Essay on Alzheimer's Disease

Certain qualities are consistently observed in the Alzheimer’s victim. These dysfunction’s, though, are not exclusive to Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, declaring Alzheimer’s by these parameters is a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Characteristic dysfunction’s have been noted in Alzheimer’s victims, but the degree and severity of these varies from patient to patient. Thus, evaluation of the patient’s mental status must be made based on the sum, rather than a single characteristic. Memory is one of the first noticed deficiencies, beginning typically with the recent and short term memory, and progressing from there as the disease grows more severe. In addition, deterioration in language skills, attention span, praxis (performance of an action), and visuospatial skills are commonly seen. Also observed are changes in the actions and personality of the Alzheimer’s victim. These include changes in mood, motor activities, activities of daily living, socialization skills, psychotic disturbances, vegetative symptomology, and rise in anxiety levels. Again, the

Alzheimer’s Disease is a form of dementia affecting more than one third of those over ninety-five years old. Its effects vary per person and become systematically more extreme as time wears on. Alzheimer’s is currently incurable and impossible to slow, destroying neurons and brain tissue, resulting in loss of memory, judgment, awareness, communication, behavior and capacity for emotion. Changes in personality and loss of initiative are also common symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

In the United States there are approximately 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Every sixty-nine seconds a person is diagnosed. This is an ongoing issue, and unless something is done, sixteen million people will be affected by 2050 (Latest).

Dementia has many forms and it is a decline in memory, language and reasoning. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning the loss of function and stability. This is a disease that affects cognitive and physical abilities in the patient. Many people in the world have Alzheimer’s and it is in elders over the age of 65. There are lots of treatments available, but there is no cure for it.

People who suffer from Down Syndrome tend to be at larger risk for early-onset because they tend to age faster. The early-onset form appears to be traced back to defect in a specific area of a patient 's DNA: chromosome 14.Trisomy is when an extra copy of a chromosome is present in the cell nuclei. This later causes developmental abnormalities. Myoclonus is the form of muscle spasm and twitching which is more common is this disorder. The inheritance pattern of the late and early-onset Alzheimer disease is still unknown. "People who inherit one copy of the APOE e4 allele have an increased chance of developing the disease; those who inherit two copies of the allele are at even greater risk" (Steve).

Alzheimer's information of age. According to scientificamerican.com, Approximately one in 9 americans ages 65 and up have the alzheimer’s disease. Therapy could come in the form of new drugs, but unfortunately some drugs have been suspected to fail because the drug was tested too late in the disease. Alzheimer’s affected my family when my great grandmother turned 87 she started to experience symptoms of dementia. Dementia is the early type of alzheimer’s but it is not as nearly as bad. According to Texas Department of State Health Services the average person with alzheimer’s should live up to 8 (average) to 20 years.

That is to say, age is a significant risk factor for the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease, and research indicates that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years beyond age 65. Those at the greatest risk for this malady are individuals over 85 years old which will see their statistics tripled by 2050. It is further estimated that about a half million Americans younger than age 65 have some form of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. (This is referred to as young onset or early onset). (National Institute of Health [NIH], 2013). Consequently Alzheimer’s disease is further considered to be a grave issue in aging as it is reported to be the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. As said by Vera (2013) in a print publication entitled “Mortality From Alzheimer's Disease in the United States: Data for 2000 and

Even today, doctors use the same technique that Dr. Alzheimer used to observe the plaques and tangles in the brain. (2) Studies show that the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease increases with age. Almost 20 percent of Americans between the years of 75 and 84, and almost half of those that are 85 years and older suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (3). One out of every 10 persons that are 65 years of age and older are said to be victims of Alzheimer’s disease, yet even some early-onset victims might be in their 40s and 50s (4).

Also having heart problems might be in risk, for example, high cholesterol or a history of head injury. Alzheimer is not a normal part of aging even though it appears more common in people over 65 years of age. Although in most cases the disease occurs in people over 65 years of age, there are also two types of Alzheimer's one is Alzheimer’s disease early onset and the other one is Alzheimer's disease late onset in the early onset, symptoms first appear before age 60 and is much less common than late onset; however, it tends to worsen quickly. Early onset disease can run in families and have identified several genes. Alzheimer's disease late onset, the most common form of the disease occurs in people 65 and older as I mentioned before is the most is the most frequent type of Alzheimer disease, and it can be hereditary, but the role of genes is less clear. The Alzheimer association says that “Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's” (What Is Alzheimer's?). There are some factors that can alert us if any of our loved ones are being affected

Despite not being a normal part of aging, it becomes more likely for people to develop Alzheimer’s disease in the late years of their lives. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, which is a brain condition that causes a gradual decline in thinking, memory, and behavior (Wells). Approximately 3 percent to 5 percent of people will develop the disease by age 70 to 75, and 6.5 percent will develop the disease after age 85 (Grison et al. 150). Alzheimer’s disease has different effects on people’s lives, such as changing their roles and responsibilities, affecting their relationships with others, and creating internal struggles.

There are many different types of dementia, but Alzheimer’s is the most common, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases in America (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016). There are three types of Alzheimer’s, Early-onset Alzheimer’s, when people younger than 65 years old are diagnosed with the disease, typically around their 40’s or 50’s and is very rare, less than 10% of all people with Alzheimer’s have early-onset; Late-onset Alzheimer’s which is what most people are familiar with, and is when someone is diagnosed with the disease after the age of 65; and lastly, Familial Alzheimer’s disease which is a form that doctors know for

     Alzheimer’s disease, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, is a disease that is on the rise in America and the rest of the world. People should learn as much as they want about this disease, because as you age, your chances of becoming an Alzheimer’s Disease, or AD, patient increases. It is estimated that approximately 3 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have the illness, and more than half of all people over age 85 have the ailment.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly steals a person’s dignity and erases precious memories. The “Alzheimer’s Disease Guide”, found on WebMD explains that tasks become more difficult to do often leading to confusion and behavior changes. The article further explains the progression of the disease also brings hardship to family and friends (1). To best cope with Alzheimer’s we must better understand the disease.

These relate to the age at which the disease first manifests itself. The occasion of early-onset is much lower than that of late-onset. There is a 10% occurrence rate for persons over the age of sixty-five, and a 50% occurrence rate for those over age eighty five. Late-onset Alzheimer's is often confused with senility due to old-age. This also makes diagnosis difficult for older patients. However Alzheimer's is not an inevitable part of the aging process, unlike a certain amount of senility. It can be helped and with new research may be prevented.

Although the primary onset of AD is old age, younger adults are also at risk. Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease affects the elderly and geriatric community. This influx of late-onset Alzheimer’s affects about 5% of people between the ages of 65 to 74 and almost 50% of people over 85 years old. Early-onset is another stage of this disease; occasionally affecting people younger than the age of 40. There is a negative genetic predisposition correlation for those whom suffer from early-onset dementia having family members related to be much more likely to develop AD, than those related to people with late-onset AD. Research of early-onset AD mainly focuses on genetic factors. Physiological research states genetics, environmental factors, or a combination of both cause AD. (Evans, George, 2000).