America's Greatest Threat: Why Brain Health Matters

When it comes to Alzheimer’s, I know firsthand how it affects individuals and their families. My great grandfather had Alzheimer’s for many years before his passing late last year, at age 92. Alzheimer’s is a disease that many individuals suffer with each year, but yet with all the advancements in modern medicine we still have no cure for it. There are different ways to conquer this disease, understanding the causes, knowing effects, and researching possible treatments.

“Scientists think that as many as 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease” (Soliz, 2006, pg. 13).

By the numbers, Alzheimer’s disease looks even worse than it may be. The cost of Alzheimer’s overwhelms the caregiver and everyone involved with the patient. The price businesses pay for Alzheimer’s it detrimental to their industry, show by “A 2002 study showed that United States businesses lost $36.5 billion that year because employees missed work or quit and had to be replaced so that they could care for someone with Alzheimer’s disease” (Adams 24). The caregivers play vital roles in the lives of the sufferer, but the business take an even heavier loss. Heath care is necessary for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, however it can get expensive “The costs of

A major devastating and debilitating disease, Alzheimer 's is a public health issue that affects not only the United States but also countries all around the world. In 2010, there were 35.6 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Researchers and medical personnel expect this number to triple by the year 2050. The disease is costing America an exorbitant amount of money and has become a burden on families, caregivers, medical personnel, the healthcare system, and the nation’s economy. If attention is not focused on this major problem, “nursing homes will be overloaded, caregivers will be burned out, healthcare system will be overwhelmed, and federal and state budgets will be overtaxed” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011).

“Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain’t going to fix them,” American GI and heavyweight Joe Louis once said in a 1942 interview about his choice to enlist in the army (Berkow). He was right. In the 1940s, America was in a slump; but, it was also the turning point for the start of a more prosperous era. In 1941, the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, “a date which will live in infamy,” and catalyzed a series of events that led to the initiation of America’s entrance into World War II- a war that healed and revolutionized the nation ("World War”). America’s greatest success in the 20th century was its entrance and participation in World War II because

Have you ever done something dumb, and stated, "I think I've lost my mind?" Well for an average of 5.5 million people, this is a reality. Parts of their brain literally have begun to die, and with it, goes their livelihood. Before becoming a home health aide, I had heard of dementia and Alzheimer's, but I had never seen it first-hand. Over the last two years I have watched as it has debilitated many people both physically and mentally, and all I can think is: "When

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia in the United States, with its commonness expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Although awareness of Alzheimer's disease has increased greatly among professional and amateur audiences, exact means do not exist to calculate how many Americans the disease affects. However, it is estimated that there are over 5.1 million people aged 65 or older with probable Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer’s is also the sixth leading cause of death in America. Throughout, I will be addressing the issues that surround this disease: it is not an inevitable consequence of aging, the care and treatment, and end-of-life decisions. While explaining these issues, the goal is to achieve a better

Alzheimer is like mental cancer. It eats away inside you stealthily, slowly destroying you before anyone knows it is even there. It oozes in like a septic tide, consuming thoughts, memory, and personality like real cancer takes your bodily organs. In the early stages it is hard to tell where personal aberrations end, and Alzheimer’s begins, but in the end one looks for anything untouched by the illness. One of the frightening things about Alzheimer’s is how the first signs of the disease make their appearance in the most benign and normal events. Things we might laugh at as silly mistakes are really signs of something much worse than we imagine. When Alzheimer’s occurs where there is no family history, people look back at events that were warning signs, and shake their heads, thinking, “If only we had known what that meant.” In families where Alzheimer’s has left a mark down through the generations there can develop an almost mania of examining family and self as every little mistake and personality quirk is put to the question of “Is that Alzheimer’s?” What are natural human failures, and what are grim portents of a terrible future fast approaching? The question becomes fraught with weight. For family, the sentence of disease is a sentence to watching as someone you love is lost to grinding humiliation and helplessness. For the victim, it is going mad, and knowing it. It is pain—a mental and emotional pain like any physical torment as what you have is torn from you, one

He still grasped and held my hand like he used to, but this time, he inquired as to who I was. He couldn’t quite recall my name or fathom as to why I would be coming to him. The affliction only became worse from there, and every year, it took him longer and longer to recognize me, even with my mom and his wife’s prompting. Eventually Bud forgot me, and that hurt. But I cannot even imagine the overwhelming agony his wife endured. Bud forgot her too. He forgot everyone. Alzheimer 's is terrifying. The slightly confused smile as well as the listlessness exhibited in your loved one’s eyes as you introduce yourself, and tell them where they know you from. That moment when you realize they truly don’t remember. Terrifying. My question is this: Why don’t more people know about this deadly disease? Why is there not more funding pouring in from around the nation? After all, a disease that claims the lives of about 1,920 people ages 65 and up per day (700,000 per year) (“Facts And Figures”) deserves a little more attention. Remember, this number is just the deaths and doesn’t even include the over five million people who currently live with Alzheimer’s (“Facts and Figures”) or those who must step up daily and reteach their loved ones the most simple of tasks time after time. So join me, as I travel through this largely underestimated disease.

Every single person in creation has heard the word “America”. Each individual on the planet has expressed emotion over hearing the term “America”. Some say even the infinite far reaches of the universe have trembled in fear of “America”. Limitless discussions were made on what immensity the country has done for the world and how much importance they have over all realm. “The Americans were first to land on the moon”, “America have just built the first nuclear reactor”. Mankind fear as well as respect the nation as being the most powerful country in the world that will rightly lead the planet into fulfillment. America today is one of the most vital pillars supporting the human race, and over time they have been evolving to further succeed in life as well as trying to push humanity a step forward into the vast, infinite sciences of the universe, trying to drive civilization into absolute attainment. You could even say that without this

Alzheimer’s Disease is a common form of dementia that progressively deteriorates one’s brain causing serious memory loss, and eventually, the inability to perform common daily tasks. This disease is also known as “The Mind Robber,” or the “Disease of Forgetfulness.” The unfortunate thing about this disease is that there is no cure. Medicines have been developed to slow the progression of the disease. It has moved up into the rankings on the leading causes of death in America to number six and the number of deaths are increasing. As of 2013, nearly 5 million Americans were suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, most of them over the age of 60.

Miller calls necessary and unnecessary suffering. “Healthcare was design with disease, not people at the center” (Ted Talk, 2015). Therefore, it can be interpreted that insurance companies, policy makers, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies profit off the sick and elderly. Approximately, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 10 men who live pass the age 55 will develop dementia (Institute for Dementia Research and Prevention). In addition, 70% of dementia cases that affect 5.2 million Americans in 2014 also were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s (Reid, 2015).

The primary thesis of the book is that America’s ego is tearing the country down, by lulling politicans and the people in to an unearned and false sense of financial, governmental, and physical security that in recent years has been slowly crumbling. All Legislative, economic, and even enviromental and forgein issues are tackled with the mindset that the United states will be able to overcome any adversity by simply being better than everyone else at everything. This mindset leads to reckless and careless decision making with full disregard for any negatives to come from these descisions. These sort of mistakes and their negatives have piled up to the point where America’s ego has exited the realm of exaggeration and into flat out

The dementia statistics Within the United States are not promising, there are at least 5 million people currently living with age-related dementias. As the population increases, these numbers are expected to rise. To put this into perspective, it’s

We’re burdened with this terrible feeling. Creating it with an underlying tension. Beneath the soil of our hearts, our cultures, and our institutions, America sowed deep the past hatred and sorrow. Sprawling with evil inclination into tomorrow, We’re blinded by the hatred, hatred that imprisons us.