Most people in today’s society, to some degree, are familiar with the crippling illness known as Alzheimer’s disease. Whether you’ve learned about it through television or the internet, or maybe you have a personal experience working with or having a loved one who suffers from this disorder. Alzheimer’s literally is an illness that causes one to forget. No information preserved in the brain is safe from the disease’s effects. Although short term memory seems to be the most commonly destroyed, it is not impossible for long term memory to be affected as well. Ultimately, you will watch a sufferer of Alzheimer’s progressively forget things in their day to day lives and finally succumb to the disease once it deteriorates their brains to the point …show more content…
These physical changes begin to take effect long before the first symptoms appear, which suggests that it could be possible for screenings in the future to be able to detect and begin treatment for Alzheimer’s before it ever manifests symptoms. The two primary happenings that cause damage in the brain are the buildup of plaque and complications with nerve fibers called tangles. While most people develop a small amount of these over time, people with Alzheimer’s tend to develop much more. It is believed that the buildup of plaque and tangles interferes with the neurons’ ability to communicate with one another, and ultimately results in the death of the cells. The plaques, being a buildup of the protein beta-amyloid, gathers in the spaces between neurons while the tangles are a result of a twisting of an internal protein fiber called “tau”. In the end, these processes are the cause of the extreme memory loss and ultimately …show more content…
And it can be heartbreaking to know that there is no cure for it. I for one used to work as a CNA on a geriatric behavioral unit where the majority of my patients were sufferers of Alzheimer’s. To watch these people lose their dignity and live in constant terror is just heartbreaking. Many of them do not know where they are, let alone why they are there. As such, they typically become combative and either try to escape or engage in fights with others. Explaining the situation to them is futile as they are often incapable of understanding you. Most people, from what I’ve seen, who do not know why or where they are, will manufacture an explanation to explain it. They will refuse to accept any information you provide to the contrary, regardless of evidence. The best you can do for these people is try to comfort them and isolate them if necessary. Sometimes they require medication in order to calm down. But the best that medication can currently hope to do is prolong the inevitable. I once had a patient who would wake up every day with the mentality of a child and she would cry for her mother to come pick her up much of the time she spent awake. No one had the heart to tell her that she was almost 80 years old and her mother had been dead for decades. It was situations like that, that made me decide to work on a medical/surgical floor. It might be selfish, but I want to work with patients who I can actually help and
When it comes to Alzheimer’s, I know firsthand how it affects individuals and their families. My great grandfather had Alzheimer’s for many years before his passing late last year, at age 92. Alzheimer’s is a disease that many individuals suffer with each year, but yet with all the advancements in modern medicine we still have no cure for it. There are different ways to conquer this disease, understanding the causes, knowing effects, and researching possible treatments.
Did you know “1 in 3 seniors die with Alzheimer's or another form of Dementia and every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the disease” said by the Alzheimer’s
Neurodegenerative disorders are conditions or diseases that affect neurons in the brain. There are no cures for neurodegenerative disorders, causing patients to suffer from symptoms that negatively affecting both their physical and cognitive abilities.
Alzheimer’s is a neurological brain disease that makes a person suffer in their late term of life. Alzheimer’s has two variants, early onset and late onset and they are both triggered by different genes. 95% of Alzheimer’s is in the form of late onset NIH. (2013, May 1). There are between 2.4 and 4.5 million Americans affected by Alzheimer’s today. Throughout a person’s life, the risk increases with age. There are differences between the late and early variants of Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes complications with memory, thinking, and behavior. Long before any signs of memory loss, there a microscopic changes occurring in the brain, altering its functionality (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016). The brain has billions of nerve cells that work together, and when one portion of the brains neurons are malfunctioning it leads to breakdowns in other parts of the brain. The two most noted abnormal structures that are suspected to damage and kill neurons in the brain in patients with Alzheimer’s are plaques and tangles. Plaques are deposits of a proteins fragment called beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between nerve cells; and tangles are twisted fibers of another protein called tau that build up inside cells (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016).
What is Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys a persons’ memory and other important mental functions. Which means that sooner or later a person with the disease may forget important people in their lives as well as suffer personality changes.
Alzheimer 's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain 's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes. These neurons, which produce the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die. For example, short-term memory fails when Alzheimer 's disease first destroys nerve cells in the hippocampus, and language skills and judgment decline when neurons die in the cerebral cortex. Two types of abnormal lesions clog the brains of individuals with Alzheimer 's disease: Beta-amyloid plaques—sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons; and neurofibrillary tangles—insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells. Although these structures are hallmarks of the disease, scientists are unclear whether they cause it or a byproduct of it. Origin of the term
Alzheimer’s is a disease that is irreversible, it is considered progressive and it slowly destroys the memory and thinking skills. It will eventually prevent the person carrying out the easiest tasks. Alzheimer’s is considered one of the leading cause of dementia in older adults. When an individual has dementia they will lose cognitive functioning and have behavioral issues which can interfere in a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia can at first be mild (when it is just starting to happen) up to the severe stage, when the individual must depend on other’s to help them with all their basic needs.
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 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 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 develop slowly, and gradually get 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 severe 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 disease is irreversible. Developing Alzheimer’s is a very serious condition. There are some common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but everyone shows different symptoms. People can experience the symptoms at different times. The symptoms can differ depending on the person and some symptoms may be treated more successfully in some people rather than others. It is a progressive disease which means that over time, more parts of the brain get damaged. More symptoms develop at the same time. It progresses from mild, moderate to severe degeneration of the brain. It destroys brain cells. The mild stage lasts 2 to 4 years and it involves slight memory loss with recent conversations and events. Moderate lasts 2 to 10 years and it is a visible
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Currently, there is no cure. However, there are many clinical trials being done to find a way to slow down, or even cure, this disease.
Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease show two types of abnormal lesions that clog their brain: Beta-amyloid plaques—sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons; and neurofibrillary tangles—insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells. However scientists are unclear whether these lesions actually cause the disease or if they are just a byproduct of the disease. (Mayo Clinic, 2014) Some early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease include memory loss that interrupts daily life, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with speaking or writing, withdrawal from work or social activities, and changes in mood and personality.
Parkinson Disease is change in the region that affects the brain which deals with the key point of movement. With the changes in Parkinson disease it gradually spread and then affect the mental functions such as memory, the ability to pay attention and make sound judgements. Dementia is an abnormal microscopic deposit composed chiefly of alpha-synuclein. Dementia is a protein that’s found widely in the brain research haven’t found their normal function yet. Lewy bodies is a deposit that are found in several other brain disorders. Expert are saying that Parkinson’s disease may be linked to the same underlying