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Alzheimer 's Disease : A Type Of Dementia

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A few days ago my grandmother passed away after battling with Alzheimer’s disease for more than ten years. During the last couple of years she was alive I barely ever visited her, and I never understood why she was always in bed, and whenever I went to go see her she never remembered who I was. I feel that because of this disease, I lost my grandmother a long time ago; hopefully by the end of this paper I will have a better understanding about the disease that took her away, years ago. According to the Alzheimer’s Association (2015), Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia, was first discovered by Alois Alzheimer in 1906; in which it accounts for …show more content…

A common observation in the brain of people who have died from Alzheimer’s is that plaques and tangles make from protein fragments are present. (A Century of Alzheimer’s Disease) Alzheimer’s is the fourth largest cause of death in America; it usually affects people over the age of sixty, but there have been cases with younger people being affected ("Alzheimer 's Disease & Dementia | Alzheimer 's Association," 2015). The only way to detect Alzheimer’s is in the brain after death; but, it can be sense it by carefully examining a person’s physical and mental status, and by talking to the person’s friends and relatives about their background and common personality. If detected early, the results can be very beneficial and can help the person with the disease fight it better, and understand ways of trying to fight it. Some of the basic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include, memory loss, difficulties in speech, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreases judgment, difficulties in performing familiar tasks, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, and a loss of initiative. There are two types of symptoms, cognitive and behavioral. Behavioral symptoms include agitation, anxiety, delusions, depression, hallucinations, insomnia, and wandering. While cognitive symptoms include memory loss, disorientation, confusion, and problems with reasoning and thinking. (American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias)

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