Familial Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a group of diseases that may cause the brain to fail. The most common one is Alzheimer’s followed closely behind by Parkinson’s. Alzheimer’s was discovered in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who discovered changes in the brain of a woman who died of an unusual mental. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. Doctor’s now look at brain scans to see abnormal changes in the brain. Doctors may ask questions both to the patient and a family member of the patient, such as, over-all health, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality. They also might conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the nerve cells, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and skills, and behavioral changes (America, 2014). This disease now has a huge impact on my own life, and the lives of those who are closest to me. Around the age of 67, my grandma started forgetting things periodically. I can remember her saying, “Where did I put those keys?” “I just had them.” People did not think much of it; they just figured that she was getting older. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Now, three years later, she is living a much different and confusing life then she had in the past. Her independence is fading and she must have someone with her most, if not all of the time. The once independent woman is so lost yet at the same time she doesn’t really realize it. Luckily, the progression is not happening as fast as they thought it could. She definitely has her days, and some are just better than others for her. She does not remember those who weren’t close to her. She does not even recognize acquaintances. Through out her life, she had good health. Besides the usual cold and flu, my mother said that she doesn’t remember her having any other major health issues. Now, with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, her health has seemed to decline with the passing years. Yes, she is aging, but it seems to be more than that. The fact that she no longer takes good care of herself has a lot to do with it.

Alzheimer’s is a disease in the brain that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia and is common in adults older than 65. More than five million Americans are being affected by Alzheimer’s at this moment. Alzheimer’s comes in three stages; early, middle, and advanced. The disease is caused by the shrinking of the brain due to many risk factors and genetics.

The first of the two types of the disease, Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, is much more rare than its counterpart. Less than five percent of all people living with Alzheimer’s disease have this version. The demographic which it affects is between the ages of thirty and sixty. As this is a genetic disease, this version of

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.

Familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) is a rare form of Alzheimer's that is entirely passed down through family, being inherited from a parent. FAD accounts for between 2-3% of all cases of Alzheimer's and usually has a much earlier onset than other types of Alzheimer's, with symptoms developing in their 30s or 40s.

Early-onset alzheimer's disease happens to people under the age of 65 years old. Often, this happens to people in their 40’s and 50’s. Only 5% of patients with alzheimer's have early-onset alzheimer’s. Late-onset alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of this disease. The late-onset alzheimer’s disease happens to patients over the age 65 years old. Lastly, familial alzheimer’s disease is a form of alzheimer’s disease that some doctors know it is linked to genes. FAD makes up less than 1% of all cases of Alzheimer’s. Most patients who have early-onset Alzheimer’s have familial alzheimer’s

First, who is affected. Alzheimer’s disease is common in individuals older than 65 years of age. About 1 out of every 8 people who are 65 years of age or older have the disease. If that number is not staggering enough, nearly half the people 85 years old and up are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. According to previously stated website Family Doctor, Alzheimer’s, however, can also occur in people who are younger than 65 years of age. This is known as early onset Alzheimer’s. Early onset Alzheimer’s is not very common as stated in by Alzheimer’s Fact Sheets February 27th, 2017 article, “which represents less than 5 percent of all people with

Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that causes memory loss, thinking, and behavioral issues. Nearly 5.4 million American’s are affected by Alzheimer’s. People who are affected begin with early-onset Alzheimer’s. One will experience symptoms such as confusion, mild memory loss, and speaking issues. The inheritance pattern of early-onset Alzheimer’s is autosomal dominant inheritance. This means that if you inherit the abnormal Alzheimer’s gene from a parent, you are likely to get the disease. Even though Alzheimer’s is a somewhat common disorder, the inheritance pattern of late-onset Alzheimer’s is still unknown. Although, scientists believe genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors play a role in a person’s risk for developing the disease.

Hereditary Disorder In many cases Early Onset Alzheimer 's Disease appears to be linked with a genetic defect on chromosome 14. This link is not connected with late starting type of Alzheimer 's.

The alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging and only up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. This disease doesn’t have a cure, but there are treatments for symptoms available and research still continues to find the answer to cure this bad disease. Also, an interesting fact is that ninety percent of what we know about Alzheimer's has been discovered in the last 15 years. Lastly, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown but scientists do know that Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging and the majority of people with this disease are sixty-five or older. Although it is most common in the elderly, up to five percent of Alzheimer’s patients are in the mid to late thirties and forties. Scientists also believe that Alzheimer’s disease is a result from someone’s environment, lifestyle, and certain genetic factors that affect the brain in abnormal ways over time. There are no definitive causes of the disease yet but it has a very clear effect of the brain. A person that has Alzheimer’s, their

According to Mayo Clinic’s December 30, 2017 article titled Alzheimer’s disease – symptoms and causes, genetic factors such as your family history, having Down’s syndrome, or even your gender can create a risk for Alzheimer’s disease. 1. Genetic mutations

With many types of diseases to talk about Alzheimer’s is the most talked disease. What is Alzheimer’s? It’s the worst type of dementia, which is a disorder of the mental state caused by brain disease or injury and usually causes insanity, derangement, or other mental illnesses. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, an average of 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases have been Alzheimer’s. Age in this disease has no factor even though it’s thought to be the greatest risk at age 65. Alzheimer’s gradually gets worse as it progressives throughout the brain, it gets worse over the years. Recent research has proved that in the early stages of Alzheimer the symptoms are usually mild memory loss, which is very common to most humans. Late stages of Alzheimer is not able to carry on a

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.