Essay about Alzheimer's Disease

During the onset of the disease, symptoms are usually non-existant, and progress slowly over the course of many years, often going unnoticed until they become more severe. Alzheimer's is somewhat difficult to diagnose, but there are some common symptoms to all patients. Memory loss occurs in all patients. The person may have trouble remembering small things such as phone numbers, or where he/she put the keys. Eventually, short term memory is lost, and only memories in the far past are able to be recalled. People with Alzheimer's can become disoriented and can get lost easily when out on their own. Mood changes also occur, and the person can be easily irritated or agitated by seemingly insignificant things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing the ability to understand spoken language or recall the meanings of different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's patientscan display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia that generally initiates the lost memory, problem of critical thinking and behavior problems for the elderly patients. It’s not a normal part of aging but the large number of elderly people reached 65 and older are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The most common early symptoms are struggle in remembering recent events or short term memory. As the disease advance more symptoms begin to show up like problems in speaking and language, disorientation like getting lost and cease to remember the present activity that they are supposed to do. Mood swings go from happy to sad for no reason. Not managing their self, personal hygiene

Surroundings- later stages of Alzheimer's disease someone may become much less aware of what is happening around them. They may have difficulties eating or walking without help, and become increasingly frail.

Alzheimer's causes a person’s memory to slowly get worse and worse to where the person will not remember family and the way the world functions. For example, the quote that was said by Joanne Coste, “No more cafés filled with tales and baggage. There has been great brain robbery” (Coste 3). This quote is describing what it is like always forgetting and what it is like having Alzheimer's. A person with the disease feels like life has been taken away, and is controlled by Alzheimer's, and soon forget how life works. Secondly, the disease may also cause someone to “mindlessly wander, repeat questions, and take longer to complete daily tasks” (“Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet” n.p.). People who have the disease do all of these things because the individual will forget very often, almost every day. This makes life much harder for the person to love others and love life because the individual is not capable of doing normal, daily tasks. Alzheimer's disease can make a person ungrateful and frustrated, which is caused by the brain’s memory slowly fading

The clinical manifestation or presentation of Alzheimer’s disease is not the same in every person, although symptoms seem to develop over the same general stages. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60.

Other symptoms include the person having trouble making decisions and having a sudden burst of confusion.

Most people with the disease generally begin to experience symptoms during their mid-60s. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s include serious memory loss and confusion, which may indicate that brain cells are failing.

Everyday life for a person suffering this disease can be frustrating at times. Most people that have it don’t even realize that they do. The people around them start to notice the differences in their personality and behavior. Alzheimer’s affects people from age 65 and up. This means that it’s a disease that happens to develop from old age. Up to five percent of people with

Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. As a person ages, their memory starts to decline, but not nearly as detrimental as a person with Alzheimer’s. When a person has memory loss they may not remember certain details of a conversation or

The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s is difficulty remembering newly learned information. (Alzheimer’s Association) Short-term memory will begin to fail when Alzheimer's disease first kills the nerve cells in the hippocampus. (AFA) As we age, so does our brain. In life it is common for us to eventually experience some loss of our cognitive ability. Nonetheless, severe memory loss, misperceptions, and other extreme changes in the way our minds work may be a sign that our brain cells are failing. Before my grandmother was diagnosed she had gotten lost while driving to my aunt’s house, she could not remember where she was going. She called my grandfather in hysterics, this is when he decided it was time to take her to the doctor. Many people like my grandmother are not aware of their symptoms, it is much easier for family members and friends to see the signs of Alzheimer’s. As Alzheimer’s claims the brain, the symptoms become much more severe. Eventually its victims could suffer from incomprehension, mood and behavior changes. They can begin to experience confusion about occasions including time and place. They may develop an overwhelming and speculative reservations toward their family, friends, and caretakers. Eventually they may have extreme difficulty speaking, swallowing, and walking; this is caused by neurons dying in the cerebral

Marlene Targ Brill uses, in her book about Alzheimer's, Nancy Reagan's quote to describe this awful neurodegenerative disease. "Alzheimer's disease is a cruel disease that steals lives. It's hard to know what to expect. The years of exchanging memories of old age are gone. It's long, long good-bye" (Nancy Reagan, former First Lady, pg 10). Alzheimer's symptoms are most often confused with normal symptoms of aging, although they have a greater effect on daily life. Some of the symptoms are: poor judgment and decision making, inability to manage budget, losing track of the date or the season, difficulty having a conversation and misplacing things and being unable to retrace steps to find them.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that impairs memory, thoughts and behavior. The impairment of Alzheimer’s can lead to symptoms of forgetfulness, difficulty with time, language problems or the inability to recognize loved ones. (Colbert, 2013) The early stages of Alzheimer’s can be subtle; beginning with lapses in memory or difficulty remembering the words for objects. (Alzheimer's Disease, n.d.) Common symptoms of Alzheimer’s vary with each individual according to the affected areas of the brain (as seen in appendix one).

Declining memory is the most significant symptom. Newly formed episodic and semantic memories are the first to vanish and it becomes almost impossible to encode any new memories. Other symptoms include disorientation of year and location, sundowning, incontinence, personality changes, and inappropriate social behavior. These symptoms make it difficult for individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s to care for themselves. They often become a danger to themselves due to their likelihood to wander off and forget who they are and how to return home. Poor self-care is common with difficulties with hygiene and feeding. The combination of symptoms makes it hard to care for someone who has Alzheimer’s. As the disease progresses many individuals cannot remember family members and forget important 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