Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper

Later in the course of the disorder, affected individuals may become confused or disoriented about what month or year it is, be unable to describe accurately where they live, or be unable to name a place being visited. Eventually, patients may wander, be unable to engage in conversation, erratic in mood, uncooperative, and lose bladder and bowel control. In late stages of the disease, persons may become totally incapable of caring for themselves. Death can then follow, perhaps from pneumonia or some other problem that occurs in severely deteriorated states of health. Those who develop the disorder later in life more often die from other illnesses (such as heart disease) rather than as a consequence of Alzheimer's disease

People start to lose their ability to carry a conversation. As their memory continues to worsen, their personality can also change. When a person is in the last stage, they will need full-time help with personal care. They have diffuctly communicating about pain, you will need to look for signs, such as pale skin tone, mouth sores, vomiting and swelling on any body part.

I chose Alzheimer's disease for my disorder, commonly known as senile dementia. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia which is a general term for memory loss and other cognitive abilities enough to disrupt every day life. Alzheimer's causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse with time. I think I would choose to prescribe Aricept (donepezil) for treatment because it can be used at any stage of Alzheimer's. The common side effects are appetite loss, muscle cramps, drowsiness and nausea. Aricept is contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to donepezil hydrochloride or to piperidine derivatives. If about to take Aricept somebody should notify their doctor if they have

Certain qualities are consistently observed in the Alzheimer’s victim. These dysfunction’s, though, are not exclusive to Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, declaring Alzheimer’s by these parameters is a matter of degree rather than an absolute. Characteristic dysfunction’s have been noted in Alzheimer’s victims, but the degree and severity of these varies from patient to patient. Thus, evaluation of the patient’s mental status must be made based on the sum, rather than a single characteristic. Memory is one of the first noticed deficiencies, beginning typically with the recent and short term memory, and progressing from there as the disease grows more severe. In addition, deterioration in language skills, attention span, praxis (performance of an action), and visuospatial skills are commonly seen. Also observed are changes in the actions and personality of the Alzheimer’s victim. These include changes in mood, motor activities, activities of daily living, socialization skills, psychotic disturbances, vegetative symptomology, and rise in anxiety levels. Again, the

Imagine this, you walk into your mother's room one day the smell of candles fills the air, you can hear her humidifier going off, and she blankly stares at you as you walk in. She looks you up and down with the most confused look on her face, she appears scared and frightened as you notice her muscles tense up, she looks at you and says “Are you the new nurse?” When most people hear the word Alzheimer's they instantly think memory loss, while yes memory loss is a key factor of Alzheimer's it is far from the only problem that arises from Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease, to put it bluntly is the most common form of dementia which is the general term for memory loss, but Alzheimer's affects a lot more than just memory. Dementia is strictly

The disease I chose to research is a disease known as alzheimer's, which is also recognized as type 3 diabetes. Alzheimer’s is a severe form of dementia which reduces the capability to memorize certain experiences and prevents a person from remembering past memories. The alzheimer’s disease commonly affects older people because it grows worse and can only be noticed once a person gets older. Unfortunately the disease can affect both males and females making it affect close to 5.4 million americans currently. In the rare case of an individual containing the APOE-E4 gene, women will become more likely to get alzheimer’s than men. Most of these people affected are above the age of 65 confirming the claim that alzheimer’s commonly affects older

Alzheimer’s is a neurological brain disease that makes a person suffer in their late term of life. Alzheimer’s has two variants, early onset and late onset and they are both triggered by different genes. 95% of Alzheimer’s is in the form of late onset NIH. (2013, May 1). There are between 2.4 and 4.5 million Americans affected by Alzheimer’s today. Throughout a person’s life, the risk increases with age. There are differences between the late and early variants of Alzheimer's.

Severe decline is the sixth stage of Alzheimer’s, at this stage the person needs constant supervision, and they require professional care (“What Are The 7 Symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease?”). During this stage, the signs of Alzheimer's have become worse and more evident. Family and friends can easily notice the changes in the person’s behavior. “During stage 6, there are five identifiable characteristics that develop over the course of 2 1/2 years” (Ellis and Higuera). One of the five characteristics that the person will develop is dressing properly. The person with Alzheimer's will have trouble dressing correctly and he of she will need help dressing. The second out of the five characteristics is hygiene. The person's hygiene will start to

Some symptoms are having difficulty remembering newly learned information, disorientation, mood and behavior changes; deepening confusion about events, time and place; unfounded suspicions about family, friends and professional caregivers; more serious memory loss and behavior changes; and difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking (Alzheimer's Disease, 1). Some of these may get more severe over time and some may stay at the same severity. They may not remember their family member's names. There are a lot of treatment options for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia which is generally a term for memory loss. The people who experience this disease progress slowly over time becoming worse until it interferes with their daily life. This disease is personal to me because my grandfather’s best friend had Alzheimer’s. It was difficult to watch the person he was slowly disappear to the disease. Every time I would go to see him he would never remember who I was, but we were always there to help and support him.

Alzheimer’s disease is categorized in three different stages based on the severity of the illness. When a person is experiencing the first stage of Alzheimer’s, the individual tends to lose interest in the activities that were once highly valuable to him or her, and tends to disengage in social interactions. Most of time, the immediate family are the ones that tend to pick up on the behavioral changes, since they are constantly in contact with the individual, who is experiencing these dramatic changes.

They may still be able to drive, work, and engage in social activities. However, they will notice that they are forgetting things such as doctor’s appointments. They may not be able to find the correct word to describe something simple such as a banana being yellow. They may also become reckless with their money, perhaps donating thousands to any charity that calls them. Moderate Alzheimer’s is typically the longest stage and one may notice more significant changes with the client such as not bathing, “sundowning” which is being more awake and pacing during the evening hours when they should be sleeping. The damage inside their brain makes it difficult to perform daily tasks such as cooking or cleaning. As time progresses, more memory is lost and the thought of them driving can lead to accidents or them becoming lost and unfamiliar with their surroundings even though they have lived in an area all their life. In the final stage, Alzheimer’s disease, will take away their ability to speak, control movement, and eventually the brain will stop the life sustaining body systems and they will die. In the final stage, they will need caregiving around the clock, which takes a tremendous toll on their family.

The person’s memory continues to decline, they need more help with daily activities, and their personality can start to change. This is the stage where it starts to get harder for the person to handle this disease and it gets harder for their caretaker and their families. It really hits home as to what is happening to your loved one. They start to forget their name and their family’s names. They need reminded to take a shower. They don’t remember how to turn the shower on. They have sleep changes and major personality and behavioral changes. My grandpa went to the bank one day that was a few blocks away and he ended up in another town 30 minutes away because he couldn’t remember how to get home. You realize just how bad it’s getting. Then when you have to take their car keys away and tell them they can’t drive anymore it takes their dignity away. They get angry and act like they never did before. You know that this person would never say some of the things he did or act like they do but this disease does it to

Psychology is an applied as well as an academic field that studies both the human mind and behavior. The research in psychology attempts to explain and understand behavior, emotion and thought. The subject of psychology was created when Wilhelm Wundt opened up the very first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Wilhelm Wundt believed that individuals who are appropriately trained would most likely be able to recognize the mental processes that are accompanied with feelings, thoughts and sensations (Wagner , 2009).

This will affect their day-to-day life and they may have to adapt how they do things or relay on other people to complete everyday tasks and activities. When treating a patient with dementia it is often necessary to approach the situation in such a way to reduce the impact of these practical difficulties which will help the patient maintain a sense of normality. This will also help the patient feel independent and maintain their self-esteem. An example of this would be: contacting the patients doctor and organising a home visit from the patient. It could also be helpful to document when the doctor is attending so the patient will be reminded in case they forget the