The Second Leading Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease

More than 30 million people are affected worldwide, Alzheimer's is the number one cause of dementia. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys memory and essential mental functions. The brain cells and the actual cells deteriorate and die; the main symptoms are confusion and loss of mind. Dementia follows Alzheimer's; you can’t have one without the other. Dementia, on the other hand, it is not its own disease, it is a group of thinking and social symptoms that hinder everyday tasks. Over 100 years ago a German physician by the name Alois Alzheimer’s

As AD is a progressive disease with no currently known cure, all current treatments are aimed at slowing the progression of the disease; these treatments have been available since 1993 (Geldmacher et al., 2011). The desired

Alois Alzheimer was born in Marktbreit, Germany, in 1864, and showed a pioneer ability for science. After gaining his medical degree, he worked in hospitals in Frankfurt, where he met Auguste Deter, a 51-year-old woman suffering from a short-term memory loss. He was soon capable to quarantine the pathological basis of severe dementia, so far-reaching that the condition became known as Alzheimer's disease, named after him (Hippius & Neundörfer, 2003).

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 was first discovered by Doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1905. He was a German neurologist and psychiatrist. He observed Auguste D. who was 51 at the time he met her. Her family was concerned because she was having memory problems, changes in personality and difficulty speaking. Doctor Alzheimer originally diagnosed her with a form of aggressive dementia, but there was symptoms not commonly found in Dementia patients. Like difficulty in speech and aggression. When she died he performed an autopsy which he found that Auguste’s cerebral cortex shrank, and there was fatty tissues in the blood vessels of her brain. He discovered large amounts of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques (proteins in the brain), which are now the biggest indicator of Alzheimer’s. (alzheimers.org) These fibers increase with age, and when you have Alzheimer’s your body produces them faster then what it should. Alzheimer’s was not officially named in medicine until 1907, and was named after Doctor Alzheimer in 1910.

Even though Alzheimer 's is being researched, it was not a commonly known disease and many aspects of it remain intangible. In 1901 Auguste D. family brought her to Dr. Alzheimer’s after noticing Auguste problem with memory, impaired comprehension, and unpredictable behavior. Dr. Alzheimer treated Auguste till her death in 1906. He performed an autopsy on her brain and discovered dramatic shrinkage of the cerebral cortex, atrophied brain cells, fatty deposits in blood vessels, neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Plaques and tangles in the brain are two of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. The third is the loss of connections between neurons in the brain. (https://www.nia.nih.gov/.../alzheimers_disease_fact_sheet_

Alzheimer 's disease is a progressive deterioration of cognitive function sufficient to cause functional disability (Hannaman, Mitchell, Cross, 2011). It is the most common cause of dementia after age 60 with initial signs reflective of hippocampal dysfunction, with poor immediate recall and short-term memory. "As the disease progresses, visuospatial dysfunction (including with directions and geographic disorientation), due to parietal lobe involvement, and executive dysfunction (including difficulty initiating and completing tasks, reduced spontaneity, and apathy). due to frontal dysfunction typically appear" (Hannaman, Mitchell, Cross, 2011, p. 11-6). Median survival rate is 3 years because of

Alzheimer’s, the most relevant cause of Dementia, is a disease that affects as many as 4.5 million Americans per year (WebMD 2005-2014). Alzheimer’s is a disease that is an irremediable, continuous brain neuron degenerative disease that can be asymptomatic at first and then overtime becomes symptomatic. Alzheimer’s is a gradual disease that advances in three phases: mild, then moderate, and, finally, severe (1). Symptoms appear after the age of 60 and include: the slow destruction of memory and thought processes, and ultimately ends with the absent ability to do normal everyday duties. These symptoms can be anything from forgetting a recent event, or can be as problematic as forgetting the name of a family member. There are many daily

Alzheimer 's disease is an ongoing condition that destroys the connection of cells in the brain. According to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA), it is estimated that as many as 5.1 million Americans have Alzheimer 's disease today. Alzheimer 's disease was discovered by a German physician named Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer saw changes in the brain tissue of a woman who died from what he presumed to be a mental illness. He described her symptoms as memory loss, language complications, and unpredictable actions. After she died, he examined her brain to further understand how she died. He discovered distinctive plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in her brain tissue.

“The concept of dementia has been around since early civilizations. Ancient philosophers viewed mental decay as a normal part of ageing. The prevalence and study of dementia increased as the lifespan of humans extended. In the late 1800s, with advancements in medicine and the ability to look inside the brain, the medical community realized that diseases could cause this deterioration. The most common dementia was named, in 1910, after Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist.

Alzheimer’s disease is the six leading cause of death in America with its major cause still unknown. Scientist understand that even before early onset symptoms appear there are communication errors between the neurons of the brain. As the disease progresses, family members often notice that their loved ones are more forgetful then normal. The disease progressively worsens until one is unable to recognized loved ones, has difficulty speaking, walking, and even swallowing. The brain of one with advanced Alzheimer’s is actually radically different from that have a healthy brain.

Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who was a neuropathologist as well as a psychiatrist, discovered what is known today as AD.3 One of Dr. Alzhiemer’s patients was a fifty-one year old woman with severe dementia. He studied this patient until she died, which then gave him the opportunity to study her brain.3 By examining this patient’s brain he noticed how the cerebral cortex (the

4. What environmental factors and/or lifestyle choices may increase the possibility of someone being afflicted by the medical condition?

In 1906, German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer noticed one of his patients had extreme memory loss, unpredictable behavior, and difficulty speaking. Her condition continued to worsen and ultimately lead to her death. After his patient died he examined her brain, where he discovered an excessive amount of unusual clumps. This was the discovery of Alzheimer’s disease, and although Dr. Alois Alzheimer didn’t know it at the time, his discovery would be one that uncovered a dangerous future for millions of individuals around the world.

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