Alzheimer’s disease Holly Salyards Cincinnati State Technical & Community College

In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).

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

Alzheimer’s is a disease in the brain that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia and is common in adults older than 65. More than five million Americans are being affected by Alzheimer’s at this moment. Alzheimer’s comes in three stages; early, middle, and advanced. The disease is caused by the shrinking of the brain due to many risk factors and genetics.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 8 (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death, affecting more than five million people in the United States and is also one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia can be defined as a disorder of progressive cognitive impairment severe enough to affect daily functions of an individual’s life (Fillit, et al., 2002).

Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).

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.

However, today, recognition and discoveries have increased rapidly. The CDC defines Alzheimer’s disease as a progressive disease beginning with mild memory loss possibly leading to loss of ability to carry on a conversation and respond to the environment. With as many as five million Americans living with the most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s gradually worsens over seven stages with increasing age and by age eighty-five the risk of obtaining it reaches almost fifty percent. No matter the age, Alzheimer’s is incurable, however, there are many protective factors and medical management that can benefit the quality of life for many people infected with Alzheimer’s. However, there are also many risk factors such as age and family history. Constantly getting lost, losing things, or taking longer to complete normal tasks may seem like normal parts of aging but doing these things under Alzheimer’s is

Early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s are Memory problems which are typically one of the first signs of cognitive impairment. As it progresses in the second stage they start wondering and getting lost, issues with handling money, and repeating questions. During the Moderate stage damage will start to control the brain such as language, processing, reasoning, and conscious thought. Some symptoms include problems recognizing family and friends, inability to learn, and impulsive

Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, behavior and other intellectual abilities significant enough to impede with a person’s daily life. Alzheimer's is not a typical part of aging, despite the most known leading factor is increased age. Most people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older, however, up to five percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's, which most often appears in a person in their 40s or 50s. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease which means that the symptoms of this certain disease gradually get more severe over time. In the early stages of this disease, memory loss is pretty mild, but in the late stages of Alzheimer's, individuals lose the capability to

First described by German physician, Alois Alzheimer, in the early 1900s, Alzheimer’s disease is now the fourth most prevalent cause of death- after heart disease, cancer, and stroke (AD- a guide for families). Most common in adults 65 or older, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is regarded as “a loss of intellectual abilities sufficient enough to interfere with everyday social and occupational functioning” (AD- a guide for families). Victims of AD are unable to think abstractly, find similarities and differences between related words, and have trouble defining words and concepts. Other common symptoms include disturbances in language, or aphasia, an inability to carry out motor activities, or apraxia, and a failure to recozinge or identify

Imagine going to the corner store that you have gone to for the past twenty years, once there, you forget how to get home. Imagine going to your grandson’s football game, once there, you forget that your grandson is the boy wearing the number seven on his jersey. Imagine being hungry, going into the kitchen and putting a pot of soup on the stove, once there you forget you are hungry and decide to go to bed. This is life with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain disease that slowly eradicates recollection, thinking skills and slowly the ability to perform menial tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is classified as the loss of cognitive functioning-thinking, remembering, and reasoning- and behavioral abilities to such an

There are three stages of Alzheimer’s disease, mild, moderate, and severe. The first stage is mild Alzheimer’s disease. In mild Alzheimer’s disease, the loss of memory becomes noticeable and other changes to the patient’s reasoning abilities begin to be effected (Alzheimer’s). It is in this initial stage that most patients are diagnosed with the disease. Issues and characteristics that identify a person with mild Alzheimer’s disease include difficulties such as getting lost in areas that were once well known, having poor judgment, routine tasks taking much longer to complete, and repeating questions and/ or statements. The second stage of Alzheimer’s disease is the moderate stage. In moderate Alzheimer’s disease, brain tissue damage reaches the portions of the brain that control sensory, language, cognizant thought (Alzheimer’s). During this second stage, it is common for patients to be unable to recognize and/ or remember the names of family members or close friends. Additionally, multi-tiered tasks, even those as simple as getting dressed, become extremely difficult for the patient to accomplish without

It is very important to be aware of the signs and symptoms for this disease. Memory loss is the most common sign of Alzheimer’s. Forgetting recent activities or learned information can be a threat to the rest of what this disease brings. Some one with Alzheimer’s can become confused of their surroundings by having trouble understanding visual images. This brings me to

     Alzheimer’s disease usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events and to have difficulty performing familiar tasks. How rapidly the disease advances varies from person to person.

Mild forgetfulness and memory delays are often part of the normal aging process. Older individuals simply need more time to learn a new fact or to remember an old one. We all have occasional difficulty remembering a word or someone's name; however, those with Alzheimer's disease will find these symptoms progressing in frequency and severity. Everyone, from time to time will forget where they placed their car keys; an individual with Alzheimer’s disease may not remember the purpose of the keys. Its starts in memory problems that interfere with daily living and steadily worsen and gradually aggravates with having difficulty managing money, driving, orientation, shopping,