Symptoms And Treatment Of Dementia

More than 30 million people are affected worldwide, Alzheimer's is the number one cause of dementia. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys memory and essential mental functions. The brain cells and the actual cells deteriorate and die; the main symptoms are confusion and loss of mind. Dementia follows Alzheimer's; you can’t have one without the other. Dementia, on the other hand, it is not its own disease, it is a group of thinking and social symptoms that hinder everyday tasks. Over 100 years ago a German physician by the name Alois Alzheimer’s

One of the most prominent and perhaps most feared condition associated with aging is dementia. The family of disorders can cause individuals to lose their mind, reducing one from being a complex, thinking, feeling human being to being confused and vegetative, unable to recognize their loved ones. Serious dementia affects nearly 37 million people globally, but predictions of how those numbers will change over the next few decades are conflicting (textbook). Although we know dementia as to do with damage to nerve cells in the brain, there are ongoing studies looking at correlations between other health issues and these types of diseases.

According to the Department of Health (DoH, 2013), dementia is describe as a syndrome that can be caused by number of progressive disorder which affects memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. Whereas Morris and Morris (2010), describe dementia as deterioration of the brain cells which affects the memory, thinking, communication and mood changes with a specific disease. Both description of dementia are similar in which the disorder

Next, we need to define what is dementia? Dementia is an organic brain syndrome which results

The soaring global costs of Alzheimer’s and dementia care, the escalating number of people living with these diseases, and the challenges encountered by affected families demand a meaningful, aggressive, and an ambitious effort to solve this crisis.

Lindsay et. al (2002), explain that dementia is fast growing in elderly population and it has a significant effect on healthcare services and society due to increasing concern of health policy makers and service provider as life expectancy increase particularly as the baby boomer ages (p.445).

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), first described and named after Dr Alois Alzheimer in 1906, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, neuropathologically characterised by gross cerebral atrophy, extracellular senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (Zetterberg & Mattsson, (2014). Clinically, AD is characterised by memory loss, cognitive impairment and behavioural and psychological changes (Carter, Resnick, Mallampalli & Kalbarczyk, 2012). The Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) have a significant impact on the quality of life of the person with dementia and the caregiver (Rouch et al, 2014). The existence and intensity of the BPSD has a greater negative impact on caregivers then the actual cognitive decline (Rouch et al, 2014).

In general, each neuron releases a single type of neurotransmitter. Neurons that release the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are called cholinergic neurons and degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the brain are associated with Alzheimer’s (Sherwood). Drugs classified as short-term cholinesterase inhibitors are used to treat Alzheimer’s because the drugs prolong the effect of acetylcholine. There are special cells called microglia that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease as well. Microglia are immune defense cells in the CNS (central nervous system) or brain and spinal cord. The remove foreign and degenerate material in the CNS. Overactive microglia appear to be involved in a variety of inflammation-related disorders like Alzheimer’s (Sherwood). Inflammation is triggered by the body’s immune system and is a factor that plays in the progression of the disease (Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia).

Dementia is a clinical concept. It is identified by loss of specific essential abilities and is usually complex as the individual who suffers can experience irregularities of mood, perception, and behaviour, creating the person not seem their normal self (Hughes, J et al 2010). Dementia is an overall term for illnesses which is a gradual progressive decline in an individual’s memory and other cognitive abilities. There are many variations of dementia; Alzheimer’s disease gradually destroys brain cells in addition to their connections. Vascular dementia is caused by issues with the blood supply to brain. It can involve minor strokes which damage areas of the brain. Lewy body’s dementia is the build-up of defective proteins in the brain. There are stages of dementia early, middle and late. Mr X is in late stages of Lewy body dementia, illness has affect the person’s abilities, so that he will has more difficult with general daily activities due to Braak, H, et al (2009) Declares that Lewy bodies can affect many neurons in the nervous system having an adverse effect on the individuals core abilities of movement .

The impact of dementia is a mounting global health problem with worldwide education the incidence and prevalence can be diminished. With the projected incidence raising global education is crucial. Education about dementia prevention, increasing awareness and understanding of dementia and reducing stigma is vital to meet this 21st century health problem. The above factors combined have a major impact on the indivvual with dementia and society. No solo country, sector or organisation can encounter this global health problem by themselves.

In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear in their mid-60s. It is evaluated by specialists that more than 5 million American may have Alzheimer's sickness. Alzheimer's disease is right now positioned as the 6th driving reasons for death in the United states after heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents and stroke but recent estimates indicated that the disorder may rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people. Furthermore, Alzheimer's disease causes dementia in numerous elderly individuals and in a few people with Down disorder who survived to age 50. In module three, the author explains how Alzheimer’s disease destroy Charles brain, how he loses more and more mental activities such as knowing, thinking and deciding.

“According to doctors in the early 20th century anyone over the age of 65 who marked a sign of confusion was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Bair, 5).” AD is form of dementia. “It is also a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a mean duration of around 8.5 years between onset of clinical symptoms and death (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).” The medicine and science related to dementia and AD specifically has evolved a long way to develop strategies to encourage the healthy altitude of the brain. Growing old does not come with a guarantee to have memory loss. Using preventative measure and knowing the causes of this deadly disease will aid in a safe path that strays away from forgetfulness. Healthy lifestyles inhibits the formation of amyloid beta protein strands, the main cause of Alzheimer’s. Although living healthy can be more expensive, the money saved from the cost of therapy, prescriptions, and time-consumption from care giving is an advantage. The cost of healthcare and service for it is rising rapidly. “In 1991 the average cost for Alzheimer’s was $31,000” (Hodgson 60).

Alzheimer 's Disease was first discovered in the early 1900’s by a German psychiatrist. The disease was named after the physician that frontlined the discovery of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in sleeping patterns, mood, and memory in older patients. Dr. Alzheimer wanted to know more about what was causing these issues and performed autopsies on these patients brain’s postmortem, what he discovered were changes in the brain that he termed Alzheimer 's Disease. Prior to Dr. Alzheimer’s research there was little known of the disease. The changes that were observed in patients were considered to be a normal part of aging. Now researchers and scientists are able to study more about the disease and collaborate their findings to make new research

There are many medications on the market right now to try and help the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, many of these treat the symptoms but not the cause. One specific medication, cholinesterase inhibitors is not fully understood but it is believed to help decrease the breakdown of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter (About Alzheimer 's Disease: Treatment, n.d.). Cholinesterase is both beneficial in it’s aid in treatment and not— this medicine over time causes neurons not to produce as much acetylcholine (About Alzheimer 's Disease: Treatment, n.d.). This drug works on mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease because there is often a problem with synaptic activity due to TAU blockage and cell to cell connections in the genetic neuronal manifestation in Alzheimers (About Alzheimer 's Disease: Treatment, n.d.; Alzheimer 's Disease Medications Fact Sheet, 2015).

In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer recognized a change in a fifty-year-old woman’s brain tissue post mortem now known as Alzheimer’s disease. Today, Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent form of dementia affecting about 5.3 million people in the United States (Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2015). This disease gradually destroys memory and thinking skills, eventually preventing the ability of simple tasks to be performed. In this research paper I will first discuss my personal reason for researching this topic and give a description of Alzheimer’s disease. I will also go through the history and important demographics behind this disease and describe three purposed hypothesis behind the cause of Alzheimer’s. Next I will describe the various symptoms