Narrative About Alzheimer's Life

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning

Alzheimer’s Disease is a disease of the future. With the growing aged population, this disease, which affects primarily the elderly, will become of increasing relevance to the medical profession. Also, the high frequency of Alzheimer’s, and the high cost in labor, money, and material of caring for its victims shall put considerable burden on the society as a whole. Here, however, these issues are not going to be debated. Instead the pathology of Alzheimer’s will be reviewed to the extent it is known today.

The nervous system is a multiplexed body system that controls most other body systems directly or indirectly by sending and receiving signals through a complex system of nerves. As a whole, the nervous system can be broken down into the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The CNS is composed of the brain and spinal cord while the PNS is composed of peripheral nerves that branch off of the spinal cord and continue to branch to reach the most distal points of the limbs. The PNS can be further broken down into the afferent and efferent division. The afferent division deals with information brought to the CNS from the nerve receptors. Furthermore, the afferent division breaks down into somatic sensory receptors whose

Alzheimer’s disease or AD is an incurable disorder of the brain that results in loss of normal brain structure and function. In an AD brain, normal brain tissue is slowly replaced by structures called plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The plaques represent a naturally occurring sticky protein called beta amyloid and in an Alzheimer’s brain, sufferer’s tend to accumulate too much of this protein. Neurofibrillary tangles represent collapsed tau proteins which, in a normal brain along with microtubules, form a skeleton that maintains the shape of the nerve cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins break loose from their normal location and form tangles. Without the support of these molecules, nerve cells collapse and die. As normal

A lecture which is called “From Diary to Graphic Memoir, How and Why I Wrote Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me” was held by Hiram College’s Center for Literature and Medicine on November 3rd. I was just curious about that lecture because I have read a novel about Alzheimer and I like books. A speaker, Sarah Leavitt is a writer and cartoonist, and teaches Creative Writing at University of British Columbia.

This study evaluated how people with Alzheimer’s disease present their life story. The authors utilized a narrative design using interviews as their basis for researching the importance in developing the knowledge about how people with Alzheimer’s disease present their life story, since life story work is believed to be a key concept in person-centered care according to these authors. A total of nine (9) participants (5 women and 4 men), aged 60-81 years were recruited via a geriatric clinic, healthcare center or by advertisement in local newspapers. All data collection, through interviews, was conducted in the patient’s home. Participants were asked questions pertaining to the following areas of their life: childhood, adult life, occupations,

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive degenerative disorder of insidious onset, characterized by memory loss, confusion, and a variety of cognitive disabilities. It is the major cause of dementia in the elderly and is characterized by the presence of neuropathologic lesions including: neurofibrillary tangles in the neuronal perikarya and in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and neocortex, nucleus basalis of Meynert, and periaqueductal gray. Neuritic (senile) plaques often with a central or core deposition of amyloid within the plaque and in some cases with amyloid infiltration of blood vessel walls (amyloid angiopathy) and the adjacent perivascular neuropil; loss of neurons,

People with Alzheimer’s disease have impaired abilities due to the destruction of nerve cells in the brain (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2011). Alzheimer’s disease is a “degenerative brain disease of unknown cause that is the most common form of dementia, that results in progressive memory loss, impaired thinking, disorientation, and changes in personality and mood, that leads in advanced cases to a profound decline in cognitive and physical functioning” (Merium-Webster dictionary). Alzheimer’s typically occurs in the geriatric population and affects an estimated one in eight people over the age of sixty-four (Arbesman & Lieberman, 2011). Occupational therapy practitioners can help individuals who are diagnosed with this

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, terminal, degenerative brain disease. It is the fourth leading cause of death in adults and currently affects over four million people in the United States. This number is expected to increase over the next several years as the baby boomers age, until it reaches fourteen million by the year 2025.

Alzheimer’s disease is the disease of the century. This disease is affecting many lives, families, and caregivers. This research presented is to help educate on the topic of Alzheimer’s disease, which many people aren’t aware enough about. Statistics are given to show how extreme this disease is, and how many people it’s affecting in society. Also statistics are presented that give the amount of money being spent relating to Alzheimer’s disease. This research explains the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. Also giving advice and strategies to help caregivers manage and support their loved one if they are struck with this disease. Not much is known for sure on what causes this disease, so

According to the National Institute on Aging’s recently revised criteria for dementia, impaired language functions, including difficulties in speaking, reading and writing are among the core clinical criteria of Alzheimer’s disease (AD; McKhann et al. 2011). During the early/mild clinical stage of AD, individuals exhibit subtle word finding problems, and difficulty using and understanding complex language forms such as idioms, figurative forms, metaphors and similes, and sarcasm (Bayles 1982, Bayles et al. 1992, Kempler et al. 1988). In the middle/moderate clinical stage of AD, individuals demonstrate pronounced word-finding problems to express feelings/intent or to express unmet needs such as their spoken, written and gestural outputs are

With the baby boom generation growing old, dementia is expected to spike to an all time high. It is a disease that has no cure. Individuals immediately begin to feel helpless. Dementia is the loss of intellectual and social abilities severe enough to interfere with daily functioning (What is Dementia pg. 46). The Topic of dementia possesses a multitude of causes, which negatively impact the victim, his or her family, and the society in which the victim lives in; therefore, no treatments or solutions are provided for the victim to lessen that impact on the future of his or her life.

     Alzheimer’s disease is relentlessly destroying the brains and lives of our nation’s older adults, robbing them of memory, the ability to reason, and affecting their emotions and behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain. The longer we live the greater the risk: one out of every two Americans aged 85 and older and one out of every 10 aged 65 and older are afflicted with the disease. It affects two groups of people: those with the disease and the loved ones who care for them. By the year 2050, an estimated 14 million Americans will be in its grip.

     Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that causes a steady decline in memory. This results in dementia, which is loss of intellectual functions severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting ten percent of people over 65 years old, and nearly 50 percent of those age 85 or older. My grandmother was diagnosed with “probable” Alzheimer’s disease over two years ago.