In medicine, an early diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. With today’s advancements in technology, early diagnosis is becoming a real possibility for many diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Worldwide it is estimated that 24 million people have dementia, the majority of these people are thought to have Alzheimer’s disease. (Mayo Clinic, 2014) According to Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) (2015) Alzheimer’s disease is among the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. Affecting 5.1 million Americans. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging, but the risk of developing this disease increases with age. One of the best tools for diagnosing Alzheimer’s is magnetic resonance imaging …show more content…
¬ In Alzheimer’s disease, the brain cells actually degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function.
When a person has Alzheimer’s disease the cortex will shrivel up, this causes problems with thinking, planning, and remembering.
The hippocampus of the brain will also shrink, which is the part of the brain that helps form new memories; an Alzheimer’s patient’s brain will also have enlarged ventricles.
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.
Alzheimer’s disease dates back to 1906; a German physician named Dr. Alois Alzheimer, presented a case about a 51 year old woman who had suffered
Alzheimer 's disease (AD) was discovered by a German doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he found amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the autopsy of a woman who died of an unknown mental disease. The extracellular amyloid plaque deposits, composed of insoluble amyloid-Beta peptide were hypothesized to be the main etiological factor. “The most important abnormality is an excess of Amyloid-beta peptides brought about through either overproduction or failure in degradation.” (Uzun, Kozumplik, & Folnegović-Smalc, 2011) Later, it was discovered that intracellular neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyper-phosphorylated, helically-paired tau
Alzheimer’s disease named was named after Alois Alzheimer in 1907(Sims, Odle, & Davidson, 2007, pg. 15).
People with Alzheimer disease also develop deposits of protein and fibre that prevent the cells from working properly. When this happens, the cells can't send the right signals to other parts of the brain. Over time, brain cells affected by Alzheimer also begin to shrink and denature.
Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain from which there is no recovery. There are three brain abnormalities that are the hallmarks of the Alzheimer’s disease is initially caused by plaques buildup in the brain’s neurons as illustrated in figure 1. The support structure that allows the flow of the nutrients through the neurons gets damaged and ultimately there is loss of connection among the neurons and they die off (National Institute of Health, 2015). This causes the brain tissue to shrinks, which is called atrophies. All this ultimately lead the victim of this disease to face difficulties in governing emotions, recognize errors and patterns, coordinate movement, and remember. Ultimately, a person with AD loses all memory and mental functioning.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a form of dementia affecting more than one third of those over ninety-five years old. Its effects vary per person and become systematically more extreme as time wears on. Alzheimer’s is currently incurable and impossible to slow, destroying neurons and brain tissue, resulting in loss of memory, judgment, awareness, communication, behavior and capacity for emotion. Changes in personality and loss of initiative are also common symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
“Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition that destroys the connections between cells in the brain.” (WebMD, 2014). As the cells die the cortex shrinks. The part of the brain that is impacted the most in dementia is the cortex. The cortex includes the hippocampus. This helps new memories form. If there is damage to this part of the brain, there will be problems with the person memory.
It is a gradual neurological disease of the brain that causes irreversible problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. It begins in the part of the brain that affects learning, otherwise known as the hippocampus. Usually these microscopic changes in the brain begin long before the first signs start appearing. Studies have shown that as early as a decade before the first symptoms appear, a person with Alzheimer’s will already be undergoing neurological damage. Although researchers still do not know the exact cause of the disease, they have discovered what happens within the brain when a person is affected with Alzheimer’s. They believe that two different proteins are responsible for the death and damage of nerve cells. Plaques and tangles. Plaques are deposits of a protein fragment called beta- amyloid that build
Alzheimer later described Auguste D as having an aggressive form of dementia, manifesting in memory, language and behavioral deficits. Dr. Alzheimer noted many other abnormal symptoms, including difficulty with speech, agitation, and confusion. He followed her care for five years, until her death in 1906. Following her death, Dr. Alzheimer performed an autopsy, during which he found dramatic shrinkage of the cerebral cortex, fatty deposits in blood vessels, and atrophied brain cells. He discovered neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques, which have become indicative of Alzheimer’s disease. The condition was first discussed in medical literature in 1907 and named after Alzheimer in
The person may have brain scans such as an MRI showing the person's brain to see if it has shrunk or acquired plaques and or tangles. The plaques and tangles which form in the brain cause brain cell death “Plaques are abnormal clusters of chemically “sticky” proteins called beta-amyloid that build up between nerve cells” (“Alzheimer Basics: Plaques and Tangles”). The small clumps of plaque build up, blocking cell-to-cell signals. The clusters of these beta-amyloid proteins can also activate certain immune system cells, which can trigger inflammation that devour disabled cells in the person's brain (“Alzheimer's Brain Plaques - Alzheimer's Association”). The tangles in the brain form, and destroy a vital transport system which is made up of proteins (“Alzheimer's Brain Plaques - Alzheimer's Association”). The transport system in the brain is organized in parallel strands “The transport system is organized in orderly parallel strands somewhat like railroad tracks. Food molecules, cell parts and other key materials travel along the "tracks" (“Alzheimer's Brain Plaques - Alzheimer's Association”). The protein Tau helps the tracks stay straight and parallel to each other. When the Tau in the tracks collapses, it causes the tracks to form the tangles. The tracks are no longer straight at this point “The tracks can no longer stay straight. They fall apart and disintegrate” (“Alzheimer's Brain Plaques
Alzheimer’s causes nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. This causes the brain to shrink dramatically and affects almost all of its functions (Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia). There is a loss of connections among brain cells responsible for memory, learning, and communication. The main portion of the brain called the cerebral cortex shrivels up. This part of the brain is involved with thinking, planning, and remembering which makes sense since patients with the disease show symptoms involved with these actions. The hippocampus is another are of the cortex that works
There has only been one way to confirm if a person suffering from dementia truly had Alzheimer’s disease, an autopsy after death. Alzheimer’s disease has been found to leave a distinct effect on the human brain. The disease has been found to cause significant brain shrinkage. Neurological plaques and tangles have been the distinct lasting effect from the disease. Large deposits of the protein beta-amyloid have been associated with the neurological plaques, and abnormal tangles that lead to a failed transport system have been found all those suffering from the disease (Alzheimer’s Association, n.d.).
Alzheimer's affects the brain, more precisely this disease drives to the loss of neuronal functions and synaptic connections and in different areas of the brain neuronal cell die. Alzheimer's progression differs from patient to patient, and is divided in 3 stages: mild, moderate and severe. In the first stage memory loss is installing. The patient may forget words, names, or even get lost in a familiar place. In the moderate stage the people with Alzheimer's may loss his logical thinking and confusion can begin to install. They may not recognize a familiar face and their personality can begin to change. In the severe stage, the last one, because of the brain damages caused by the Alzheimer's, patient lose their normal physiological
In addition to that, patients with Alzheimer’s disease are reported to having loss of memory because of disconnection in the process involving signal transduction. The brain tissue shrinks and brain cells also die as a result of inflammation.
Alzheimer’s disease has three main stages. In the first stage, mild Alzheimer’s, the main symptoms are memory loss and the loss of abilities associated with perception. Mood changes and swings to an almost bipolar point occur as does poor judgement in everyday tasks and conversations. Although all of this does occur, a person with mild Alzheimer’s could function and live on their own, they could also still participate in conversations and daily life. During this stage, the brain develops plaques and tangles around the brain stem. From here they spread to the hippocampus which is the part of the brain that is responsible for storing memories. This is when the memory loss really begins due to the fact that the plaques and tangles are killing neurons in the hippocampus, no longer allowing it to perform its proper function.
Alzheimer’s disease is really difficult to go through and it affects, not only the individual, but the people around them because there is no cure. This disease attacks the brain and leads to brain shrinkage. A person with Alzheimer will experience memory loss, confusion, changes in behavior, and eventually they won’t be capable to take care of themselves.