The Diagnosis Of Alzheimer'S Is A Very Important Step Within

During the onset of the disease, symptoms are usually non-existant, and progress slowly over the course of many years, often going unnoticed until they become more severe. Alzheimer's is somewhat difficult to diagnose, but there are some common symptoms to all patients. Memory loss occurs in all patients. The person may have trouble remembering small things such as phone numbers, or where he/she put the keys. Eventually, short term memory is lost, and only memories in the far past are able to be recalled. People with Alzheimer's can become disoriented and can get lost easily when out on their own. Mood changes also occur, and the person can be easily irritated or agitated by seemingly insignificant things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing the ability to understand spoken language or recall the meanings of different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's patientscan display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.

Doctors do standard medical tests, such as blood and urine tests, to resolve other possible cause. Perform brain scans like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT). Conduct a memory test, problem solving, counting, and speech. Further, assessment and diagnosis can be done by the specialist including Geriatricians, Geriatric psychiatrists (specialize in the mental behavior of older adults), Neurologist (specialize abnormalities of the brain) and Neuropsychologist (who execute a memory test). A definite diagnosis is made only after death by a clinical measures and examination of the brain tissue during an

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

Dementia can be defined as a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life (alz.org). More than often, individuals affected by dementia are over the age of 65. In the United States, there are more than three million cases of dementia each year. According to World Health Organization, the number of people living with dementia is currently estimated at 47.5 million worldwide and is expected to increase to 75.6 million by 2030 (World Health Organization 2015). Dementia is caused by physical modifications in the brain and is known for loss of memory and mental abilities. It’s a progressive disease which means it gets worse over time. If diagnosed early on, the quality of life for people with dementia as well as their family members can be significantly improved. There are many different types of dementias although some are far more reciprocal than others. One of the most common types of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Other few types of dementias are “Vascular dementia, Mixed dementia, Parkinson 's disease and Frontotemporal dementia (Krishnan, D. S)”. All of the various forms of dementia tend to have similar symptoms which consequently makes it hard to determine the type of dementia a patient may be suffering from.

Doctors administer a variety of strategies to diagnose dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). It is extremely important that all treatable conditions first be ruled out, such as depression and Vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause the same type of symptoms as dementia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). Timely and accurate diagnosis of dementia is extremely important for both the patient and their families because it allows early treatment of symptoms (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). A variety of tests are used to aid in the diagnosis process, such as neurological evaluations, in which doctors look specifically at patients’ balance, sensory responses, reflexes, and various other functions (National

     Sundowning, or sundown syndrome are terms that have been used for over 20 years to describe the reversal of day and night which often occurs in Alzheimer's and other dementing illnesses. (2) Those who are impacted are often called Sundowners and they act as if their biological clocks have reversed their day and night cycles. Some are able to function on little sleep throughout their 24-hour day cycle. Some individuals stay up all night and will then continually doze off during the day. This alteration in the sleep-wake cycle is not necessarily permanent and they may revert to earlier patterns of sleep, or may sleep for increasing periods of time. (1)

In 1906, German Physician Alois Alzheimer, began to link symptoms to microscopic brain changes. When he began an autopsy on his first Alzheimer’s patient, Auguste Deter, Alzheimer saw dramatic shrinkage and abnormal deposits in and around her nerve cells. In 1910, the disease was named after him because of the great discovery he made that would change history forever. In 1931, the electron microscope was invented and this allowed for further exploration of the brain and how it is affected by this disease (Hippius). Something that may be as simple as just observing the brain and analyzing minor changes might seem small but it changed the future. Doctors are now able to recognize the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and diagnose the disease properly. The symptoms will be able to place the individual into their correct stage of the disease. There are seven stages, all which gain momentum over time. The Reisberg Scale states that the first stage is the underlying disease but no symptoms in which case the individual seems to be normal. The first stage is easy to look over if the individual isn’t expecting it, which is common when one obtains early-onset Alzheimer’s. In stages 2-4 the individual begins to have memory lapses, trouble coming up with names and forgetting recent events, all of which would simply indicate stressed-out

When diagnosing an individual with dementia, doctors perform a series of tests that evaluate their cognition ability as well as taking a MRI scan of the brain. Doctors also follow DSM-5, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, guidelines. According to this manual dementia is considered a major or

Subsequently, the full evaluation process that takes place also varies among individuals of different ages and their symptoms experienced (Shimada 47). In the cases of younger onset cognitive impairment with quick progression, an MRI scan and bloodwork are done (Lee et al. 155). From clear MRI scans and blood tests, potential reasonings for Alice’s symptoms, for example brain tumours, can be ruled out. As Alice’s cognitive decline continues, the next step is a PET scan to observe the brain at a molecular level in determining the amyloid levels in the

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

In 1984 the criteria for diagnosing Alzheimer’s was developed by the Alzheimer’s Association. These three levels of diagnostic certainty were: Possible, Probable, and Definitive. In the Possible AD level, symptoms were not typical, but other disorders were ruled out. For example, it could be diagnosed if the patient had another illness, as well as with symptoms of dementia. The next level is Probable AD. In this level of criteria, the diagnostic evaluation excludes other causes of diagnostic decline. In addition to this, the historical pattern of functional and behavioral disturbances was noted. With these techniques, doctors were able to diagnose with an 85-95% accuracy. The last level was called Definitive AD. Within in this level, an autopsy was performed and the examined brain tissue revealed

For people developing Alzheimer’s disease, there is no actual test to diagnose a person with it. Doctors will diagnose a person with Alzheimer’s disease when they have a severe cognitive decline that will meet the standards of dementia, dementia is very consistent that it will turn in to Alzheimer’s disease and that no other

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s isn’t easy. Because of the complexity of the disease, there are a ton of different factors that contribute to the process.

Alzheimer is a disease that affects the elderly most. The disease was discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in the year 1906 when he was examining a female’s brain. He found out that the woman displayed memory loss, language problems and some inexplicable changes in behavior. The disease was named after the doctor who was a German psychiatrist and a neuropathologist. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that leads to memory loss, personality changes, and language problems (Gilbert & Julie 2). The disease is mostly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years, though there is a small minority of people under the age of 50 who get the disease. Studies show that 1% of a whole population aged between the ages 65-75 have severe

Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the fifth leading cause of death in people over the age of 65, as determined by the (Center for Disease Control, 2015). The number of people living with AD is predicted to triple by 2050. The risk of developing Alzheimer’s rises exponentially with age. “Currently, verification of an AD diagnosis occurs through postmortem detection of pathology in neural tissue, specifically extracellular amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tau tangles. However, cognitive changes are discernible early during AD pathogenesis and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In the peer-journal review that I read, studies were performed to detect working memory (WM) deficits