Have your grandparents ever forgotten your name and got you mixed up with your siblings? Sounds harmless right? What if they forgot to take their medicine? Sounds a little more intense. Now what if they forgot to stop at a stop sign and drove right through it? This brings me to my second main point, memory loss. While forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging, it can also be a sign of more serious memory problems, such as dementia, cognitive impairment, or even Alzheimer's disease. Oxforddictionaries.com states that Alzheimer's is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur during middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility. An examination of dementia or Alzheimer's
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 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.
In short, memory loss is one of the scariest parts of aging. Not every occurrence of forgetfulness is something to be alarmed about, though. And, even if the memory loss seems to be more than the occasional senior moment, there are many factors other than dementia that could be at play. Regardless of the cause
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are the most widespread age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Both diseases impact a considerable number of people, where AD occurs in around 10 percent of the population greater than the age of 65 while PD occurs in roughly 1 percent of the population above the age of 65. AD is considered to be the most widespread cause of dementia, characterised by the progressive memory and cognitive deficits which impair ones day to day activities. The pathological hallmark of AD comprises of extracellular accumulation of senile plaques consisting of mainly amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides, along with neurofibrillary tangles which are composed of the phosphorylated tau protein, located in the hippocampus and cortex. Conversely, PD is considered to be the most widespread movement disorder that is characterised by symptoms such as rigidity slow movements, resting tremor and other instabilities. The extreme loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra is what defines PD, as the loss of this nerve cell can be linked to Lewy bodies containing aggregates of a soluble protein called α-synuclein.
Auguste Deter was the first patient who had such a serious case of dementia that Alois Alzheimer decided to look at her brain when she died. Deter was 51 years old when she began to show signs of what is now considered Alzheimer’s Disease or AD. When she died, Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, decided to look into her brain. He wished to see what was causing her to act so wild and uncontrollable. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, he found that parts of her brain and the cells seemed to be dead. The disease soon was named after Alzheimer because of his discovery and has grown to be recognized throughout the world. While there are other diseases in need of research, Alzheimer's is a growing disease that is in need of more research
Dementias are neurodegenerative disorders and Alzheimer’s disease is just one type. Although the most frequent cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, there are many causes of dementia. Saying someone has dementia is actually not a diagnosis it’s more of a clinical syndrome. Like saying someone has heartburn or a headache, the underlying cause of the dementia must be uncovered in order to classify it. Dementia impairs cognitive function in many different ways. It can involve memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and perception (Radin, 2003, p. 29). Some classifications of dementia include: frontotemporal dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia, but other degenerative diseases such as Huntington’s
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory and it is not a normal part of aging, “Although the greatest risk factor is increasing age” (Alzheimer’s Association). Even though our memory begins to deteriorate when we are growing older we don’t necessarily forget we get the “tip of the tongue” effect where we are ale to recollect our memories unlike those with Alzheimer’s.
As the leading cause for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease –AD-, effects more than 25 million people in the world (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 1).The neurodegenerative disorder, results in behavioral changes, as well as cognitive including, loss of memory and language skills ( Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Researchers have tracked two leading abnormalities resulting in Alzheimer’s. These two are, amyloid plaques-clumps of protein which form in and around the neurons- and neurofibrillary tangles- insoluble fibers made up mostly of tau protein- (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Although both are a prevalent indication of AD, scientist have not been able to indicate whether these are merely a byproduct or a cause. Hence, call for epidemiological research is ongoing. Earlier studies have suggested a link between diabetes- specifically, Type 2 diabetes mellitus- and AD (Paddock, 2015). These observations suggest the metabolic processing of glucose is abnormal, and this plays a role in AD pathogenesis (Macauley et al., 2015).Recently, studies have linked, a dietary relevance of advanced glycogen end products, or AGEs, to the incidence of AD (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 2). AGEs are also called glycotoxins, because they increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several other aging related-diseases, such as AD (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 2). More on, as with diabetes and AGEs , researchers have directly linked high blood sugar to the production of beta-amyloid, in
Almost everyone has experienced the situation where he sees someone familiar, but cannot think of that person’s name, or he has shopped in a mall and cannot remember where the car is parked. Anyone over the age of sixty-five would probably panic, fearing that he has Alzheimer’s disease, since age is a huge risk factor related to memory loss. He may ask himself, “Is something wrong with me, or am I just getting old?” Much of our population is terrified of developing Alzheimer’s disease or of watching a loved one slowly and gradually fade away. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, which is when the brain loses the ability to function mostly in keeping short-term memories, progressing to lack of cognitive function, and eventually causing death (Atkins, 2008, pp. 3).
Although age and genetics are the two biggest determining factors of causing Alzheimer’s disease, there are other small factors that can be controlled in order to help lower the risk or the age at which symptoms start to become prominent. Several scientists are digging into prevention strategies such as diet, exercise, and “brain games” can help delay or prevent Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline. They are also investigating how certain medical conditions, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, influence risk for cognitive impairment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). After studying those risk factors, results have demonstrated that certain health and lifestyle factors does not slow down
The purpose of the current essay was to explain some of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. There are plenty of reasons why a person could develop AD, but the most significant ones are lifestyle, genetic and age. The way people behave daily may influence on the effects that Alzheimer might produce on them. This is why is so important to eat healthy and exercise in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, some people have suffered from AD despite leading a healthy life. This occurs because genetic and age are non-modifiable factors that weigh more than the lifestyle that a person carries. To summarize, Alzheimer is a disease that affects a big amount of the society, but people are not well informed about which the causes are so
1 in 8 Older adults or children a year are affected by amnesia or some sort of memory loss. Memory loss and Amnesia can affect a person’s lifestyle, their line of work, and their health. Their memory of working could just be gone. Lifestyles could be turned into a mess just because of amnesia. Memory loss is a common problem that affects many people’s mental health. People need to understand more about the many situations that can cause it; amnesia, aging, and the brain’s hippocampus can all factor into memory loss.
Everyone, at some point or another, loses keys, misplaces a wallet, or forgets a name. It is a normal experience, but people who are middle-aged or older may be frightened about the onset of Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia. The American Psychological Association offers the assurance that Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging, occurring in fewer than one in five people over the age of sixty-five and less than half of those over eighty-five (Memory and aging, 2009). The research of Reese and Cherry (2006) supports the assertion that, for most people in middle age, "forgetting" is not serious. Nevertheless, changes take place in the brain as one ages with respect to learning and memory. The purpose of this paper is to explore some of the normal changes people can expect in mid- to late-life as well as some of the problems one can experience outside the normal effects of aging.
Forgetfulness is one thing though and severe memory issues is another. Older people who demonstrate signs of cognitive impairment may actually be at high risk for diseases like dementia or Alzheimer's. It is best to consult your healthcare provider so that they can conduct the necessary tests and determine the underlying issues behind the cognitive decline.
Memory loss is seen all over the world. About forty percent of people over 65 in United States experience memory impairment in their life which is about sixteen million people (Small. 2002). Memory loss is the inability to remember events that happened to you, or events that were important to you. Memory loss is different than forgetting someone’s birthday, the forgetfulness has to be more severe and last for a long amount of time, and it has to be major events that may strike odd to the person that they have forgotten the event. Memory loss is known mostly for the elderly, which can be caused by Dementia and Alzheimer's, but memory loss can also be present in younger people who have experienced traumatic brain injuries, or amnesia.