to see many different cases of Alzheimer and how it affects everyone differently. Having several family members who have been diagnosed with this disease allowed me to be eager on researching this topic. Alzheimer’s disease usually affects people around the age of 60 and older. It has been said that this disease cannot be cured. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia are often mistaken as the same, but through my research I found out that they were completely different.
Alzheimer’s is defined as “A degenerative brain disease of unknown cause that is the most common form of dementia, that usually starts in late middle age or in old age, that results in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, and changes in personality and mood…” (Webster). The Alzheimer’s Association states that more than 5 million American are currently living with Alzheimer’s. It is also the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of severe dementia that causes problems with memory, cognitive ability, the way you think, and the way the person acts.
(Bethune, 2010). It affects millions of Americans and is one of the leading cause of death
The alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging and only up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. This disease doesn’t have a cure, but there are treatments for symptoms available and research still continues to find the answer to cure this bad disease. Also, an interesting fact is that ninety percent of what we know about Alzheimer's has been discovered in the last 15 years. Lastly, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia which drastically affects the memory, behaviors, and though process of the patient. As Alzheimer’s disease effects the victim, society is dealt the aftermath of social and economic repercussions. By raising awareness about this disease, we can influence change in all sectors. Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease can have high physical, emotional, and financial cost. Alzheimer’s disease like any major disease comes with a price tag. Purchasing medication begins to drain our funds. As the disease worsens, the medication becomes dull and ineffective. Whilst in the late on set stage, it is best the patient be monitored around the clock, or be handle by a care taker. Care takers are higher in demand than ever due to the baby boomers aging. Many would disagree with my Thesis because even though many people are becoming victims of severe diseases, more jobs are being created in our time of need. Although this may contribute to the growth of job opportunities in the U.S, it doesn’t face the issue of unpaid caretakers. Data collected by Cynthia Ramnarace, writer of “The high costs of caring for Alzheimer’s Disease” demonstrates American’s provided 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care. This statistic only applies to the Alzheimer’s community. Financially, the loss in payment valued up to $144 billion dollars in 2009. From a prediction flow chart provided by the
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. Unfortunately, unlike other forms of dementia Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that involves memory loss, thought and language which can seriously affect a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. According to the Center of Disease Control (CDC), “as many as 5 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s disease. The symptoms of the disease first appear after age 60 and the risk increases with age. Younger people may get Alzheimer’s disease, but it is less common. The number of people with the disease doubles every 5 years beyond age 65. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to 14 million, a nearly three-fold increase. Although scientists are learning more every day, unfortunately
There are 5.3 million people in America of all ages that suffer with Alzheimer’s and of those 5.3 million affected, two-thirds are women, and each year the number of people affected by the disease increases. Alzheimer’s disease is a deterioration of the brain cell connections, and the cells degenerate and then die. The disease slowly destroys the memory and thinking skills, and eventually makes it extremely difficult to carry out simple tasks. It affects the person, and the brain psychologically, cognitively, behaviorally, and their mood as well. There is no cure for the disease or methods to slow it down, there are only medications and management strategies that can temporary improve the symptoms. Although, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s
Imagine going to the corner store that you have gone to for the past twenty years, once there, you forget how to get home. Imagine going to your grandson’s football game, once there, you forget that your grandson is the boy wearing the number seven on his jersey. Imagine being hungry, going into the kitchen and putting a pot of soup on the stove, once there you forget you are hungry and decide to go to bed. This is life with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain disease that slowly eradicates recollection, thinking skills and slowly the ability to perform menial tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is classified as the loss of cognitive functioning-thinking, remembering, and reasoning- and behavioral abilities to such an
Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease. It is the most common form of dementia which is a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life (Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia). Dementia and Alzheimer’s have been around for centuries, but Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t first described until 1906 by Dr. Aloysius Alzheimer. In the past, there was a stigma for elderly people with the disease. People with dementia and Alzheimer’s were seen as a burden on society. Society has only recently accepted and cared for people with the disorder because more information is known about the disease. There wasn’t much treatment in the past accept for locking those away in institutions or just being kept hidden by family members (Batsch). There are now treatments and research being done for dementia and Alzheimer’s, but no cure remains and many individuals still suffer from the disease. Future treatments for the disease include taking aim at significant aspects of the disease like fighting beta-amyloid plaques, recruiting the immune system, reducing brain cell inflammation, and studying the heart-head connection (Alzheimer’s Treatments: What’s on the Horizon?). There are other ways to possibly treat the disease in the future as well. Hopefully from looking at the history of the disease, how the disease affects the brain and body, and future treatments, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia will be a thing of the past.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is incurable disease of the brain that slowly destroys a person’s memory. It normally appears gradually and progressively gets worse over time. AD is also a form of dementia which is the most common in the United States. Alzheimer’s is characterized by loss of progressive memory, decline in cognitive skills and changes in behavior. Approximately 5.4 million Americans have AD and 96% of those Americans are over 65 years old. (Moschetti, Cummings, Sorvillo, Kuo, 2012)