Understanding Alzheimer's Disease Essay

Alzheimer’s Disease is an irreversible, genetically linked illness. This disease was chosen for the topic of this essay under the consideration that in many families the illness can be incredibly tragic, passing down for generations without mercy. It is not rare to encounter families in which each member is afflicted with a form, mild or severe, of Alzheimer’s. The disease is a progressive brain disease which comes in two separate types: Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. These will be discussed in full later on in the paper.

In the United States there are approximately 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Every sixty-nine seconds a person is diagnosed. This is an ongoing issue, and unless something is done, sixteen million people will be affected by 2050 (Latest).

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 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.

get it, but most cases are the only ones in a family. Some patients who develop

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a disease of the future. With the growing aged population, this disease, which affects primarily the elderly, will become of increasing relevance to the medical profession. Also, the high frequency of Alzheimer’s, and the high cost in labor, money, and material of caring for its victims shall put considerable burden on the society as a whole. Here, however, these issues are not going to be debated. Instead the pathology of Alzheimer’s will be reviewed to the extent it is known today.

In 1901, a fifty one year old woman named Frau Auguste D. was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. She had an unusual bunch of symptoms. While she had no history of prior psychiatric illness, her husband had noticed that Frau D. was becoming increasing paranoid, hallucinatory, agitated, disoriented, and having increasing difficulties with language functions and memory.

The call came at 9:05 p.m. on January 20, 2004. Mom had just finished telling the news about the girl's grandfather. He had Alzheimer's Disease and was not doing well at all. The ruling was that he probably would not make it through the night. She knew exactly what the news was the moment her mom said, "No." After the news came, the decision was made they would leave the next day to attend the funeral.

The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning

     It is inevitable that eventually each of us will grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly people are challenged by many illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as people age is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient’s cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimer’s disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends will find it very hard to cope when a loved one begins slipping away and losing memory of who they are.

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly steals a person’s dignity and erases precious memories. The “Alzheimer’s Disease Guide”, found on WebMD explains that tasks become more difficult to do often leading to confusion and behavior changes. The article further explains the progression of the disease also brings hardship to family and friends (1). To best cope with Alzheimer’s we must better understand the disease.

Although Alzheimer’s disease (henceforth: AD) has been around since the 19th century or possibly even earlier and was at a point in time classified as senile dementia, it wasn’t until 1906 following Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s encounter with Auguste Deter at a Frankfurt asylum that the name of the disease was finally coined. Since then, major developments relating to the disease has taken place. In our report, we addressed some of the areas of the history, contemporary and prospects of the disease.

My grandma had survived a hard life, and yet managed to raise four responsible, well-educated, and successful children. All this she did while working as a respected psychiatric nurse and a state mental health board member. Although she had had and was still overcoming trials in life, I always knew she would be there and cared about me and my life. As my brother and I grew older and were unable to visit my grandparents as often as we