Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper

Later in the course of the disorder, affected individuals may become confused or disoriented about what month or year it is, be unable to describe accurately where they live, or be unable to name a place being visited. Eventually, patients may wander, be unable to engage in conversation, erratic in mood, uncooperative, and lose bladder and bowel control. In late stages of the disease, persons may become totally incapable of caring for themselves. Death can then follow, perhaps from pneumonia or some other problem that occurs in severely deteriorated states of health. Those who develop the disorder later in life more often die from other illnesses (such as heart disease) rather than as a consequence of Alzheimer's disease

Dementia, defined by the Alzheimer’s Association, is the overall term for diseases and conditions characterized by a decline in memory or other thinking skills that affects a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. More than 250,000 Americans will develop dementia (including Alzheimer 's) when they are sixty-five or older and at eighty-five the risk of developing Alzheimer’s is fifty percent. Since this disease was found in 1907 by Alois Alzheimer, there have been thousands of dollars, research, and clinical trials put into finding a cure for this horrible disease. This literature review examines the effects of the type of Dementia known as

Some of the basic symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include, memory loss, difficulties in speech, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreases judgment, difficulties in performing familiar tasks, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, and a loss of initiative. There are two types of symptoms, cognitive and behavioral. Behavioral symptoms include agitation, anxiety, delusions, depression, hallucinations, insomnia, and wandering. While cognitive symptoms include memory loss, disorientation, confusion, and problems with reasoning and thinking. (American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias)

According to Alzheimer’s Association there are 7 stages of symptoms that will help with the understanding of how the body will change. During stage one there is no impairment to the normal functions. Stage two is when the patient starts forgetting the location of everyday objects like glasses and keys but there is still no sign of dementia. Stage three is when loved ones start notice a change with the patient such as forgetfulness with names, new material, and common or valuable objects. Stage four is when the memory issues become worse and they have problems remembering recent events. Patients also have issue performing mental arithmetic and they become more moody. Stage five is when they start having trouble remembering telephone numbers or the date, need help dressing appropriately, but can still remember loved ones. In stage six the memory loss gets worse and the personality changes. Some patients need a lot of help doing daily activities. Stage seven is the final stage and that is when the patient does not respond to anything and may lose their ability to control

The Alzheimer’s Association lists ten items to watch for as follows: “1. Memory loss that disrupts daily life, 2. Challenges in planning or solving problems, 3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure, 4. Confusion with time or place, 5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, 6. New problems with words in speaking or writing, 7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, 8. Decreased or poor judgment, 9. Withdrawal from work or social activities, 10. Changes in mood and personality (“Memory Loss”). There are three main stages of Alzheimer’s that are characterized by specific signs that are generally similar at all ages. The first stage, mild, “starts with mild impairments in memory, communication patterns and executive ability, and depression,” and in this stage the disease may be seen as only normal signs of aging, not as Alzheimer’s (Wattmo). In addition, in this stage there also may be a “marked reduction in the capacity to conduct more advanced instrumental activities of daily living,” and this may be recognized more easily as Alzheimer’s disease (Wattmo). In moving on to the moderate stages of this disease, it has been shown that common symptoms are “disorientation of time and/or place, dyspraxia, dysgnosia and decreased judgement and skills” (Wattmo). The

Alzheimer's is a disease that robs people of their memory. At first, people have a hard time remembering recent events, though they might easily recall things that happened years ago. As time goes on, other symptoms can appear, including: trouble focusing, a hard time doing ordinary activities, feeling confused or frustrated, especially at night, dramatic mood swings -- outbursts of anger, anxiety, and depression, feeling disoriented and getting lost easily, physical problems, such as an odd walk or poor coordination, trouble communicating. People with Alzheimer's might forget their loved ones. They might forget how to dress themselves, feed themselves, and use the toilet. People who get Alzheimer's disease are usually older, but the disease isn’t a normal part of aging.

Alzheimer’s disease is categorized by slight impaired memory to severe cognitive loss (Mayeux, 2010). This can be seen by a loss in retaining new memories as well as a decrease in language, reasoning and decision making (Mayeux, 2010). This disease is progressive and patients only get worse with time and it finally ends in death with both mental and functional disabilities (Mayeux, 2010). This is seen mainly in people 65 and older and studies have shown that age and aging is the highest risk factor for the developing the disease (Lundkvist, 2014).

Alzheimer’s disease is known for “ robbing the patient's state of awareness” which happens in the older years (Willet 8). As life expectancy has increased, the disease primarily affects one in five people aged 75 to 84 which might seem like a small percentage but the number of cases has doubled over the past decade. Alzheimer’s is difficult to diagnose because there is no test to confirm whether the patient has the disease or not. Although plaque is the most dangerous type of the disease, dementia is a side effect that causes the patient to appear to be in a normal state of mind but it is more likely that a stroke or any other type of brain injury will occur that will cause death.Most people believe that the cause of death for someone over

Alzheimer 's disease is an irreversible, abnormal, progressive deterioration of the brain that causes victims to steadily lose the ability to remember, reason, and comprehend (Wardlaw 719). At first it may start with things such as: forgetting important dates or events, repeating oneself multiple times, or needing reminders more often than usual. Eventually it may progress to experiencing challenges in completing simple tasks, difficulty concentrating, and confusion. Geriatric psychiatrist, Robert Santulli states, “Alzheimer’s disease involves loss of short-term memory but also other things like the ability to express yourself with language, the ability to perform certain routine tasks like getting yourself dressed or operating a piece of equipment. It has a lot of emotional symptoms that can go along with it as well such as depression or anxiety, sleep disturbance, agitation, and so forth” (Santulli). At the beginning, I remember my grandma as we drove to a hike asking “Where are we going?” to which my grandpa would patiently

To be diagnosed with Alzheimer's, you must have experienced a decline in cognitive or behavioral function and performance compared to how they were previously. This decline must interfere with their

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia. It is a devastating brain disease that gradually ruins the patient’s memory, thinking skills and eventually the ability to perform the simplest task of the life. There are two types of Alzheimer’s; early-onset and late onset Alzheimer’s. Early onset is very rare and occurs in people ages 30-60 years. It is caused by mutation on anyone gene on a chromosome inherited from a parent. These mutations cause abnormal proteins to form which disrupts the function of the body. On the other hand, late onset is most commonly found in people ages 60 or above. A mutation on the gene on chromosome 19, which carries

As a society, we are constantly faced with negative news about different diseases and genetic disorders. One genetic disorder that has affected the lives of many is, Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia that affects and causes problems with thinking, behavior and memory. Most of the time, symptoms of Alzheimer’s develop slowly and progress and worsen over time. Eventually the symptoms become severe enough that they begin to interfere with normal and daily tasks. It was originally thought that Alzheimer’s was a result of aging, but it has been found that there is actually something called early onset Alzheimer’s which affects people in their 40s and 50s, instead of the normal age of 65 and older (1).

Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder when brain cells degenerate and die. Alzheimer’s dieses destroys the patient’s memory within time. The mental functions of the brain also get destroyed when a person gets Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease is most commonly seen when the patient is sixty to seventy years old. In this research paper the reader will learn about the signs and symptoms, causes, course of disease, outcome and secondary diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis and survival.

There is no cure for this particular Alzheimer disease or other regular or common kind of dementia (Mayeux, & Sano, 1999). Researchers are as yet to understand completely, how this disease leads to memory loss and different issues with thinking and behaviour. Only few treatments available for Alzheimer disease which can make a difference where it helps to ease symptoms, or slow down their progression in some people for the time being (Mayeux, & Sano, 1999 ; Whitehouse, 1991).

Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia, a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Its symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. There is no known cure for it at this time, and has only but a few treatment options to help temporarily improve symptoms. More than three million US cases are diagnosed per year for the ages 65+, and over 200,000 cases in those younger than 65 and is the 6th leading cause of death among US citizens, roughly 60% - 80% of all dementia cases are Alzheimer's cases. The greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease is increase of age.