Alzheimer’s disease can easily be considered one of the most depressing mind ailments someone can have. It affects the individual and the family. One can find example after example of Alzheimer’s disease making their loved one forget their family, forget how to take of themselves, and turning them into a shell of the person they once were. Not only does Alzheimer’s disease hinder an individuals ability to encode new information into their brain, it also deletes memories from the individuals brain, making retrieval not just difficult, but impossible. Alzheimer’s disease seemingly proves that an individual is only as good as their brain processes; without healthy neural activity and connections, synapses, brain matter, or the ability to
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that represents the most common type of dementia in the elderly. The disease is characterised by progressive dementia that inevitably leads to incapacitation and death. The most common and distinctive hallmark lesions present within the disease brain are the senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The amyloid plaques is a major component of the disease, and is constituted mainly by the neurotoxic amyloid-β42, which is a product of the amyloid precursor protein. Mutations on the amyloid precursor protein alters the proteolytic processing, leading to overproduction and accumulation of the neurotoxic amyloid-β42, generating a progressive deposition of protein fragments in amyloid
The disease stem cells could fix is called Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). The reason I chose this topic is because I have seen first hand how badly someone who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease is affected in their daily lives. This disease completely takes over their lives and they turn into a completely different person who can hardly function. AD is very tough on the loved ones of the person suffering from it because that person, most of the time has no idea what is going on or who their loved ones are. The memories for people with AD is completely gone and even the simplest tasks such as remembering to use the bathroom becomes difficult. The way stem cells could be feasible is because stem cell-based therapies could potentially treat
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 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.
Alzheimer’s disease affects the world greatly, and the numbers of victims are growing. Alzheimer’s disease affects everyone affiliated with the sufferer. Alzheimer’s disease devastates the brain and its ability to function. The issue is sensitive, complicated, and is negatively impacting the world. Alzheimer’s disease may not always be fatal, but “Alzheimer’s disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk, and find his or her way home” (“What is Alzheimer’s”). This tragic disease impacts over five million people in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease touches all, and it is essential to understand the basics of Alzheimer’s.
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.
In chapter 15 I found the part on Alzheimer’s disease very informative and interesting. Alzheimer’s and dementia are diseases that I find great interest in. My paternal grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease when he was just over the age of 60. He proceeded to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s induced dementia, and then he later passed away from the disease. My maternal grandfather suffered from a severe stroke about 4 years ago, and is now suffering from stroke induced dementia. Seeing anyone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia of some sort is very sad. I work in an assisted living facility and we have a specialized facility of people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Working with these people on a daily basis
Kevin Arnold once said, “Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, and the things you never want to lose.” Memories are the things hold on to in life. Whether it’s bad or good, memories are engraved in us and as we carry them through our everyday lives they become a part of us. But what if as times goes by, those memories start to disappear? Imagine that the things you held onto for years could no longer be conjured up no matter how hard you tried. Or even worse, you begin to lose your language skills, ability to recognize familiar things and in turn, start to feel paranoid and confused constantly. For those who suffer from Alzheimer’s, as they age they experience a serious deterioration in one’s self.
Have your parents started to forget things or struggle more in daily activities? It’s something we don’t imagine will happen to our parents. We can’t predict if it will happen; although, the older our parents get and if a family member has had the disease, it increases the risk. Alzheimer’s is a disease children don’t think could cause the death of their parents. It’s a disease that’s irreversible, with no treatment to stop the progression, and no cure. Children of aging parents are often unaware of the emotional and physical effects Alzheimer’s can have on their parents, family, and caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America can provide support for all of those confronting Alzheimer’s, which is why it’s important to
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) a neurodegenerative disease that affects memory, thinking and behavior and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Approximately 1 in 4 people that reach the age 80-84 are expected to develop Alzheimer’s, and it is expected to affect 30-40 million people worldwide by the year 2050 (Steele, et. al, 2006). This disease is not a normal part of aging. However, the risk of onset increases with age, as well as underlying inflammatory processes. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease with the most common reported system being difficulty recalling newly learned information. As the disease progresses, an affected individual may experience disorientation, mood changes, behavior changes, confusion, memory loss, suspicion about family and friends, walking difficulty and an inability to carry on a conversation. Simultaneously, the brain of the affected individual develops increasing amounts of plaque (deposits of the protein beta-amyloid that form between neurons) and tangles (twisted fibers called tau that build inside neurons). These deposits interfere with neuron conduction and may lead to neuronal apoptosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive mental deterioration that can happen in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is one form of dementia that gets harmful over time. Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with other diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Scientists believe that Alzheimer’s disease results from genetics, lifestyle, and environmental factors that impact the brain. Alzheimer’s disease damages and kills brain cells and it also leads to brain shrinkage. In the brain tissue there are two types of abnormalities that are considered toward the disease, Plaques and Tangles. Plaques are clumps of proteins that may hurt and destroy brain cells. Tangles are a system that requires the normal structure and functioning of a protein. There are many symptoms when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease. For example, memory, you forget conversations you had, misplace possessions, and eventually will forget the names of everyday objects and family members. Overtime you forget how to speak, write, and think. There are also changes in the personality such as depression, anxiety, mood swings, changes in sleeping habits, and even wandering. There are two drugs that are used to slow down the process of Alzheimer’s since they have not found a cure. The first drug is called Cholinesterase Inhibitors, which is a drug for boosting levels of a cell-to-cell communication. The second drug is called Memantine, which works with another brain
Alzheimer 's disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other vital mental functions. Alzheimer 's disease is the most common cause of dementia, a group of brain disorders that cause the loss of intellectual and social skills. AD can eventually render a person unable to function in society and to even care for themselves. Since the disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States constant research is being done to try to prevent it and to find a cure. Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions and is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer 's disease is the most common cause of dementia — a group of brain disorders that cause the loss of
Alzheimer 's disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting almost 500,000 people in the UK. The term dementia describes a loss of mental ability associated with gradual death of brain cells (NHS, 2013). This essay, provides an overview of Alzheimer’s disease, focusing on the amyloid hypothesis, which states that the accumulation and deposition of fibrillar -amyloid (beta-amyloid) is the primary driver of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline leading to dementia (Tanzi, 2005). Neurodegeneration is the progressive damage of nerve cells (News medical, 2014), and cognitive decline is a situation in which an individual’s ability to process thoughts and learn
Picture this! - being a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, thoroughly respecting the law, working as a public servant and faithfully paying taxes then being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease as a senior only to soon be disheartened by the fact that the Ministry of Health provides the poorest and most deficient of services for persons suffering in similar circumstances. Of course this is a reality for too many local citizens today. When questions such as the one above are asked it stands as an offense to the entire concept of basic humanitarian principles such as benevolence, compassion or basic human kindness. Simple humanitarian principles that one could only hope are regarded upon highly by the various Ministries of the Government. As the title suggests, it is the direct and primary responsibility of the Ministry of Health (of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) to serve the public honourably, within the boundaries of moral criterions by determinedly using effective methods to rectify concerns, issues or dilemmas threatening the health (both mental and physical security) of residents. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that not only encourages chaos in the lives of its helpless victims but also reduces the levels of comfort for caregivers as they would be constantly worrying and concerned about the health of the patient. The Ministry of Health estimates that there are about 10,000 persons affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Trinidad is a land with a rising population of