Description Of Alzheimer's Disease

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 85. (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)

Even though Alzheimer 's is being researched, it was not a commonly known disease and many aspects of it remain intangible. In 1901 Auguste D. family brought her to Dr. Alzheimer’s after noticing Auguste problem with memory, impaired comprehension, and unpredictable behavior. Dr. Alzheimer treated Auguste till her death in 1906. He performed an autopsy on her brain and discovered dramatic shrinkage of the cerebral cortex, atrophied brain cells, fatty deposits in blood vessels, neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Plaques and tangles in the brain are two of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. The third is the loss of connections between neurons in the brain. (https://www.nia.nih.gov/.../alzheimers_disease_fact_sheet_

“What is Alzheimer’s disease (AD)?” Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia that affects an individual’s memory, cognition, and behavior disturbances that ultimately diminishes their quality of life.1-2 Dementia is not a specific disease it is a general term for a variety of symptoms that affect memory and intellectual thinking that causes difficulty in our tasks of daily living.(5) The confusion between these two terms is extraordinary. It’s helpful to think of dementia as the symptom and to think of AD as the cause of that symptom. Although, there are many causes of dementia for the purpose of this paper, Alzheimer’s will be the only one discussed.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that affects a lot of older people. It not only affects the person but their families, friends, and any loved ones. The disease makes them forget almost everything they have experienced in their life. The memories they have of anything can be almost nil and they will not act like themselves anymore. This disease is a hard disease for someone’s family members to cope with because the person they once knew, is all but gone. In this paper I will be explaining the definition of the Alzheimer’s disease, what comes of the disease, and what treatment options there are.

Alzheimer’s is a disease where neurotransmitters, acetylcholine, or the brain’s chemicals break connections with other nerve cells causing the cells to die off, the effects of this are irreversible. The loss of these cells result in loss of thinking and language skills, unpredictable behavioral changes and eventually the inability to carry out the simplest tasks. Although there is no known cause for Alzheimer’s, researchers have found a genetic link. Alzheimer’s first symptoms usually appear when a person is between forty and fifty years of age. Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that initiates in the brain, drastically decreasing the quality of life as well as life expectancy in millions of people around the world.

Alzheimer’s disease currently represents the second leading cause of death in people older than 65 years residing in the modern world. (1) Census records attest to this assertion, which has prompted medical researchers to further investigate the etiology and course of development of the disease in order to better treat the debilitating condition. This paper investigates how Alzheimer’s entered the medical lexicon and how its definition has shifted over the past century in psychiatric discourses. It is clear that as a neurodegenerative disease, older people are more likely to incur the condition. However, a small number of people develop it at an early age as well. While the cause of Alzheimer’s disease remains somewhat uncertain, experts can still pinpoint contributing factors that better illuminate the possible etiology. Future research is necessary in order to ascertain the particular causes. It is clear that aging is the most significant risk factor. This paper contributes to the large corpus of literature on Alzheimer’s and pinpoints various avenues for future research in order to enhance medical epistemologies. Hopefully, a cure for this debilitating disease will be discovered in order to abate rates of death it causes.

Alzheimer’s Disease was first mentioned by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906 after having studied the case of Auguste D. who was experiencing, “...memory loss, unfounded suspicions about her family, and other worsening psychological changes…” (“Milestones in Alzheimer's”). After this patient had died, the doctor performed an autopsy to find that the brain had “dramatic shrinkage and abnormal deposits in and around nerve cells” (“Milestones in Alzheimer's”). This disease is a type of dementia that is defined as a progressive deteriorating mental condition that affects the patient’s day to day life. One with this disease may experience memory loss, slow cognitive processing, language problems, poor coordination, and what can be described as “odd” social

The Temporal lobe is affected by Alzheimer's. More specifically, when cells begin to die in the Cortex (outer layer of brain) it shrinks, causing large spaces within the brain. The Hippocampus is part of the Cortex too and helps with the formation of new memories. This damage to the brain obviously causes problems with memory and what not.

Dementia is a progressive brain dysfunction. In Latin, 'dementia ' means irrationality, which results in a restriction of daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease was first identified more than 100 years ago, but research into its symptoms, causes, risk factors and treatment has only progressed in the last several years. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, in 1906, German physician Alois Alzheimer was “one of the first to link

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of dementia in people above the age of 65. In 1901, Alois Alzheimer identified the first case of this disease and discovered the pathological condition of dementia that bears his name. AD is a progressive disease, the most common early symptom is short-term memory loss. As the disorder advances, individuals have problems with language, motivation, mood and long-term memory. In the final stages, the patient is complete loss of daily living activities.

In 1906, Alzheimer’s disease entered the scientific world. Till this day, it is one of the most studied neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers have come a long way with scientific outcomes on the disease, but unfortunately there is no official cure, or a concise reason on how this disease is generated. The disease has been recognized to being genetic and affecting people in their later years, roughly around their sixtieth year. Alzheimer’s disease affects the person’s memory, language, judgment and even their daily tasks. While the disease continues to dramatically progress, it begins to affect all regions of the brain, causing the person to lose almost all of their functions. When the person has reached their final stage, they are no longer able to recognize themselves or their surroundings and would need full time dependent care. According to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org, 2016), the person may have up to eight years max to live after diagnosis.

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive degenerative disease that affects the brain. It causes mental deterioration in the brain and may occur in middle or old age. Ultimately, a person with AD loses all memory and mental functioning over time. The disease slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to do simple tasks. Alzheimer’s is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who noticed changes in the brain tissue of a women who had died of an unusual mental illness. She showed symptoms like memory loss, language problems and unpredictable behavior. He examined her body and found abnormal clumps (now diagnoses as amyloid plaques). These clumps are now considered one of the main features of alzheimer's

“According to doctors in the early 20th century anyone over the age of 65 who marked a sign of confusion was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Bair, 5).” AD is form of dementia. “It is also a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a mean duration of around 8.5 years between onset of clinical symptoms and death (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).” The medicine and science related to dementia and AD specifically has evolved a long way to develop strategies to encourage the healthy altitude of the brain. Growing old does not come with a guarantee to have memory loss. Using preventative measure and knowing the causes of this deadly disease will aid in a safe path that strays away from forgetfulness. Healthy lifestyles inhibits the formation of amyloid beta protein strands, the main cause of Alzheimer’s. Although living healthy can be more expensive, the money saved from the cost of therapy, prescriptions, and time-consumption from care giving is an advantage. The cost of healthcare and service for it is rising rapidly. “In 1991 the average cost for Alzheimer’s was $31,000” (Hodgson 60).

Alzheimer’s is a disease which effects the brain, memory and behavioral aspects of everyday life. It is the most common form of dementia which accounts for over two thirds of cases which are recorded. The disease was first recorded by German Doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was first named by Emil Kraepelin when he mentioned It in his book “Psychiatrie” which was released in 1910. Alois first discovered Alzheimer’s disease when he noticed shrinking in the cortex of the brain and abnormal deposits of nerve cells through an autopsy on Auguste Deter.

In 1906, Alois Alzheimer was one of the first to label Alzheimer, however it was referred to as ‘’senile dementia’’ until the 1960s and it was treated as a normal part of ageing (Mastin, 2010). Sperling et al, (2011) suggested that years before the diagnosis of AD, the physiological process associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is already there. Alzheimer's disease is as a major degenerative disease of the brain, responsible for deterioration of the patient’s cognitive and motor function. Up to the present, there has been only treatment treating the symptoms with temporary effect and not a disease free treatment (Horn et al, 1993).