Overview of Alzheimer's Disease

The Mayo Clinic states that “4 million Americans have Alzheimer 's, at least 200,000 people have the early-onset form of the disease before the age of 65.”

(Bethune, 2010). It affects millions of Americans and is one of the leading cause of death

Alzheimer’s Disease is a common form of dementia that progressively deteriorates one’s brain causing serious memory loss, and eventually, the inability to perform common daily tasks. This disease is also known as “The Mind Robber,” or the “Disease of Forgetfulness.” The unfortunate thing about this disease is that there is no cure. Medicines have been developed to slow the progression of the disease. It has moved up into the rankings on the leading causes of death in America to number six and the number of deaths are increasing. As of 2013, nearly 5 million Americans were suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, most of them over the age of 60.

Most individuals with the disease are age 65 or older. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles about every five years after age 65. After age 85, the risk reaches nearly 50 percent. One of the greatest mysteries of Alzheimer 's disease is why risk rises as dramatically as we grow older.

Alzheimer’s disease could be one of the scariest things an individual could ever have to experience. The sad thing is that there is not much that can be done about this disease at the time; however, researchers are working day and night to either find a cure or come up with better treatments. The most important thing people need to remember is that this is a brain disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, it can be assessed through different technologies, can be somewhat slowed down by medication, and possibly prevented by exercise.

Alzheimer’s can be seen in people, starting at ages 30-60. This subset of the disease, known as “early onset” Alzheimer’s is rare and accounts for less than five percent of the total population of people with Alzheimer’s. The majority of victims develops “late-onset” Alzheimer’s, and falls in the age group of 65 years old or above. ("Alzheimer's Foundation of America.") The proportion of people who are effected

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that gradually destroys brain cells, affecting a person’s memory and their ability to learn, make judgments, communicate and carry out basic daily activities. The disease is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain. It was first described by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1905 (Selkoe, 2016). The average life expectancy of an Alzheimers patient is between five and ten years, but some patients today have live for up to 15 years after the diagnosis due to improvements in care and medical treatments. The cause of Alzheimer 's has not yet been discovered and it also not possible to confirm a person has Alzheimer 's until their autopsy following death (Park, 2016).

As an individual grows older there are many signs of aging, which occur. There are common areas of decline in cognition such as some loss of hearing, vision, and working memory that are considered part of the normal aging process. When these symptoms start to worsen and vastly impair everyday tasks, the consideration of a form of dementia is brought forward. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a brain disease, is the most common type of dementia, and affects majority of people 60 years or older (1,14). It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which only continues to worsen over time. Each individual is affected differently with symptoms and the progression. As of right now there is no cure for it (14).

Some people only live weeks to months after diagnosis and others live twenty plus years, although the average is between four and ten years. The reason the years someone may live is so diverse is due to the complicated nature of diagnosing this disease. Memory loss is a stereotypical sign of ageing so many families delay getting test, especially those with no family history. Once they do get diagnosed could already be in the late stages and they may not live long. On the other hand some people live a very long time with this disease, this is often those with early onset Alzheimer’s. The cause of death for a person with Alzheimer’s can be anything from a urinary tract infection to pneumonia, but is often not Alzheimer’s disease. This occurs because the disease, and the symptoms that come with it, weaken the body and other illnesses and disease attack the immune system with more power than they would have in a healthy body. It is important to treat Alzheimer’s as well as the consequential illness that may

Alzheimer’s is a neurological disease, which causes memory loss, and other cognitive impairment due to the degeneration of the brain. It’s also a progressive disease, since its symptoms develops slowly, and gradually gets worse over time. It usually occurs in three stages, which include early (mild), middle (moderate), and late (severe). In the early stages of this disease, memory loss is most common, whereas in the late stages, it becomes sever enough to affect daily tasks, such as communicating with friends and family. Moreover, Alzheimer’s symptoms include memory loss, delusions, mood swings, etc., thus it causes issues with the individual’s memory, thinking and behavior. Furthermore, an individual diagnosed with Alzheimer’s can live up

Alzheimer’s is not due to old age although advanced age is a risk factor. Scientists believe that special cells in our brains that allow for communication are not working properly in the person with Alzheimer’s. They believe some of these cells are damaged or dead, which causes irreversible damage and contribute to the symptoms seen in Alzheimer. Initial symptoms may be short-term memory loss in the early stage. In the advanced stage, the person may present with increased cognitive difficulties such as reasoning, confusion, agitation and mood swings.

These relate to the age at which the disease first manifests itself. The occasion of early-onset is much lower than that of late-onset. There is a 10% occurrence rate for persons over the age of sixty-five, and a 50% occurrence rate for those over age eighty five. Late-onset Alzheimer's is often confused with senility due to old-age. This also makes diagnosis difficult for older patients. However Alzheimer's is not an inevitable part of the aging process, unlike a certain amount of senility. It can be helped and with new research may be prevented.

Its estimated that about 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s which usually develops after age 60 but can develop at any age before 60 known as Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Everyone who develops Alzheimer’s will experience it differently. The deterioration usually follows a similar path from the beginning through the end. Some experts follow the three-stage model of early stage, moderate stage and severe or the end stage. The Alzheimer’s Association and many healthcare providers follow a seven-stage model to help people better understand the regression as Alzheimer’s progresses through the brain.

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.

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia. It is a devastating brain disease that gradually ruins the patient’s memory, thinking skills and eventually the ability to perform the simplest task of the life. There are two types of Alzheimer’s; early-onset and late onset Alzheimer’s. Early onset is very rare and occurs in people ages 30-60 years. It is caused by mutation on anyone gene on a chromosome inherited from a parent. These mutations cause abnormal proteins to form which disrupts the function of the body. On the other hand, late onset is most commonly found in people ages 60 or above. A mutation on the gene on chromosome 19, which carries