Side Effects Of Dementia

This assignment will explore the effect of the long term condition dementia. It will focus on a service user who has recently been admitted onto an assessment ward and their family. It will explore the nurse’s role and how they will support and manage the patient’s illness. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2015) state that individual’s rights to confidentiality must be respected at all times, therefore all names mentioned in this assignment have been changed to maintain confidentiality.

This assignment is going to outline possible effects of dementia on an individual’s health and quality of life. There are many different factors that having dementia will effect. As stated above some will affect the health of the person and others will affect the quality of life that the person will have.

Working in a hospital setting predominantly with older people, I have encountered many who have been diagnosed with dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe the symptoms caused by certain diseases or conditions of the brain of which there are two main types; Alzheimer’s disease and Multi Infarct dementia more commonly known as Vascular dementia. Dementia is caused by the death of nerve cells in the brain which cannot be replaced which means that dementia is a progressive condition that gets worse over time and cannot be reversed. It is also a long term condition because it takes months or even years to progress and there is no actual cure. (Alzheimer’s Society 2014) This degenerative condition is more common in older people, however,

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with relentlessly progressive losses in cognition, memory, and language. According to research by Herbert, Weuve, Sherr, and Evans (2013), 5.3 million people are affected by AD, and that number is expected to almost triple by the middle of the century. As cognitive decline progresses, independence and the ability to perform self-care is lost as caregivers must assume this considerable burden. Given the prevalence of AD, its devastating pathology, and its impact on loved ones and caregivers, the social impact of this disease cannot be overstated.

Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms caused by disorders of the brain, and is not an official name for a disorder. The DSM-5 instead classifies all disorders whose symptoms are Dementia as Major Neurocognitive Disorders (NCDs). There is a specific NCD that can be traced back to a malfunction within the nerve cells that causes proteins to aggregate and develop Lewy Bodies. This NCD, known hereafter as NCDLB, causes Dementia to develop. It is the second most common form of Dementia (Sue et. al.).

The early signs of a progressive dementia often bring discord to families, because siblings disagree on what is really wrong and chalk up the changes they are seeing to depression, boredom, a recent illness or even “allergies”. One of the family members usually suspects something like “Alzheimer’s” but the other disagree thus diagnosis is delayed.

Alzheimer’s disease has long been considered as a irremediable illness for old people. According to the data collected by Alzheimer 's Association(2016), the overall 5.4 million American suffers from Alzheimer 's disease, and this population is growing in a certain rate for majority of this population aged 65 and up. Identify possible Alzheimer’s symptom could be rather difficult because people are lack of the awareness of their implicit illness, which later contribute to the Alzheimer 's disease. Also, to maintain a current Alzheimer 's patient is struggle for a single family. However, recently, a research conducted by University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of California-San Francisco reported that though the cause of Alzheimer disease remains unknown, Care giving treatment is effective and low-cost than people expecting on slow down the memory loss and the recession in their ability to take care of themselves (Liesveld, J. &Tribune, F., 2016). Despite of the growing population, many prospective methods are now going under experiments and practices. Following their mission to improve the condition of AD patients, formed on April 10, 1980, Alzheimer 's Association not only improve the technology and making the treatment accessible for all AD patients, but also enhance the importance of daily care for the them. Supported by many Alzheimer 's families, scientists are now approaching several safe options for AD patients and their relatives. This research paper

My basic knowledge of Alzheimer’s and dementia comes from my work experience and from my classes. I’ve also attended many educational Alzheimer’s seminars, and I know that maintaining a healthy diet, exercising, avoiding mind-alternating drugs, and sleeping more all help in preventing or delaying Alzheimer’s.

Dementia is a debilitating disease that slowly destroys the mind from within, slowly destroying people's memories, movement and cognitive ability until taking the person's life. With a steady decline from two to three years and a more aggressive decline from three year to five years where it enters its final stage, normally resulting in death (Willis, Tennstedt, Marsiske, Ball, Elias, Koepkem, Morris, Rebok, Unverzagt, Stoddard & Wright, 2006). However while currently there is no cure for Dementia, during the two to three year span the disease can be delayed and symptoms can be minimised through a form of treatment (Willis et al., 2006;Gates, Sachdev, Singh & Valenzuela, 2011). Known as Cognitive training, defined as the targeting of specific areas of cognitive function through specific techniques to help delay the symptoms of Dementia (Jean, Bergeron, Tbivirge & Simard, 2010).

Alzheimer 's disease is a severe illness that affects the brain and leads to gradual memory loss, reduced intellectual ability and deterioration function of thinking. Alzheimer 's disease (AD), the most common type of dementia, is a progressive neurological disorder that increasingly robs individuals of cognitive, behavioral, and functional skills (Demakis, 2007). The reason for the appearance this disease is a collection of disorders in the brain due to which its cells are dying partially. In the case of the early stage of Alzheimer disease when the disease is not carried out the appropriate treatment mental functions are destroyed completely. The disease is diagnosed mainly in elderly people. The symptoms of Alzheimer 's disease, were first isolated by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, is one of the most common forms of dementia. “As is well known, Alzheimer first described the disease that would eventually be named for him at a meeting of the South West German Psychiatrists in Tubingen in 1906. It was a brief report of the case of a 51year old woman who developed progressive dementia, accompanied by focal signs, hallucinations and delusions. On post-mortem, her brain was found to contain numerous senile plaques and a newly observed pathological structure – densely twisted bundles of neurofibrils, or neurofibrillary tangles, which were made visible to microscopic observation through a newly developed silver-staining technique.” (Perry, G. et. all, 2006). Typically, the

Be physically and socially active. Physical activity and social interaction might delay the onset of dementia and reduce its symptoms. Move more and aim for 150 minutes of exercise a week.

Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s there are ways to treat this disease. Certain medications may help lessen the symptoms, such as memory loss and confusion but only for a limited amount of time. The Food and Drug Administration have approved the following types of medications: cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine, both of these medications treat the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer 's disease. (Office)

Medications have been helpful for patients that are experiencing Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Mayo Clinic staff ( n.d), “Memantine and Cholinesterase inhibitors” are types

Alzheimer’s is a chronic disease that as of 2017 does not have a cure, but there are certain treatment options that can help to reduce one’s AD symptoms. There are drug and non-drug treatments that assist in memory loss, treatment in behavioral changes, treatment for sleep changes, and self care (16).

Past treatments included treating some of the symptoms because there was no known cure. Medication to treat depression and memory loss were able to help some of the symptoms, but some had seen cognitive effects because of this. * There are signs and symptoms that accompany Alzheimer’s disease. With memory loss, there are certain things to distinguish between normal memory loss and early onset of Alzheimer’s. Everyone can have lapses in memory however, repeated statements and questions (without knowing that you are doing it), forget conversation, appointments, events, and not remember them later, putting objects in illogical places, forgetting names of family members and everyday objects are some of the warning signs of Alzheimer’s. When it comes to interacting with others, disorientation can also increase. Forgetting what day it is, what’s going on in your personal life, what season it is, are examples of the disorientation that can happen. This can lead to someone getting lost in familiar places, and difficult to understand the surroundings. Speaking, writing, thinking, making judgments, can also suffer because Alzheimer’s can prohibit the brain from concentrating to make full sentences, recognize and deal with numbers, or even solve everyday problems. A person’s personality can also change. Because of the brain not making the connections it needs to maintain healthy memory,