Effects Of Alzheimer 's Disease : Description Of The Disease

Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain from which there is no recovery. There are three brain abnormalities that are the hallmarks of the Alzheimer’s disease is initially caused by plaques buildup in the brain’s neurons as illustrated in figure 1. The support structure that allows the flow of the nutrients through the neurons gets damaged and ultimately there is loss of connection among the neurons and they die off (National Institute of Health, 2015). This causes the brain tissue to shrinks, which is called atrophies. All this ultimately lead the victim of this disease to face difficulties in governing emotions, recognize errors and patterns, coordinate movement, and remember. Ultimately, a person with AD loses all memory and mental functioning.

Alzheimer’s is a systemic disease, meaning that it affects more than one part of the body. There are three major systems that are affected by Alzheimer’s. The first involves the Central Nervous System. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord, allowing the nervous system to make the spinal cord and brain function. The Central Nervous System is affected because specific brain proteins begin to malfunction and brain cells die. The loss of brain cells is the reason for memory loss and

Alzheimer’s disease is the progressive loss of memory and mental functions. The disease affects memory, thought control, language, and other cognitive functions. The disease typically appears with old age and is often found age 60. Alzheimer’s causes the brain to develop clumps and tangles fibers in the brain tissue along with the loss of neuron connections. Throughout the brain, proteins are abnormally distributed and they form tangled bundles of fibers and amyloid plaques. Some neurons fail to function properly and lose their connections, which are necessary for the transmission of messages to the body. The hippocampus is the key brain structure in the formation of memories and often experiences the first signs of damage.

Dementia is a chronic disorder of mental process caused by brain disease or injury. There are seven stages of dementia. In stage one, nobody has dementia. Stage two is when the person starts forgetting names and where familiar objects were left. Stage three, is difficulty concentrating and decreased work performance. By stage four, the ones diagnosed start to lose memory of recent events and have troubles of traveling alone to new locations. Stage five sometimes the victims need help with daily activities, like dressing and eating. Even may also forget their address and phone number. In stage six, they may start to forget names of close family members.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disease of the brain that causes gradual loss of memory, judgement and ability to function. This age-related, non-reversible brain disorder develops over a period of years. This disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. He had noticed changes in the brain tissue of a women who had died of an unknown mental illness. Alzheimer’s usually appears in people over the age of 65 but earlier stages of Alzheimer’s is created throughout adulthood. The early stages of Alzheimer’s is yet unknown but the damages to the brain is said to be caused up to a decade earlier before the problems become evident. Amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neurons, being the loss of connection between nerve cells, are the main features in Alzheimer’s disease. Abnormal deposits of protein form amyloid plaques and tangles throughout the brain and the at once healthy brain begins to work less efficiently. Over this time, neurons then lose the ability to function and communicate with each other and they eventually end up dying. The damage caused by this soon spreads to a near structure in the brain called Hippocampus. Hippocampus plays important roles in the the brain such as long-term memory. As more and more neurons tend to die, the affected parts of the brain begin to shrink. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s, the damage has spread throughout the affected patient’s brain and the patient’s brain tissue has significantly shrunk. Alzheimer’s disease can also be

As I stated before Alzheimer’s diseases have different stages, early stages are memory loss. Just like our bodies, our brains age also, we tend to think at a slower pace and occasionally become forgetful about certain things. When it comes to Alzheimer’s the brain cells are failing, chronic memory loss, confusion, and other serious mental issues that become more noticeable. Patients tend to lose memory of new information because Alzheimer’s start to stop the brain from learning anything. As the diseases move through the brain it also causes disorientation, mood and behavior changes, confusion about events, time and place, becomes suspicious of family and friends. Some cases have been found of serious memory loss, behavior changes, unable of speaking, swallowing and walking. The brain has over 100 million nerve cells or how scientists refer as neurons, each nerve cells connects to one another to create a form of communication, and each of the nerve cells have a special job. These groups of nerve cells have the job of thinking, learning, or

The cause of Alzheimer’s is not yet fully understood, yet it is believed to be influenced by a mixture of genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.

Scientists are uncertain about the role of plaques and tangles in Alzheimer's disease however, most believe they play a critical role in blocking communication among nerve cells and disrupt the processes that these cells need to survive. It's the destruction and death of nerve cells that causes memory failure, personality changes, problems carrying out daily activities and other symptoms of Alzheimer's

Most people with the disease generally begin to experience symptoms during their mid-60s. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s include serious memory loss and confusion, which may indicate that brain cells are failing.

Alzheimer’s Disease accounts for sixty to seventy percent of dementia cases. The disease starts slowly and gets worse over time. The most common symptoms are short term memory loss, trouble with language , moods swings , and loss of movement.

Alzheimer’s causes degeneration of brain tissue and nerve cells. With less nerve cells present, it becomes harder for the brain to communicate with the body and function properly.

The future increase in number of people who got their 80’s and 90’s must be caused mostly by the developments in medicine and medical technologies and also in social and environmental conditions. As a result of a direct connection between frequency of dementia and age, the amount of diseased will also rise significantly (Alzheimer’s Association 2010).

The most common early symptom of Alzheimer’s is difficulty remembering newly learned information. (Alzheimer’s Association) Short-term memory will begin to fail when Alzheimer's disease first kills the nerve cells in the hippocampus. (AFA) As we age, so does our brain. In life it is common for us to eventually experience some loss of our cognitive ability. Nonetheless, severe memory loss, misperceptions, and other extreme changes in the way our minds work may be a sign that our brain cells are failing. Before my grandmother was diagnosed she had gotten lost while driving to my aunt’s house, she could not remember where she was going. She called my grandfather in hysterics, this is when he decided it was time to take her to the doctor. Many people like my grandmother are not aware of their symptoms, it is much easier for family members and friends to see the signs of Alzheimer’s. As Alzheimer’s claims the brain, the symptoms become much more severe. Eventually its victims could suffer from incomprehension, mood and behavior changes. They can begin to experience confusion about occasions including time and place. They may develop an overwhelming and speculative reservations toward their family, friends, and caretakers. Eventually they may have extreme difficulty speaking, swallowing, and walking; this is caused by neurons dying in the cerebral

Alzheimer’s disease is a very slowly progressive disease that occurs inside the brain in which is characterized by damage of memory. Also this type of disease can lead into interruption in language, problem solving, planning and perception. The chance of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease increases enormously after the age of 70 (Crystal, 2009). Also people who are over the age of 85 have over a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This type of disease is not at all normal in the aging process and is also not something that happens out of no where in a person’s life.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have been working on a potential new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. They are honing in on the genetics involved, hoping to hijack enzymes to do the job.