Essay on Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s disease is named after a German doctor, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer became aware of changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a form of degenerative, fatal dementia, is characterized by progressive cognitive decline. While AD is the most common form of dementia, its prevalence has only recently been recognized. When Alois Alzheimer first described the sequence of changes in 1907, physicians believed the disease to be an extremely rare, mid-life condition. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the same types of changes were shown to occur in both late- and early-onset forms (Cavanaugh et.al. 2008). As such, almost all knowledge of AD has been learned within the past several decades, with new discoveries being reported almost daily. It is now estimated that Alzheimer’s accounts for as many as 60% of all dementias and affects more than 500,000

Alzheimer’s disease has been around since 1901; a German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer was the first man to identify and follow a case that is now known as Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is involved in synaptic deterioration and neuronal cell death, and causes degeneration in the hippocampus and amyloid deposition in blood vessels, ultimately cell death is the cause of the disease. There are various ways that someone can acquire the Alzheimer’s, a few include; family history, obesity, and Down syndrome. Some symptoms of the disease are, memory loss, difficulty completing familiar daily tasks, confusion with

Alzheimer’s disease named was named after Alois Alzheimer in 1907(Sims, Odle, & Davidson, 2007, pg. 15).

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s are hardly ever the same for any one patient. Although the side effects of Alzheimer’s can result in the similar symptoms, such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, difficulty focusing, and taking care of ones self can be an outcome for most patients. Many will have a different personality, loss of sight, sense of smell, as well as no longer being able to taste (Medicine).

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.

As with most diseases, the symptoms caused by AD vary for person to person. A symptom seen in nearly every patient, however, is the gradually worsening ability to remember new information (cite). Other common symptoms of AD include the following:

A German physician, Alois Alzheimer, first described AD in 1907 after working with a woman in her 50s, Auguste D, in 1902.4 Of course at that time no research had been conducted on this devastating disease. When Mr. Alzheimer first started working with her, Auguste D experienced restlessness, anxiousness, and confusion.4 Each day Auguste D would present with a negative attitude and it became difficult and even impossible to examine her.4 Because of Auguste D’s behavioral disturbances she often spent the day in a warm bath in an attempt to calm the symptoms of agitation.4 During the night, Auguste D was often isolated because she would wander and would wake other patients because she failed to go to sleep.4 Mr. Alzheimer developed a plan of care which focused on outdoor activity,

First, those who may be suffering from Alzheimer’s or have a loved one who may be suffering from Alzheimer’s should be aware of the symptoms. A few of the main symptoms would include trouble remembering newly learned information, disorientation, mood and behavior changes and deepening confusion about events, time and place. Trouble remembering newly learned

The genetic heritability of Alzheimer's disease, based on reviews of twin and family studies, range from 49% to 79%. Around 0.1% of the cases are familial forms of autosomal dominant inheritance, which have an onset before age 65. This form disease is otherwise known as ‘early onset familial Alzheimer's’ disease. Most of the autosomal dominant familial AD can be attributed to mutations in one of three genes: those encoding amyloid precursor protein and presenilins 1 and 2.

     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.

The three alleles of ApoE (E2, E3, and E4) have been found to show dosage-dependent effects that negatively affects the clearance of amyloid-B plaque, with E4 showing the least clearance whereas E2 being protective (Deane et al., 2008; Holtzman, 2004). Additionally, the increasing amount of E4 alleles increase the risk for AD and lowers the age of onset among late onset familial AD patients (Corder et al., 1993).

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease was first defined in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist and pathologist. Alzheimer spent many years observing a middle-aged woman whose memory and cognitive abilities were quickly deteriorating. Shortly after her death, Alzheimer studied portions of her brain under a microscope, where he soon unearthed a plethora plaque deposits. He also discovered that the fine inner structure of the nerves in different brain regions were aggravated, forming tangles made up of a protein called tau (1). These discoveries lead to the socially accepted disease that we know today as the Alzheimer’s Epidemic.