Causes And Symptoms Of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia and is also the most common form of it. It is According to the Alzheimer’s Association, it accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia. This disease is an advanced loss of intellectual function that eventually interferes with someone’s day to day living; such as relationships, work ethic, and even personal hygiene. With Alzheimer’s, there is a lack of ambition, changes in personality, and weakened judgment. This progressive disease happens in people who are 65 years old and older. Though it is thought to be a disease of old age, there is a small percentage of early onset AD in people who are only 30 to 60 years of age. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s disease in the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. After symptoms are noticeable, one can live an average of 8 years. Although survival can range from four to twenty years it mostly depends on their age and how bad their symptoms and health can be. There is an estimated amount that 5 …show more content…
Doctors and determine if someone has dementia but they cannot prove if Alzheimer’s is the reason for it. If can only be proven after death if someone has AD. They can do physical and neurological testing. This includes balance, coordination, muscle tone and reflexes, sense of hearing and vison, also a simple task of getting out of the chair and walking across the room. A MRI and CT scan of the brain can also be done to see if there are any other conditions that may be adding to the symptoms. A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) can also be done. This is when doctors inject you with a low-level radioactive tracer. Then they follow the tracer with an overhead scanner. According to the being Mayo Clinic of Alzheimer’s disease, there is future testing that is being considered. This includes, more sensitive test of mental abilities and measurement of key proteins or protein patterns in blood or the spinal