The Underlying Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a common problem in today’s society and within the older population this disease makes up the largest form of dementia. Although it is a problem in mainly older people, this disease can still occur in the younger population also. People in their 30s-50s can be diagnosed with this disease, even though it is not as common as people in their 60s-90s. The number of people with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. is close to five million and is expected to double within the next 30 years. With our modern medicine and advancements one would think a cure would be available, however, getting to the cause of the disease is a major factor. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is one that is very debatable and questionable and most likely is a result of multiple factors rather than one. The main issue with finding the cause is because this disease affects the brain and can

Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Alzheimer’s accounts for 70-80% of dementia cases. By the age of 65, 1 in 9 people are diagnosed and by the age of 85, 1 in 3 people will have the disease. According to the Alzheimer Association, 5 million people in American have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s starts to form 20 years prior to being diagnosed. Learning about Alzheimer’s can help families understand how Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss, it is an incurable mental disease.

Dementia is a term used to describe a collection of signs and symptoms that happen to the brain when it is affected by the progression of certain diseases such as vascular dementia (when brain cells die due to lack of oxygen) and Alzheimer’s disease (a specific brain disease). Some of the affects these diseases have are on a person’s memory, language and communication abilities, behaviour and ability to make rational judgements.

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

There are many different forms of dementia and each has its own cause. Some of the main type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia affecting 50%-70% of dementia patients (Alzheimer's australia, 2005). This is a degenerative illness which attacks the brain, this is achieved buy tangles which are in the middle of shrunken brain cells and plaques which eventually cause the brain cells to die meaning information can no longer be recalled or assimilated. There are also other types of dementia which include vascular dementia which is caused by circulation of the blood to the brain, Parkinson’s disease which is a disorder of the

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease, a series of strokes or even a group of symptoms which may result from brain injury, vitamin/hormonal imbalance, drugs and alcohol. These diseases have factors in common and can cause a person to have their mental

Dementia is a type of disorder that affects the central nervous system. It’s not a disease itself but a group of symptoms that characterize disease and conditions. It’s commonly defined as a decline in intellectual functioning that is severe enough to interfere with the ability to perform routine activities. It causes significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning. Dementia‘s a general term that also includes specific disorders like vascular dementia as well as others.

Dementia has many forms and it is a decline in memory, language and reasoning. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning the loss of function and stability. This is a disease that affects cognitive and physical abilities in the patient. Many people in the world have Alzheimer’s and it is in elders over the age of 65. There are lots of treatments available, but there is no cure for it.

Dementia is not considered a specific disease because it is such a broad disease there are many different types.

Alzheimer’s is a disease where neurotransmitters, acetylcholine, or the brain’s chemicals break connections with other nerve cells causing the cells to die off, the effects of this are irreversible. The loss of these cells result in loss of thinking and language skills, unpredictable behavioral changes and eventually the inability to carry out the simplest tasks. Although there is no known cause for Alzheimer’s, researchers have found a genetic link. Alzheimer’s first symptoms usually appear when a person is between forty and fifty years of age. Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that initiates in the brain, drastically decreasing the quality of life as well as life expectancy in millions of people around the world.

Alzheimer’s disease is among the sixth top leading causes of death in the United States and even with an estimated 4.5 to 5.4 million suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) not much is known about the causes. Only the symptoms are addressed. The main characteristics of AD are degeneration of the ability to remember, reason, communicate and with loss of motor skills and function (Piazza-Gardner, 2013). Cognitive function that is lost and is accompanied by other physiological conditions such as depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression and inappropriate behavior for a setting or location that occur in most AD suffers (Senie, 2014). AD was noted as abnormal clumps and a bundle of proteins in the brain which was discover in patients with

Even though scientists are unsure about the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, there have been numerous tests and studies that have gleaned some insights. Francesca Fernandez-Enright, PhD and professor of neuroscience at University of Wollongong, and Jessica Andrews, professor of neuropsychology at the University of Wollongong, characterize Alzheimer’s as the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques in the brain” (Fernandez-Enright). Amyloid plaque is the “sticky buildup” of proteins normally found in the body that divide and create “beta amyloid which is toxic to neurons in the brain” (Myers). Amyloid plaques have “different rates of growth throughout neocortical and hippocampal regions” and are formed from the “oligomers of amyloid in the intracellular and extracellular space,” and when the oligomers accumulate they become “toxic and trigger the start of neurodegenerative processes,” which becomes Alzheimer’s disease (Fernandez-Enright). Amyloid plaque production itself is not the problem, because it is needed for healthy brain function. However, when there is too much production of the amyloids it damages the “synapses, resulting in neurodegenerative processes” (Fernandez-Enright). In addition to amyloids, a type of

Socially it has a lot of impact not only on the mother but also to the victim with the disease. The disease was not passed down from the parents, but rather developed from a random mutation in the gene. Few people struggle with this disease and it’s quite rare, making it hard for others to understand it. People may not be fully aware of the symptoms or causes, creating an indifference in people’s thoughts. People may humiliate or isolate these people due to the lack of awareness of the disease, and culturally people judge one another based on appearance.

Alzheimers patients are of a chronic neurodegenerative disease. Over the time it get worse. In 60% to 70% of cases it is due to dementia. The cause of Alzheimers disease is not understood well. About 70% of the risk is believed to be genetic with many genes usually involved.

Dementia is a "clinical syndrome, or condition that presents several different symptoms of which memory problems and impaired intellectual functioning are the hallmark" (Lillrank). Dementia is actually a term used to describe a wide range of symptoms. Two of the most common types of dementia are: Vascular dementia and Alzheimer's. Some symptoms of dementia include loss of short-term memory. Other initial manifestations can include confusion,