Pathophysiology: Dementia Dementia, also known as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is a progressive, chronic, and degenerative. 60% of dementia occurs in people over the age of 65. Dementia causes loss of judgment, memory, change in personality, and visuospatial perception. Severe cognitive impairment can occur over time, as well as physical deterioration and death. The brain changes in size and weight as a person ages. There is also a narrowing of the gyri, enlargement of the ventricles, and widening of the cerebral sulci. In AD, these changes are accelerated, causing issues such as atrophy of the cerebral cortex and loss of cortical neurons. In addition, the pre-central gyrus of the frontal lobe, superior temporal gyrus, hippocampus, and substantia nigra are all affected. Changes in neurofibrillary tangles (tangled masses of fibrous tissue throughout the neurons) , amyloid-rich senile or neuritic plague (degenerating nerve terminals in the hippocampus which contain proteins that form neurotoxic plague in the brain) and granulovascular degeneration can all occur as well. Though the exact cause of AD is unknown, possible factors of cognitive impairment in older adults include neurologic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, metabolic, psychological, environmental causes, nutritional deficiencies, and drug toxicity. Signs & Symptoms: Alzheimer Disease is staged based on symptoms. Early (Mild) or Stage I can last up to 4 years. Middle (Moderate) or Stage II can last 2-3
Dementia is a broad term used to describe the symptoms that occur when the brain is affected by specific diseases and conditions.Dementia is a progressive disease and the symptoms will get gradually worse.
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.
There are many disease processes that culminate in the onset of dementia; the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. The syndrome is frequently associated with a progressive decline in brain function and the associated physical and mental abilities, including memory, language and cognitive function.
Early 1900’s a man named Alois Alzheimer cared for a woman who had rapid severe declining dementia, after she died he was able to study her brain where he found atrophy of the grey matter along with plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, which when destroyed interrupts the messages sent from the neurotransmitters to the central and limbic regions of the brain resulting in early
Alzheimer’s disease is the progressive loss of memory and mental functions. The disease affects memory, thought control, language, and other cognitive functions. The disease typically appears with old age and is often found age 60. Alzheimer’s causes the brain to develop clumps and tangles fibers in the brain tissue along with the loss of neuron connections. Throughout the brain, proteins are abnormally distributed and they form tangled bundles of fibers and amyloid plaques. Some neurons fail to function properly and lose their connections, which are necessary for the transmission of messages to the body. The hippocampus is the key brain structure in the formation of memories and often experiences the first signs of damage.
Dementia is a term used to describe the symptoms of a number of illnesses which effect the function of the brain. It is an umbrella term describing the progressive decline in a person’s cognitive ability. The type and severity of symptoms varies with each type of dementia and is usually has a gradual onset, is progressive and irreversible. (1)
A brain deteriorates, slowly being engulfed by a mysterious disease. The neurons being cut off and destroyed by two abnormal structures. First memory is affected gradually getting worse. Then one is unable to think properly, reason, and lacks of self control. Gaps are formed in the brain 's ventricles, due to the amount of dead tissue. In the end, it will lead to death. All of this may sound like something from a science fiction movie but infact its very real. These are all known possible symptoms of a common disease that affects about millions of Americans. It is known as Alzheimer 's disease (AD), and I plan on explaining it a bit more in this paper. First I will explain the disease and list some facts about it,then I will talk about some commonly asked questions about it.
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.
Dementia is the general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer 's. Alzheimer 's disease literally eats and attacks the human brain (Overview). It is a progressive disease that causes the brain cells to degenerate and die, which causes memory loss and affects other important mental
According to Kerr, (2007) AD is largely related to the degeneration of brain weight because plaques and neuro- fibre tangles form, causing inflammation, disrupting neuronal transmission and killing brain tissues. AD is a progressive disease which harms the temporal and parietal brain lobes. This causes memory loss, deterioration of visual spatial skill, complexity in communication, judgement and recognition which in long term, results in death of brain cells (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011).
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. There are two types of Alzheimer’s disease: early onset which occurs between the ages of 30 to 60, and late onset which occurs after the age of 60. Late onset is the most common type. The National Center for Health Statistics lists Alzheimer’s as the 6th leading cause of death for people over 65 years and older.
Although some kinds of memory loss are very normal in the aging process, the changes that are caused by aging are not that extreme enough to conflict with it. A number of certain diseases and conditions can cause dementia. These conditions and diseases consist of Parkinson’s disease, strokes, brain tumors, blood clots and Multiple Sclerosis, but the most common disease to cause this is Alzheimer’s disease (Crystal, 2009).
“Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks individuals with AD may start having symptoms their mid-60s” (nih.gov). AD is a multifactorial and progressive neurodegenerative disease. “Parts of AD, for example, increased oxidative state, amyloid plaque deposition, and neurofibrillary tangle of tau protein in the central cortex the limbic system of the brain, have been related with Alzheimer 's disease. The disease was once thought to be a natural part of aging; it is an extremely incapacitating type of mental dementia. Albeit, some dementia
A neurodegenerative disease is when the central nervous system progressively deteriorates thus causing nervous system dysfunction. Neurodegenerative conditions are characterised by the change in the neurone function within the brain cells. Alzheimers disease(AD) can be classified as a neurodegenerative disorder, (Griffin & W.S.T 2006). The pathology of alzheimer’s disease has been described as a person having neural plaques within the brain, they are made up of high levels of protein β-amyloid, and this causes neurofibrillary tangles and cholinergic nerve degeneration. Early onset of AD presents symptoms of forgetfulness and anxiety which can in later years produce a total dependency on ones carer and lead to having no awareness on the
Another clue may be the effects the aging process has on the brain as it is harming the neurons in the brain causing the disease (NIA, 2012). Regardless of the cause, AD is a life altering disease in every aspect of the victim’s life.