The Extensive Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease

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

In the United States there are approximately 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Every sixty-nine seconds a person is diagnosed. This is an ongoing issue, and unless something is done, sixteen million people will be affected by 2050 (Latest).

A major devastating and debilitating disease, Alzheimer 's is a public health issue that affects not only the United States but also countries all around the world. In 2010, there were 35.6 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Researchers and medical personnel expect this number to triple by the year 2050. The disease is costing America an exorbitant amount of money and has become a burden on families, caregivers, medical personnel, the healthcare system, and the nation’s economy. If attention is not focused on this major problem, “nursing homes will be overloaded, caregivers will be burned out, healthcare system will be overwhelmed, and federal and state budgets will be overtaxed” (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011).

As defined in our textbook(Psychology, pg.264) Alzheimer’s disease is “A progressive disease that destroys the brain’s neurons, gradually impairing memory, thinking, language, and other cognitive functions, resulting in the complete inability to care for oneself; the most common cause of dementia( progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions as a result of disease, injury, or substance abuse.). AC accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases.(alz.org) Throughout my sources I have seen that the common age for AC to set in is between 60-75. However, up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset

Alzheimer 's is a slow and debilitating disease that generates multiple problems with cognitive skills including; memory, thinking and behavior. (MedlinePlus, 2015) It is especially painful for friends and family members who see their loved ones progressively lose their memory and ability to function as they normally have. Symptoms typically develop gradually and progressively get worse over time, becoming severe enough to put the person afflicted with the disease unable to complete daily tasks and placing themselves at risk. (MedlinePlus, 2015) Alzheimer’s is the most common diagnosed condition of dementia. (MedlinePlus, 2015) Sixty to eighty percent of dementia cases are designated as Alzheimer’s. (MedlinePlus, 2015) Although the greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s is increasing age, it is not considered a normal part of aging. The majority of those diagnosed with Alzheimer 's are approximately sixty-five and older. However, Alzheimer’s is not just a disease affected by the older age populations. About 5 percent of people with Alzheimer’s experience early symptoms and the onset Alzheimer 's and most often appears in their forties or fifties. As stated above, Dementia or Alzheimer’s symptoms gradually worsen over time. In the early stages, it is common to experience mild memory loss. Eventually, the ability to carry on a conversation is lost. The sixth leading cause of death in the United States is Alzheimer’s. After Alzheimer’s symptoms become publicly

Of the estimated 5.5 million Americans living with this disease, an estimated 5.3 million are age 65 and older. Approximately 200,000 individuals are under age 65 and have younger-onset Alzheimer’s diease. One in ten people age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops the disease. It kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Deaths from Alzheimer’s increased 68% between 200 and 2010. This disease is affecting more and more people each day and becoming a real problem in the United States. Unless Alzheimer’s can be effectively treated or prevented, the number of people with it will increase significantly if current population trends

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia in the United States, with its commonness expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades. Although awareness of Alzheimer's disease has increased greatly among professional and amateur audiences, exact means do not exist to calculate how many Americans the disease affects. However, it is estimated that there are over 5.1 million people aged 65 or older with probable Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer’s is also the sixth leading cause of death in America. Throughout, I will be addressing the issues that surround this disease: it is not an inevitable consequence of aging, the care and treatment, and end-of-life decisions. While explaining these issues, the goal is to achieve a better

The cost of caring for those patients is forecast to run more than $1.2 trillion a year, inflation not included. That dollar amount doesn’t begin to reflect the untold amount of human suffering of victims and their families. Simply put, if it isn’t already, Alzheimer’s disease will soon become the public health crisis of our times.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is a type of dementia that no one would ever want their grandmother or grandfather to suffer from, as it destroys memory and other important mental functions of its sufferer. Alzheimer's disease is currently ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. While the age 65 and older is its target age, it has consumed the lives of over 1.9 million people. The brain begins to show signs of damage in the hippocampus, the part of the brain essential in forming memories. As more neurons die, parts of the brain then begin to shrink. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s, damage is widespread, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly. The idea that Alzheimer’s disease is related to age in 1974 was introduced

More than 5 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease, a number that will grow to 13.4 million by 2050. Health experts estimate that a 65-year-old has a 10% risk of developing Alzheimer's and that baby boomers currently approaching peak age for the disease (60 to 80) will add $627 billion in Alzheimer's-related health care costs to Medicare. There is a considerable psychological price tag too, for patients and caregivers alike--and a fear factor. In a recent poll conducted for The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Takes On Alzheimer's, 84% of adults surveyed were concerned that they or someone in their family would be affected by the disease. That fear is compounded by the belief that research for Alzheimer's is lagging behind

As such, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for being one of the major contributing factors in dementia. In fact, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around forty to seventy percent of dementia symptom diagnoses (16). With each year, the number of individuals being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease continues to rise. This number is only expected to keep escalating, with a prediction that one in eighty-five people will suffer from the disease by the year 2050

In 1906 he noticed brain tissue in women changing and dying of an usual mental illness

Alzheimer’s, a severe irreversible form of dementia, is now a very prevalent issue in the aging population. Scientists are just beginning to understand what Alzheimer’s is, what causes Alzheimer’s and how to prevent it. Although research has come a long way, “Alzheimer’s disease, as science tries to grasp it, seems to slip through our fingers. The complex interaction of neurochemistry, genetics, environment, lifestyle and personality all play a part in how individuals experience Alzheimer’s. ~ Harry Clayton

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of dementia worldwide, accounting for approximately 60-70 % of all cases.1-3 AD is a highly debilitating disorder, progressing from minor memory problems to a complete loss of cognitive functions and eventually death. Prevalence increases exponentially with

This indication does not mean that people will develop the disease as they age. The greater part of the population do not. Although, it is possible for some younger people, in their 40s or 50s, to be diagnosed with the young (early) onset form of the disease. Rare cases of Alzheimer’s disease are inherited or “familial’. They account for less than 5 percent of all cases. This form of the disease runs in families. If a person has familial Alzheimer’s disease, each of his/her children has an incremented chance of inheriting the disease-causing gene and developing Alzheimer’s disease