What Is Familial Alzheimer's Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that accounts for sixty to seventy percent of Dementia cases. It is characterized by the development of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the loss of connection between neurons in the brain and the death of nerve cells. There are two types of Alzheimer’s Early on-set Alzheimer’s which occur from the ages of thirty to sixty is very rare and makes up less than five percent of the cases of Alzheimer’s . The second type is Late on-set Alzheimer’s which is the most common type and it is found in those of ages sixty and up. The progression of Alzheimer’s is a lengthy progress from the time of diagnosis the average life expectancy is three to nine years. In the early stages people have difficulty with short term memory loss as the disease progresses symptoms include difficulties with language, disorientation, mood swings, loss of motivation, loss of self-care and behavioral issues. As Alzheimer’s progresses a person slowly withdraws from family life and society due to the jumbled state of their memory. On a physical level the body’s physical function slowly degenerates and eventually leads to death.

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 disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease. For most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60; however there is no specific age that a person can get the disease. If you are between the ages of 30 and 50, the disease is called Younger on-set Alzheimer’s.

There are two types of Alzheimer’s, early onset and late onset, which both have genetic components. Alzheimer’s disease was named after Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he had discovered changes in the brain tissue of a woman who died unusually from mental illness. Alzheimer’s is ranked as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. Familial Alzheimer’s disease commonly known as, Early Onset Alzheimer or eFAD is a form of Alzheimer that is usually detected between the ages of 30-60. Familial Alzheimer is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Familial Alzheimer’s symptoms may include; movement difficulties, sense of smell, word finding, vision and spatial issues, times and places confusion,

Alzheimer’s is not a quick deterioration in health. “The patient gradually declines over a period of five to ten years” (Whitehouse 1). As the patient loses memory and other cognitive functions the family becomes greatly affected. “Legal and financial issues often become complicated when an individual is no longer competent to manage his or her own affairs.” (Whitehouse 1). Obviously, this neurological illness will affect the brain. “The disease involves shrinkage of the brain together with loss of nerve cells in several areas of the brain thought to be important for intellectual activity” (Whitehouse 1). Sadly, all of these effects will eventually lead to

This disease is considered to be the greatest known risk factor for the individuals ages sixty and older. Most of the population affected by the disease with noticeable symptoms are sixty-five and older, with men living approximately 4.2 years after their initial diagnosis, and women approximately 5.7 years after their diagnosis. Alzheimer 's gets increasingly difficult to live with as one ages, and it is ultimately terminal.

Familial Alzheimer’s Disease (FAD) is a form of mental deterioration characterized by the formation of amyloid plaques around neurons in the brain. While there appears to be multiple ways general Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) can develop, FAD is a rare type of AD that can be acquired hereditarily. Of all general Alzheimer’s cases, around 1-5% are FAD specific, which translates to about 50,000 to 250,000 people (Strobel). Children of people who have acquired certain genetic mutations linked with FAD have been shown the potential of inheriting these mutations and developing FAD as a result. Mutations in the presenilin proteins (PSEN1; PSEN2) or in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) have been shown to be linked with FAD. PSEN1 is most prominently

In addition, Alzheimer in America was found in between 2 million to 4 million people (2). However, doctors believe this number is still going up, yet there is no specific treatment for it. For example, a person who is about 65 years old with Alzheimer have to go throw different test to identify the level of damaged cells in the brain (2). To add, in most cases Alzheimer cannot be treated and the patient could die (2). Some people have larger chances of developing Alzheimer in them due to previous diseases such as dawn syndrome patients (2). In brief, patient with Alzheimer suffer from brain cells damaging, feeling of lost, forgetting many memories, and feeling scared

Dementia’s symptoms include memory loss, thinking’s problems, language’s problems, and inability to perform daily activities. It occurs in 60 to 80% of dementia cases. Alzheimer is a disease that progressively destroys the brain’s cells. People with Alzheimer have less brain tissue. Alzheimer can be not cured, but it cannot be reversed. The NIH Senior Health agrees the risk of developing Alzheimer increases with age. The time of life, varies according to age. Younger people could live 10 or more years, but people 80 years or older could have just 3 or 4 years of life, after being diagnosed.

Sadly, Alzheimer’s disease is fatal. The disease itself is not, but the symptoms are. Some people live up to 15 years from the diagnosis to their last seconds on earth. With Alzheimer’s, you can really die anywhere.. falls, confusion, and aspiration are three ways.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive and neurodegenerative form of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, reasoning, judgement and decision-making, recognizing, as well as behavior, and is serious enough to interfere with daily life and activities, that eventually leads to profound physical as well as mental disabilities, resulting in the need for institutional care (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). AD is most widespread in senior population aged 65 and over, which constitutes approximately 85-95% of the cases, in the rest of 5-15% of the times Alzheimer’s Disease can have an early-onset (before 60 years of age) (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). According to Alzheimer’s Association, today Alzheimer’s Disease is at the forefront of biomedical research, as it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (alz.org). Researchers hope that better understanding of Alzheimer’s and related dementias can lead to discovering new and effective treatments. United States is not the only country that is facing this issue, this problem is global. According to the recent epidemiological studies, the worldwide prevalence of Alzheimer’s Disease will rise from 27 million people worldwide in 2006 to 66 million in 2030, and 115 million in 2050 (Werner, 2012). The main risk factor for developing AD is chronological age (Hoyer & Roodin, 2009). This means that by 2050, one in three persons over 80 years of age will most likely suffer from some sort of dementia, most likely from AD

Alzheimer’s is a brain disease and is not a part of aging. It affects memory and learning as people get older. There is a stage called mild cognitive impairment which is not dementia but forgetting things is common in this stage. In the moderate stages a person with Alzheimer’s may began to repeat stories. A person can live on average eight to ten years. Alzheimer’s affect 4.5 million and this number is excepted to rise because of the baby boomer population.

There are three different classifications of Alzheimer’s disease: early onset, late onset/sporadic, and familial AD. Alzheimer’s disease does not develop in a simple characteristic pattern, rather it develops immensely sporadic and vast in the symptomatology, progression, and the life span of the patient once they acquire the disease; because of this, three

Some people only live weeks to months after diagnosis and others live twenty plus years, although the average is between four and ten years. The reason the years someone may live is so diverse is due to the complicated nature of diagnosing this disease. Memory loss is a stereotypical sign of ageing so many families delay getting test, especially those with no family history. Once they do get diagnosed could already be in the late stages and they may not live long. On the other hand some people live a very long time with this disease, this is often those with early onset Alzheimer’s. The cause of death for a person with Alzheimer’s can be anything from a urinary tract infection to pneumonia, but is often not Alzheimer’s disease. This occurs because the disease, and the symptoms that come with it, weaken the body and other illnesses and disease attack the immune system with more power than they would have in a healthy body. It is important to treat Alzheimer’s as well as the consequential illness that may

Alzheimer's disease is the most common kind of dementia which causes a brain damage and turn down of cognitive functions. It is characterized by a group of symptoms which in many cases lead to die as the body