Subject Identification And Enrollment For Alzheimer 's Disease

In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).

c) Age-related cognitive impairment (or mild cognitive impairment MCI) – is when an elderly person’s memory starts to wane and they have problems recalling their short term memories, they have difficulty learning new things, their thinking process starts to become reduced and have difficulty concentrating. It is thought that MCI can develop due to alcohol abuse and cognitive decline (poor diet, chronic inflammation, vascular disease and

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

Certain qualities are consistently observed in the Alzheimer’s victim. These dysfunction’s, though, are not exclusive to Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, declaring Alzheimer’s by these parameters is a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Characteristic dysfunction’s have been noted in Alzheimer’s victims, but the degree and severity of these varies from patient to patient. Thus, evaluation of the patient’s mental status must be made based on the sum, rather than a single characteristic. Memory is one of the first noticed deficiencies, beginning typically with the recent and short term memory, and progressing from there as the disease grows more severe. In addition, deterioration in language skills, attention span, praxis (performance of an action), and visuospatial skills are commonly seen. Also observed are changes in the actions and personality of the Alzheimer’s victim. These include changes in mood, motor activities, activities of daily living, socialization skills, psychotic disturbances, vegetative symptomology, and rise in anxiety levels. Again, the

As people get old a few of them will experience changes in cognition with age related capacity rather than intellectual capacity. There are some people who get both disparities of mentally and physically impaired that will led into depression due to aging process of their body. Even though, the forgetfulness is a common among older adults, we as healthcare providers must evaluate altered mental status of the patients. “The evaluation and management of altered mental status are broad and require careful history and physical examination to eliminate life-threatening situations”(Patti & Dulebohn, 2017). Therefore, it is very important to recognize the importance of difference between normal age-related symptoms and developing new health problems that can arise in this specific population. As elders get older their memory lapses it frustrating to them leading them to be more worried about changes in their memory. Nurses have a unique capability to promote a cognitive health and determine the possibilities of potential cases of the impairment in elders. The movie “On Golden Pond” Mr. Norman was a perfect example and showed that his symptoms were interfering with his everyday live when he almost burns down the house with fire, calling Bill by his daughter’s name Chelsea and getting lost in on the lake. Even though, Mr. Norman had heart and dementia problems his wife never discouraged him to do what he liked such as

An estimated 47.5 million people suffer from dementia. Every 4 seconds one new case of dementia is diagnosed. Dementia is a term that describes certain symptoms such as impairment to memory, communication and thinking. It is a group of symptoms and not just one illness. Even though one‘s chance of getting dementia increase with age, it is not a part of aging. Dementia is usually diagnosed after a series of assessments that includes a physical evaluation, memory tests, imaging studies and blood work. It affects three aspects of one’s mental function, cognitive dysfunction (Problems with memory, language, thinking and problem solving), psychiatric behavior (changes in personality, emotional control, social behavior and delusions) and difficulties with daily living activities (driving, shopping, eating and dressing). “The median survival time in women is 4.6 years and in men 4.1 years” (Warren, 2016).

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 8 (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death, affecting more than five million people in the United States and is also one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia can be defined as a disorder of progressive cognitive impairment severe enough to affect daily functions of an individual’s life (Fillit, et al., 2002).

Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).

This stage of AD is characterized by memory, thinking and behavioral symptoms that dramatically impair an individual ability to function normally. These symptoms are caused by AD related brain changes and affect an individual’s ability to perform everyday tasks (cite).

Significance: In the elderly, depression (DEP) and cognitive impairment (CI) are the most common neuropsychiatric disorders; DEP in the presence of CI (DEP-CI) predicts a higher rate of conversion to dementia compared to CI alone.1-3 The neuropathology of CI in late-life is often a mixture

Dementia is characterized as a condition where the mental processes of cognition and memory start to deteriorate. It is described as a syndrome that hinders the daily lives of those who have it and is characterized by memory and thinking impairment. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease and the second most common is vascular dementia. Dementia is a syndrome occurring usually, but not limited, to people over the age of 40 and is due to brain damage caused by natural deteriorating, stroke or can be brought on by factors such as excessive drinking or drug abuse. Dementia is best cared for in its early stages and, therefore, an early diagnosis is essential. Recognizing the symptoms by both the dementia patient and the

Older people have a lower working capacity than younger adults. Working memory and functional skills can determine cognitive intervention during the stages of AD. Working memory allows manipulation of available information that relies on brain systems. MCI is when a younger adult experience on-going memory loss that results in progression to AD. Therefore they took tests to see what causes AD to try to prevent these defects from happening to people when they get older. I believe the more you exercise physically, and mentally are the best ways to prevent AD. Some people could be in the best shape ever and still develop AD because of inheritance. People tend to have so many activities going on in their lives that they tend to forget a lot of things. For example, I go to school, work two jobs, just bought a house, have a one year old child, pay the bills, make sure me and my son go to every appointment, things that take a toll on me to where if I don’t write what I have to do on my calendar I will forget in a blink of an eye. There is no way to stop AD or MCI but there is always ways to slow them

As previously discussed, the cause of AD is not well understood, which makes the diagnosis of AD more difficult as there is not one biological marker (Atchison & Dirette, 2012). AD is diagnosed by eliminating other conditions that display similar symptoms, such as Parkinson’s disease or cardiovascular disease (Atchison & Dirette, 2012). Once other conditions are ruled out, diagnostic tools such as magnetic resonance volumetry, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion-tensor imaging, cerebrospinal fluid assays, positron emission tomography, and electroencephalography can be used to detect some of the brain abnormalities that are characteristic of AD (Atchison & Dirette, 2012). These diagnostic tools are not always the most accurate, and there is not a demand for better diagnostic tools due to the lack of effective treatment options following an AD diagnosis (Atchison & Dirette, 2012).

In the next stages of AD, more genitive damage is evident as well as problems with expression, emotion, language, and reasoning. In the middle stages of AD patients have trouble identifying people they know, they are unable to learn new things, and they are very uninhibited. The final stages are significantly different form the beginning and middle stages. In the final stage a person’s body begins to

 Neuropsychological testing, which is necessary for the examination of memory and other cognitive functions such as attention, learning and visuospatial skills. Also, are checked possible disruptions in the activities of daily living. The most common neuropsychological examination which is used is the examination MMSE ( Mini Mental State Examination) which examines with a simple and fast way the orientation, attention, the language and the ability to monitor and applying simple written and verbal instructions. Other examinations are the CDR ( Clinical Dementia Rate) and GDS (Global Deterioration Scale), which are used for the differential diagnosis of AD from other dementias.