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)
Alzheimer’s disease is a common problem in today’s society and within the older population this disease makes up the largest form of dementia. Although it is a problem in mainly older people, this disease can still occur in the younger population also. People in their 30s-50s can be diagnosed with this disease, even though it is not as common as people in their 60s-90s. The number of people with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. is close to five million and is expected to double within the next 30 years. With our modern medicine and advancements one would think a cure would be available, however, getting to the cause of the disease is a major factor. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is one that is very debatable and questionable and most likely is a result of multiple factors rather than one. The main issue with finding the cause is because this disease affects the brain and can
Alzheimer’s disease is incurable, but there are many stages, warning signs, and risk factors that can serve as detection devices for those who have older adults in their lives. One of the most common early signs of this form of dementia is memory loss. While it is normal for people to occasionally forget things, such as appointments and names, people with Alzheimer’s tend to forget these things more often and are not able to recall them even after a period of time. Other signs that signify a possible case of Alzheimer’s is difficulty performing familiar tasks (cooking, brushing teeth), problems with language (using odd words, failing to remember correct words), disorientation (forgetting where one lives, not knowing how he got to a certain place), problems with abstract thinking (forgetting what numbers represent), misplacing items (putting a hair brush in the freezer), moodiness, personality changes (confusion, suspicion, fearfulness), and loss of initiative
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.
writing. There has been known cases of people with Alzheimer’s who become anxious, aggressive and wander away from home (Wallace, 1998). These individuals have a severe case of the disease and must be taken care of on a daily basis. Alzheimer’s progresses and affects individuals differently. Many signs are shown in the individual with the disease, which allows you to classify which stage the individual is in. Some of the signs to look for are, difficulty learning and retaining new information, reasoning and abstract thought, judgment and planning, poor language skills, inhibition and impulse control and short term memory loss (Wallace, 1998). If any or all of these signs occur, the individual most likely has Alzheimer’s.
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.
Alzheimer’s and dementia are often thought of as an old age disease. Although the most commons risk factor is age but it is not the only one. Most majority of individuals do develop symptoms as elderly, but individuals that develop onset symptoms at a younger age, below 65 are said to develop early onset dementia (Lambert, M. A., Bickel, H., Prince, M., Fratiglioni, L., Von Strauss, E., Frydecka, D., & ... Reynish, E. L., 2014). Many researchers have conducted studies on the impact of cognitive disorders, such as dementia along with Alzhiemer’s, on the affects of the nonprofessional caregiver. Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t just affect the person but the affected person’s family and friends are affected as well.
Alzheimer’s disease, considered the most common form of dementia, is a degenerative brain disorder which leads to loss of memory and decline of cognitive thinking. Alzheimer’s disease effects over 5 million Americans, a number which is expected to triple in the projected future, and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (Dougherty, R.J., et al). Majority of these affected people are sixty-five years of age or older and have what is called late-onset Alzheimer’s, whilst a smaller margin of individuals is younger than sixty-five years of age and are said to have early-onset Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease presents itself in three main stages, is caused by the degeneration of neurons and by the changes in protein composition in the brain, and despite the lack of definitive, early diagnosis or preventative treatment the disease can to a certain degree be detected and managed.
Alzheimer’s Disease was first described by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864–1915) in 1906. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia defines Alzheimer’s Disease as “progressive degenerative disorder of the brain”. One suffering Alzheimer’s may suffer with
What is Alzheimer's? It is a disease that affects the central nervous system, digestive system, the neuromuscular system and is generally a disease that is chronic and incurable. 4.7 million people greater than the age of 65 live with the disease each and every day, which is approximately one tenth of the population for those over the age of 65. The most common questions are: what are the risk factors, which vary from person to person, whether or not there are signs and symptoms and has there been any testing and diagnosis on this disease.
Although a concrete understanding of what causes cell death and tissue loss remains elusive scientists, strongly suspect plaques and tangles play a primary role. Evidence supporting this theory results from imaging studies that show plaques and tangles have a predictable pattern in which they spread through the cortex as the disease progresses. Alzheimer’s has three phase that serves to explain the diseases timeframe, which is further broken down into stages used to account for the diseases course of life and cognitive changes the patient and family can expect to occur. The phases and stages to
In general terms, Alzheimer is a word that is used to discuss the condition where an individual undergoes the decline in their mental ability to an extent where they start forgetting about things. In a layman’s language, it involves times and occasions when the patient loses their memory and also face the difficulty to carry the basic steps during the daily routines, like carrying out solving or thinking about general concerns in life. In all conditions and types of the issue dementia, Alzheimer’s in dementia is known as the most common condition that leads to memory loss (Dennis, 2005).
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, a disease that according to the Alzheimer's disease Education & Referral Center is defined as: “…a group of symptoms that are caused by changes in brain function”. According to the National Institute on Aging in a book entitled “Alzheimer’s Disease, Unraveling the mystery” the authors chronicled that Alzheimer’s disease affect people in different ways. The most common and noticeable symptoms are: 1). Memory loss that disrupts daily life 2). Challenges in planning or solving problems
Dementia is a disease that affects mental capabilities in which memory loss is one of the key features of this disease. Memory loss creates difficulty in completing every day tasks. Most people who suffer from the disease need assistance with their activities of daily living. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for 60% to 70% of cases of dementia. It is a long lasting neurodegenerative (progressive damage of the neurological nerve cells) disease that usually starts gradually and gets worse over time.
Cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s disease occurs when synapses, which transmit information from one neuron to another, become interrupted and communication ceases (7). The result is death of the nerve cell within the brain, also referred to as synaptic failure (6). Synaptic failure takes place when amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles develop (7). Amyloid plaque develops from amyloid beta proteins, which are released by enzymes from the amyloid precursor protein that is located on the surface of the neuron (7). The amyloid beta proteins are normally cleared within the body once they are released however, in
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes complications with memory, thinking, and behavior. Long before any signs of memory loss, there a microscopic changes occurring in the brain, altering its functionality (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016). The brain has billions of nerve cells that work together, and when one portion of the brains neurons are malfunctioning it leads to breakdowns in other parts of the brain. The two most noted abnormal structures that are suspected to damage and kill neurons in the brain in patients with Alzheimer’s are plaques and tangles. Plaques are deposits of a proteins fragment called beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between nerve cells; and tangles are twisted fibers of another protein called tau that build up inside cells (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016).