Alzheimer's Disease Essay

     Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, “a brain disorder that seriously affects a person’s ability to carry out daily activities (Shenk 14)”. Alzheimer’s is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder that slowly destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, make judgments, communicate, and accomplish daily activities. As Alzheimer’s progresses, individuals may also experience changes in personality and behavior, such as anxiety, suspiciousness or aggravation, as well as illusions or hallucinations.

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

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).

     Dementia, memory loss, and cognitive breakdown are some of the major signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The disease damages brain cells, which in turn, impairs the memory and leads to loss of memory and the ability to perform tasks. The slow elimination of cells weakens the brain’s ability to remember things, perform normal

Many of the people with Alzheimer's Disease will be misdiagnosed or have to wait two to four years after they start experiencing symptoms before they will officially be diagnosed, according to Nancy MacDonald, PhD (Drug Week, Failure...). Studies have shown that genetics play some sort of role in the development of Alzheimer's, but exactly what their role is has not yet been determined. Since Alzheimer's disease is not the result of one single gene, sometimes a person may have to get a deformed gene from both of their parents in order to get Alzheimer's disease.

As Alzheimer’s disease progresses into the mild stage, memory loss becomes worse and changes in other cognitive abilities are evident. These problems include: getting lost, trouble handling money and

Alzheimer’s disease is the most frequent form of dementia, a brain disorder that affects a person’s ability to execute daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease begins slowly. The parts of the brain that control thoughts, memory and language, are affected first. People with Alzheimer’s Disease may have difficulty remembering things recently, faces, or names of people they know. Over time, the symptoms will worsen.

Early-onset alzheimer's disease happens to people under the age of 65 years old. Often, this happens to people in their 40’s and 50’s. Only 5% of patients with alzheimer's have early-onset alzheimer’s. Late-onset alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of this disease. The late-onset alzheimer’s disease happens to patients over the age 65 years old. Lastly, familial alzheimer’s disease is a form of alzheimer’s disease that some doctors know it is linked to genes. FAD makes up less than 1% of all cases of Alzheimer’s. Most patients who have early-onset Alzheimer’s have familial alzheimer’s

In the mild stage of Alzheimer’s the symptoms could include: difficulty coming up with the right name, problems remembering names when meeting new people, difficulty performing tasks, forgetting material you’ve just read, losing and misplacing objects, and trouble planning and organizing things. The second stage is moderate Alzheimer’s disease which is the middle stage. It is known to be the longest stage and can carry over for many years. As the disease continues, the person affected with the Alzheimer 's disease will require more care. Symptoms include: forgetting about their own history, feeling moody, not being able to remember phone numbers or their name, confusion on what day it is, problems controlling their bladder, changes in their sleep patterns, and becoming lost. The last stage is severe Alzheimer’s. People lose the ability to respond to their environment, to hold a conversation and, to control movement. Symptoms include: require assistance full time daily, having difficulty communicating, become vulnerable to infections like pneumonia, and changes in physical abilities like walking, talking, and swallowing. There is no cure for Alzheimer 's but drug and non-drug medicines may help with all the symptoms.

Early-onset Alzheimer’s is a rare, but fast stage of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Glenn E. Smith, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minn. (2014), Early-onset Alzheimer’s is an uncommon form of dementia that strikes about 5 percent of patients with symptoms before the age of 65. This form of Alzheimer’s has been known to develop between the ages 30 and 40, but that’s very uncommon (Smith 2014). Scientists do not have an explanation of why people get the disease younger than others. Early-onset Alzheimer’s that is hereditary in family members is connected to three different genes that differ from the APOE gene that can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s in general (Smith 2014). The innate conduit of inheritance is much stronger in early-onset Alzheimer’s (Smith 2014). If one has a genetic mutation

Alzheimer's disease is a mental disorientation that can appear during middle or geriatric age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. This disease is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is another term for memory loss and other psychological abilities, deliberate enough to conflict with simple daily life activities.

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.

Alzheimer’s disease is a very slowly progressive disease that occurs inside the brain in which is characterized by damage of memory. Also this type of disease can lead into interruption in language, problem solving, planning and perception. The chance of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease increases enormously after the age of 70 (Crystal, 2009). Also people who are over the age of 85 have over a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This type of disease is not at all normal in the aging process and is also not something that happens out of no where in a person’s life.

Alzheimer is a disease that affects the elderly most. The disease was discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in the year 1906 when he was examining a female’s brain. He found out that the woman displayed memory loss, language problems and some inexplicable changes in behavior. The disease was named after the doctor who was a German psychiatrist and a neuropathologist. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that leads to memory loss, personality changes, and language problems (Gilbert & Julie 2). The disease is mostly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years, though there is a small minority of people under the age of 50 who get the disease. Studies show that 1% of a whole population aged between the ages 65-75 have severe

German doctor, Alois Alzheimer, first discovered this disease in 1906 after treating a fifty-one year old woman who had trouble remembering basic skills (Willet 7).It became challenging to think clearly and became less able to function. Being able to shower or clothe were tasks that suddenly became extremely difficult to elaborate. At this stage in Alzheimer’s, it is the breaking point for most patients because the feeling of independence is lost and the knowledge that once was obtained is not longer acquired. Eventually the patient will forget how to exercise everyday activities since the brain's neurotransmitters are no longer coordinating correctly and soon the patient become deceased. Forgetting deadlines ad appointments at work are some