Exploring Aspects of the Alzheimer’s Disease Essay

Alzheimer’s disease is named after a German doctor, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer became aware of changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual

Persons with Alzheimer’s have communication problems. At first, it is hard to find the right words. As it progress the person speaks in short sentences or in words. Often speech is not understandable. The person screams to communicate. It is common in persons who are very confused and have poor communication skills. The person may scream a word or a name. Or the person just makes screaming sounds. Possible causes include hearing and vision problems, pain or discomfort, fear and fatigue. Too much or not enough stimulation is another cause. The person may react to a caregiver or family member by

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, the word strikes fear in some and an off-handed glance in others. The fact still remains that Alzheimer’s is an extremely shattering disease that removes the mind fraction by fraction over a period of time, this could even take decades. It begins as small memory lapses, slowly progressing to memory breaches but then progressively eroding your life to the point where around-the-clock care is the only option. With severe Alzheimer's, as we almost hear daily that patients have wandered off and gotten lost. In my own life, my grandfather was not even able to recognize his family members. Alzheimer's was a little known disease before 1960, but today it threatens to completely derail the health system in the United States.

Alzheimer’s and other dementias are impacting our communities on every level—that is why it is important to work together. Our Chapter’s quest to reach individuals living with the disease, family caregivers, members of the community and health care professionals continues to grow each year as we expand our reach through the hard work of our staff, volunteers and community partners. As we highlight the work of our programs and services throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire this year, we also encourage you to learn more by visiting us at alz.org/MANH.

Alzheimer’s disease usually affects geriatrics that is nearing the age of 60, but there are sometimes rare cases of early-onset Alzheimer’s occurring around the age of 30. Early-onset Alzheimer’s identifies less than 5 percent of all the people who have Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center). According to WebMD (2014), late-onset is the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease that victimizes almost half of all of the people over the age of 65 and may or may not be hereditary.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that greatly affects people with memory loss and is common in the middle and old age group. Since it is a disease that can not be cured, many people want to gain more insight on how to help people with Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects them. This can be taught through a countless number of genres. Today, the two genres that look at the topic of Alzheimer’s disease are care manuals and autobiographies. Even though both genres discuss the topic of Alzheimer’s, autobiographies are more subjective because they contain more personal content while care manuals are more objective since they contain factual information despite the fact that it appeals to pathos in some

There are few people who do not worry about getting AD as they get older. Indeed, the incidence of AD increases with each successive year of life after age 60. Currently, scientists estimate that “4.5 million people have AD in America alone and 22 million worldwide” (Willett 63). The disease affects about “five percent of people ages 65 to 74 and nearly half the population of people 85 and older” (“Alzheimer” 1). Disturbingly, the disease is becoming even more common. Statistics now show that the number of people with the disease doubles every five years among older people. Using this as a rule, Dr. Robert Katzman of the University of California “estimates the total could be 45 million worldwide by 2050” (qted in Willett 13).

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. “Its onset is generally insidious, with gradual deterioration of cognitive function, eventually resulting death.” (Falvo, D. 2009, pg. 226). Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia among people age 65 and older. “Nearly 70 percentages of all dementias are Alzheimer’s, and over 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s.”(www.alz.org). This disease is not just a disease that happens to older people, but there is a small percentage that can also affect those in their 30s.

By reading all of these startling facts one may wonder what causes such a horrible disease. In the year of 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the man in which the disease is named after, conducted an autopsy on a woman who died from an unusual mental illness. His findings showed changes in the women's brain tissues. He found abnormal deposits, now called senile plaques, and tangled bundles of nerve fibers, now called

In 2009, my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to this determination, my family and I had simply attributed it to the forgetfulness of old age. However, as my grandfather began to ask the same questions within a matter of minutes, we knew there was a deeper issue. After my mother had to stay on the phone to help him navigate previously familiar roads, she took him to the doctor. Years went by and his cognizance and memory began to deteriorate even further. Upon the death of my maternal grandmother, he moved in with my family due to his inability to live alone. My grandfather required constant supervision and monitoring at all waking hours. These circumstances exposed us even further to this disease as we realized the

“Increasing age is the greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Your risk increases greatly after you reach the age of 65. Nearly half of those older than 85 have Alzheimer’s disease” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). “Sex is a risk factor because women may be more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease, because women live longer” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). “Family history and genetics are a risk factor for getting the disease because your risk of developing Alzheimer’s appears to be somewhat higher if a first-degree relative, for example, your parent or sibling, has the disease” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). The final risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease is past head trauma. “People who’ve had a severe head trauma or repeated head trauma appear to have a greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease” (Mayo Clinic, 2014). “In US, the Alzheimer's disease is the 6th leading cause of death overall and among those aged 65 and above, it is the 5th leading cause of death. While the deaths from major diseases, like heart disease have decreased, the death due to Alzheimer's has increased by more than 60 percent between 2000 and 2012. The total number of patients having Alzheimer's disease was 5.4 million in 2012. Out of this, the people aged 65 and above accounted for 5.2 million and at least 200,000 patients were younger than 65 with early-onset of Alzheimer's. It has been observed that almost 1 in 8 people coming under the 65 age group are patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Amongst the population in the 80 age group, almost 45 percent have been detected with Alzheimer’s disease” (M2 Press Wire,

Problems with language. Everyone has trouble finding the right word sometimes, but a person with Alzheimer's disease may forget simple words or substitute inappropriate words, making his or her sentences difficult to understand.

In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer recognized a change in a fifty-year-old woman’s brain tissue post mortem now known as Alzheimer’s disease. Today, Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent form of dementia affecting about 5.3 million people in the United States (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2015). This disease gradually destroys memory and thinking skills, eventually preventing the ability of simple tasks to be performed. In this research paper I will first discuss my personal reason for researching this topic and give a description of Alzheimer’s disease. I will also go through the history and important demographics behind this disease and describe three purposed hypothesis behind the cause of Alzheimer’s. Next I will describe the various symptoms

Alzheimer’s disease is known for “ robbing the patient's state of awareness” which happens in the older years (Willet 8). As life expectancy has increased, the disease primarily affects one in five people aged 75 to 84 which might seem like a small percentage but the number of cases has doubled over the past decade. Alzheimer’s is difficult to diagnose because there is no test to confirm whether the patient has the disease or not. Although plaque is the most dangerous type of the disease, dementia is a side effect that causes the patient to appear to be in a normal state of mind but it is more likely that a stroke or any other type of brain injury will occur that will cause death.Most people believe that the cause of death for someone over