Alzheimer's Disease Essay

The beginning and symptoms of Alzheimer's are usually very slow and gradual. Alzheimer’s hardly ever occurs before the age of 65. It occurs (according to the AHAF) in the following seven stages: In stage 1 There are no impairment- Unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview. Stage 2 Is a very mild decline- Individuals at this stage feel as if they have memory lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses, or other everyday objects. But these problems are not evident during a

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a form of degenerative, fatal dementia, is characterized by progressive cognitive decline. While AD is the most common form of dementia, its prevalence has only recently been recognized. When Alois Alzheimer first described the sequence of changes in 1907, physicians believed the disease to be an extremely rare, mid-life condition. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the same types of changes were shown to occur in both late- and early-onset forms (Cavanaugh et.al. 2008). As such, almost all knowledge of AD has been learned within the past several decades, with new discoveries being reported almost daily. It is now estimated that Alzheimer’s accounts for as many as 60% of all dementias and affects more than 500,000

During the onset of the disease, symptoms are usually non-existant, and progress slowly over the course of many years, often going unnoticed until they become more severe. Alzheimer's is somewhat difficult to diagnose, but there are some common symptoms to all patients. Memory loss occurs in all patients. The person may have trouble remembering small things such as phone numbers, or where he/she put the keys. Eventually, short term memory is lost, and only memories in the far past are able to be recalled. People with Alzheimer's can become disoriented and can get lost easily when out on their own. Mood changes also occur, and the person can be easily irritated or agitated by seemingly insignificant things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing the ability to understand spoken language or recall the meanings of different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's patientscan display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia that generally initiates the lost memory, problem of critical thinking and behavior problems for the elderly patients. It’s not a normal part of aging but the large number of elderly people reached 65 and older are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The most common early symptoms are struggle in remembering recent events or short term memory. As the disease advance more symptoms begin to show up like problems in speaking and language, disorientation like getting lost and cease to remember the present activity that they are supposed to do. Mood swings go from happy to sad for no reason. Not managing their self, personal hygiene

Alzheimer’s disease is incurable, but there are many stages, warning signs, and risk factors that can serve as detection devices for those who have older adults in their lives. One of the most common early signs of this form of dementia is memory loss. While it is normal for people to occasionally forget things, such as appointments and names, people with Alzheimer’s tend to forget these things more often and are not able to recall them even after a period of time. Other signs that signify a possible case of Alzheimer’s is difficulty performing familiar tasks (cooking, brushing teeth), problems with language (using odd words, failing to remember correct words), disorientation (forgetting where one lives, not knowing how he got to a certain place), problems with abstract thinking (forgetting what numbers represent), misplacing items (putting a hair brush in the freezer), moodiness, personality changes (confusion, suspicion, fearfulness), and loss of initiative

Alzheimer’s disease in many ways is not yet defined. It is a progressive disease afflicting between 5 and 15 percent of people over 65. Additionally, it is not restricted to the elderly, reportedly having

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s are hardly ever the same for any one patient. Although the side effects of Alzheimer’s can result in the similar symptoms, such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, difficulty focusing, and taking care of ones self can be an outcome for most patients. Many will have a different personality, loss of sight, sense of smell, as well as no longer being able to taste (Medicine).

Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disease which slowly destroys thinking and memory skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day to day life. This irreversible disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst the elderly, with an appearance of first symptoms after age 60.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia known today. The term “dementia” refers to a variety of conditions that arise from the loss of nerve cell function and/or nerve cell death in the brain, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other types of mixed dementia. Although all types of dementia arise from neuronal damage and/or death, each form of dementia is associated with distinct brain abnormalities and symptom patterns. Once a patient has been diagnosed with dementia, a physician must conduct further tests in order to determine the exact form of dementia that is present. Recent research indicates that many individuals,

     Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive degenerative disease that attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. Dementia is the lost of thinking, remembering and reasoning so bad it screws up ability to do daily functions and eventually resolves in death. Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s first discovered the disease in 1906. Since then research has developed a deeper understanding of the changes in the brain. Warning sign’s of Alzheimer's are memory loss that affects home and job skills, problem in speaking, poor judgment, and difficulty in learning. The last stage of Alzheimer's disease is when you’re unable to take care of

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning it attacks the neurons within the brain. Neurons are the areas of the brain that allow for chemical messages, or neurotransmitters, to be transmitted. These neurons are necessary for connections with other nerve cells, and without them, the neuronS ultimately die. Alzheimer’s is a form of, and the most common cause of, dementia, or loss of intellectual capacity and personality. ("Dementia.") Alzheimer’s disease, or AD, is not a normal part of aging, although risk of developing the illness increases with age. The onset behavior of the disease normally doesn’t appear until age sixty and older. Though symptoms that appear before age sixty have occurred, it is less common and tends

In addition to Alzheimer's not receiving enough funding to find a cure, many people should be advocating the problem so more people are knowledged about the issue. According to T.R. Reid, an editor for AARP, there is a lot of funding provided for diseases that already have cures. Since there are cures for diseases such as cancer or HIV/AIDS, there are lots of survivors who are able to share their stories of survival to promote research. On the other hand, there is a lack of funding which has created a delay to curing Alzheimer’s. While there are survivors of cancer and HIV/AIDS there are not any prominent survivors of Alzheimer's that can promote research. Advocating is one major way to get the country's attention about the issue. There are

The research into Alzheimer's Disease has come a long way since 1906 when it is was discovered by Alois Alzheimer. He detected microscopic brain tissue changes called senile and neuritic plaques in deceased patients. These are chemical deposits consisting of protein molecules called Amyloid Precursor Protein(APP) that are fundamental components of a normal brain. However in the brain of an Alzheimer patient, an enzyme cuts the APP apart and leaves fragments in the brain tissue. These combined with degenerating nerve cells cause the plaques or lesions. These lesions are found in many sections of the brain including the hippocampus which regulates emotion and memory, the basal forebrain, and especially the basal nucleus of Meynert and the cortex, where the memory function is located.(2) Another sign of a diseased brain are neurofibrillary tangles, which are malformations within nerve cells.

Objective: To identify the factors associated with a stable and long-lasting home life in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by analyzing two-year treatment outcomes.