Epidemiology: A Brief Note On Alzheimer's Disease

II. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include: loss of memory, loss of cognitive skills and depression.

There are many different types of dementia and causes of dementia. The first cause is Alzheimer’s disease, which is caused by nerve cells dying in certain areas of the brain. This therefore also affects the connection between the affected nerve cell causing them to deteriorate. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.

Even diet or illness can affect their abilities or needs. One day a person with dementia will remember, and be quite able, to complete certain tasks but then may be incapable another. This is not their choice it is because the brain is a very complex organ and the chemical changes vary from person to person. The information is still in the memory but the neurotransmitters are able to send messages one day but maybe not the next. If an individual has a water infection they may be more confused and their needs go up whilst their abilities go down. Medication may produce more hallucinations or tremors therefore once again their needs are increased.

No one wants to lose their mind. But the reality is that the risk of dementia doubles every five years after the age of sixty-five. Is there anything that can be done to prevent this age-related loss of brain function? Are There Ways to Reduce Dementia Through Lifestyle Changes? European researchers analyzed 1,433 people over the age of 65 to determine what lifestyle factors would reduce the risk of dementia the most. After getting a complete medical history on the participants, they tested their cognitive function at intervals over a seven year period. What did they find? According to this research, the two best ways to reduce the risk of dementia is to eliminate diabetes and depression - both of which are dementia risk factors. If both of these factors were eliminated and more people were encouraged to eat fruits and vegetables, the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 21%. There 's some controversy as to whether depression actually increases the risk of dementia - or whether it 's simply an early sign of the disease. This study suggests that depression probably does increase the risk of the disease - and isn 't just a symptom. It 's not surprising that diabetes is a risk factor since it 's associated with insulin resistance. Some studies show insulin resistance increases the risk of dementia. Another way to reduce dementia risk is to encourage people to be literate and educated. This study showed that the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 18% if

There are many different forms of dementia and each has its own cause. Some of the main type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia affecting 50%-70% of dementia patients (Alzheimer's australia, 2005). This is a degenerative illness which attacks the brain, this is achieved buy tangles which are in the middle of shrunken brain cells and plaques which eventually cause the brain cells to die meaning information can no longer be recalled or assimilated. There are also other types of dementia which include vascular dementia which is caused by circulation of the blood to the brain, Parkinson’s disease which is a disorder of the

Dementia affects the brain by stopping communication between the nerve cells causing them to die which will have an impact in the way the brain works.

Certain qualities are consistently observed in the Alzheimer’s victim. These dysfunction’s, though, are not exclusive to Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, declaring Alzheimer’s by these parameters is a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Characteristic dysfunction’s have been noted in Alzheimer’s victims, but the degree and severity of these varies from patient to patient. Thus, evaluation of the patient’s mental status must be made based on the sum, rather than a single characteristic. Memory is one of the first noticed deficiencies, beginning typically with the recent and short term memory, and progressing from there as the disease grows more severe. In addition, deterioration in language skills, attention span, praxis (performance of an action), and visuospatial skills are commonly seen. Also observed are changes in the actions and personality of the Alzheimer’s victim. These include changes in mood, motor activities, activities of daily living, socialization skills, psychotic disturbances, vegetative symptomology, and rise in anxiety levels. Again, the

There are many diseases that result in dementia. The most common types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease; vascular dementia; Pick’s disease; dementia with Lewy bodies (Fronto-Temporal); Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD); Huntington’s disease.

1. Describe the clinical symptoms and developmental cause of frontal-temporal dementia. How is this similar to and different from Alzheimer 's disease?

Dementia effects your memory and a person’s ability to achieve a normal everyday task and activities.

The brain is composed of billions of neurons, which interact and connect with each other, which allow us to perform our everyday activities. Plaques and tangles are the two structures that are suspected for the damage of nerve cells. Plagues are deposits that build up between neurons and tangles build up inside the neurons. Most people develop these abnormal obstructions as they age, but those with Alzheimer’s have a tendency to develop much more.

Although some kinds of memory loss are very normal in the aging process, the changes that are caused by aging are not that extreme enough to conflict with it. A number of certain diseases and conditions can cause dementia. These conditions and diseases consist of Parkinson’s disease, strokes, brain tumors, blood clots and Multiple Sclerosis, but the most common disease to cause this is Alzheimer’s disease (Crystal, 2009).

Throughout the years science has strained and searched for many ways to cure this horrific disease. However overtime they have yet to find a cure. Even though scientists have made progress

Dementia is caused when cells in the brain are damaged. This damage can interfere with the ability of brain cells to communicate with each other. When they don't communicate normally, behavior, thinking, and feelings can be affected. Some possible risk factors are family history (with dementia), head trauma, lower education level, and gender (women are more prone). Alcohol, drug abuse, infections (AID's), cardiovascular disease, and head injuries help in the development of dementia.

There are many disease processes that culminate in the onset of dementia; the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. The syndrome is frequently associated with a progressive decline in brain function and the associated physical and mental abilities, including memory, language and cognitive function.