Alzheimer's Disease Report

Alzheimer 's disease (AD) was discovered by a German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he found amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the autopsy of a woman who died of an unknown mental disease. The extracellular amyloid plaque deposits, composed of insoluble amyloid-Beta peptide were hypothesized to be the main etiological factor. “The most important abnormality is an excess of Amyloid-beta peptides brought about through either overproduction or failure in degradation.” (Uzun, Kozumplik, & Folnegović-Smalc, 2011) Later, it was discovered that intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyper-phosphorylated, helically-paired tau

The first of the two types of the disease, Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, is much more rare than its counterpart. Less than five percent of all people living with Alzheimer’s disease have this version. The demographic which it affects is between the ages of thirty and sixty. As this is a genetic disease, this version of

Alzheimer’s disease affects the entire brain eventually, but as it moves through the different stages it may affect certain areas more. Before any side effects of the disease become observable, decades of damage to the brain can take place. This is known as the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease. This damage is believed to take place primarily in the hippocampus, where memory functions in the brain. Here is where plaques and neurofibrillary tangles form and cause neuron death, which spreads the damage to other areas of the brain.

Due to the inability of the brain to replace nerve cells, some brain function is lost. The key question in Alzheimer’s disease is, what causes the neuron degeneration (Johnson, 1989)? The focus for finding the cause is on abnormal structures found in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately, the abnormal structures the brain undergoes still has researchers uncertain as to how they are involved in Alzheimer’s and exactly how the disease occurs.

Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who first discovered deviations from normal tissues of healthy individuals in the brain tissue of a lady in 1906. The woman, who showed symptoms of erratic behavior, loss of memory, and problems with communication, died of a then unfamiliar mental disorder. This led Dr. Alzheimer to investigate the cause of her unusual death. He assessed the brain of the woman and found that there were many anomalous masses (amyloid plaques) and intertwined bundles of fiber (neurofibrillary tangles). Scientists today have pinpointed the qualities of Alzheimer’s to be a) tangles in the brain (neurofibrillary tangles), b) plaque in the brain (amyloid plaques), and c) loss of connections among nerve cells.

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

According to Lu and Bludau (2011), Alzheimer disease is a degenerative disease of the brain that can lead to dementia and impair all brain functioning. Biologically, Alzheimer’s disease is believed to be caused by abnormal plaques called amyloid plaques, which are a buildup of protein fragments that are thought to be damaging to the brain cells. However, scientists are still unsure if this buildup actually cause the disease or is a result of the disease itself. This disease can also be a result of a genetic mutation, increasing individuals with the gene mutation risk as much as eight times higher than individuals

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

One in three seniors die of Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia (Godman). Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia but all types of dementia diseases effect seniors and their families in a dramatic drastic way. Early signs of Alzheimer’s start as early as the age of 30 and can affect someone for the rest of their life. These diseases have become more reoccurring every year, effecting around 5.3 million Americans and will continue to change lives for the rest of time (Bender, 2). As of now, there has been no cure for Alzheimer’s but scientists and doctors are putting time and effort into an Alzheimer’s cure through research, trials and ways to prevent the disease.

Currently, more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s has also worked its way up to the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Not only does this disease take the lives of the victims, but it also takes a perhaps bigger toll on the caregivers. The longer a victim lives with Alzheimer’s, the more extensive time, effort, money, and caution a caregiver has to provide. Today, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. However, there are new treatments that slow the progression of the disease, and there are also new ways for doctors to diagnose it earlier. It is amazing that something that affects so many people is so difficult to have

The research into Alzheimer's Disease has come a long way since 1906 when it is was discovered by Alois Alzheimer. He detected microscopic brain tissue changes called senile and neuritic plaques in deceased patients. These are chemical deposits consisting of protein molecules called Amyloid Precursor Protein(APP) that are fundamental components of a normal brain. However in the brain of an Alzheimer patient, an enzyme cuts the APP apart and leaves fragments in the brain tissue. These combined with degenerating nerve cells cause the plaques or lesions. These lesions are found in many sections of the brain including the hippocampus which regulates emotion and memory, the basal forebrain, and especially the basal nucleus of Meynert and the cortex, where the memory function is located.(2) Another sign of a diseased brain are neurofibrillary tangles, which are malformations within nerve cells.

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.

However, some scientific studies show that Alzheimer disease occurs when nerve cells in numerous key areas of the brain are destroyed or damaged. The damaged or destruction of these nerve cells in the brain disrupts the information flow between the body and the brain. This disruption leads to a stable decline of both mental and physical functions. Scientists say that the destruction of the brain is most likely to be caused by the development of senile plaques (clumps) and neurofibrillary tangles (knots). These plaques and knots are usually found on the brain of a diseased person during after death biopsy. They are mostly found on the part of the brain that is associated with the memory and retention of information (National Institute Of health 10).

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

With the growing number of people becoming diagnosed, and experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, we must begin to take precautions and somehow attempt to gain knowledge of how the disease can be better treated, and ultimately prevented.