Write at least a three-page paper discussing the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most difficult diseases to see a loved one go through. The disease affects the brain. There is no cure to Alzheimer’s disease but early detection and with treatment and therapy; it can slow the progress of the disease significantly. Alzheimer’s disease affects the individual memory, thinking, judgment, language, ability to solve problem, movement and also, it can change the personality of the person. The five stages of the disease include preclinical Alzheimer’s, mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s, moderate dementia due to Alzheimer’s and severe dementia due to Alzheimer’s. Diagnosis …show more content…
The person’s personality can be alter as the disease affects different parts of the brain and as a result other functions that rely on those parts of the brain lost their functionality. Husbands can no longer remember their wives and vice versa, if one of the other were affected. Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that causes lesion in the brain, that is, the chemical composition of the brain begins to break down. There is a synaptic damage which can be caused by soluble Aβ-derived oligomers (ADDLs). There is no definitive cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, with early detection, many family members affected can live a lot longer than the 8 years span given to run the course of the disease. Many of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can also be associated with other diseases that are reversible. So it is very important to diagnose the disease correctly to eliminate other factors that might be the cause of the …show more content…
In diagnosing AD, it is imperative to “base diagnosis on a comprehensive history and physical examination and laboratory and neuropsychiatric testing. Using clinical criteria, clinicians can accurately diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in 75% to 97%” (Griffith, 2002). Some of the clinical criteria requires, assessing neuropsychological assessments to test and monitor long and short term memories and cognition. Neuropsychological testing involves a specialized testing that targets and measures a specific brain function and or pathways. Some of the tools uses for this include Mini-Mental State Examinations (MMSE), Alzheimer’s disease assessment and the Clock Drawing Test. The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) can be used to determine if there is a visuospatial error due to lesion in the right hemisphere. On the other hand, time setting errors were found to be caused by those with lesion on the left hemisphere. The Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale is “designed to evaluate the severity of cognitive and non-cognitive behavioral dysfunctions characteristic of persons with Alzheimer's disease.” (Rosen, Mohs, & Davis, 1984). The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale is a composition of several cognitive items along with numerous memory tasks that
Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most difficult diseases to see a loved one go through. The disease affects the brain. There is no cure to Alzheimer’s disease but early detection and with treatment and therapy; it can slow the progress of the disease significantly. Alzheimer’s disease affects the individual memory, thinking, judgment, language, ability to solve problem, movement and also, it can change the personality of the person. The five stages of the disease include preclinical Alzheimer’s, mild cognitive impairment, mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s, moderate dementia due to Alzheimer’s and severe dementia due to Alzheimer’s. Diagnosis …show more content…
The person’s personality can be alter as the disease affects different parts of the brain and as a result other functions that rely on those parts of the brain lost their functionality. Husbands can no longer remember their wives and vice versa, if one of the other were affected. Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that causes lesion in the brain, that is, the chemical composition of the brain begins to break down. There is a synaptic damage which can be caused by soluble Aβ-derived oligomers (ADDLs). There is no definitive cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, with early detection, many family members affected can live a lot longer than the 8 years span given to run the course of the disease. Many of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease can also be associated with other diseases that are reversible. So it is very important to diagnose the disease correctly to eliminate other factors that might be the cause of the …show more content…
In diagnosing AD, it is imperative to “base diagnosis on a comprehensive history and physical examination and laboratory and neuropsychiatric testing. Using clinical criteria, clinicians can accurately diagnose Alzheimer’s disease in 75% to 97%” (Griffith, 2002). Some of the clinical criteria requires, assessing neuropsychological assessments to test and monitor long and short term memories and cognition. Neuropsychological testing involves a specialized testing that targets and measures a specific brain function and or pathways. Some of the tools uses for this include Mini-Mental State Examinations (MMSE), Alzheimer’s disease assessment and the Clock Drawing Test. The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) can be used to determine if there is a visuospatial error due to lesion in the right hemisphere. On the other hand, time setting errors were found to be caused by those with lesion on the left hemisphere. The Alzheimer’s disease assessment scale is “designed to evaluate the severity of cognitive and non-cognitive behavioral dysfunctions characteristic of persons with Alzheimer's disease.” (Rosen, Mohs, & Davis, 1984). The Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale is a composition of several cognitive items along with numerous memory tasks that