Meryl Comer, lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s, points out “we’re really a composite of our life experiences – memory layered upon memory and Alzheimer’s steals that away.” Memories are what most people are made up of, but the people who have Alzheimer’s disease no longer remember what memories are. Instead, they see faces and are surrounded by unfamiliar people and places. When signs of Alzheimer’s begin to appear in a beloved family member the person wishes there was a cure because that person knows their loved one will pass away with no chance of survival. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia.…
We have lived with Alzheimer's for as long as we can remember, and with some caveman remains appearing to belong to people in their seventies, it is very likely that Alzheimer's has been a part of human life since human life began. But today we are facing it far more seriously than ever before. With increases in life expectancy and more respectful treatment of people with mental ailments, we are beginning to see the havoc caused by Alzheimer's and are making increasingly great efforts to understand it, help patients cope with it, and cure it. Although we used to think that all dementia was equal and that Alzheimer's and dementia were normal aspects of ageing, we are increasingly seeing that this is not true.…
Anybody may be capable of telling a story, however, all stories are unique within how the stories are told. Whether a story regarding the Vietnam War, World War I, World War II, or several different events, contains various effects dealing with the particular event. Most of the population does not realize that Alzheimer’s is a popular event to question someone, since dealing with Alzheimer’s may be tragic. Not all stories about dealing with Alzheimer’s may be tragic, a few may be an enjoyable experience. Being in existence alongside someone known infinitely, there is a notable difference in how their behavior, attitude, and memory changes.…
Though Alzheimer’s is a disease that afflicts people of all ages, the frequency of which this disease forms increases along with age. So, it is only natural that as the…
How does Alzheimer’s affect the body? Odd amounts of protein form plaques throughout the brain, and healthy neurons stop working and lose connection with other neurons. Eventually, all these neurons start to die off. It starts in the part of the brain essential for forming memories, the hippocampus.…
In 2050, an estimated 50 million Americans over the age of 65 are expected to have Alzheimer 's Disease. Alzheimer 's Disease has been acknowledged and portrayed throughout history. Throughout this report the history, symptoms, different methods of diagnosis, prognosis or outcome, and treatments options for Alzheimer 's Disease will be discussed. In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, identified a collection of abnormal brain cells after a patient died after suffering years of memory problems, confusion, and difficulty understanding questions.…
Alzheimer’s is most known because of it is unpredictable effects it has on different people. It is overwhelming confusion in today’s medicine field leaves experts speculating and wondering what this condition is truly capable of in terms of destruction of the mind and body. This disease’s history, symptoms, and treatments all apart of what makes this disease so horrifying, wondrous, and confusing. History…
Alzheimer’s disease has a drastic impact on the human population, being one of the most common causes of death. With research less funded than cancer, there are many gaps to be filled. The cure to the disease has not been found yet, however, it is not feasible for me to accomplish such task. I began to look into the causes of Alzheimer’s, and found that research has died down in this area.…
With the constant evolution of science and medicine, people are living longer than ever before, though an aging population comes with many new challenges. One illness with poor patient outcomes is Alzheimer's, marked by worsening dementia that causes memory loss, personality changes, and trouble with higher functioning. Emerging research shows that prion diseases and non-infectious neurodegenerative diseases may be more similar than previously thought, consequently uncovering new possible treatment routes for progressive and irreversible diseases of the brain. Diseases that are neurodegenerative, such as Alzheimer's, have a similar mechanism to prion diseases that infect the brain and slowly destroy it (Frost and Diamond, 2010). The mechanism…
Due to this information about the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists have become more informed about how Alzheimer’s disease develops; now the focus is turned to the identifiable signs and symptoms of…
Health Issue Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible and progressive brain cell degenerative disease that causes a steady decline in memory and mental functioning (“Overview,” 2015). As the most common form of dementia, the causes of Alzheimer’s disease may vary and result from a combination of multiple disorders that alter brain changes such as, clumping of amyloid plaques, tangled neurofibrillary or loss of connections between nerve cells in the brain (“Alzheimer's Disease,” n.d.). Currently, Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. The Alzheimer’s Association states that there are more than 5 million people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States and 35 million people worldwide.…
Alzheimer’s disease (AD), was discovered as senile form of dementia in early 1907 by Alois Alzheimer in 1907. Since then the disease has been researched and studied to generate a knowledge base of symptoms, etiology, pathogenesis, treatment and management of the disease. AD is differentiated from senile dementia due to the neurodegenerative process which involves deposits of protein known as amyloid in neurons and neurofibrillary tangles which form plaques. This formation of plaques leads to neuron death and the hardening of tissue leads to progressive and terminal neurological disease state. There has been no cure to Alzheimer’s disease to the complexity of disease and the lack of understanding of amyloid protein and its process.…
The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease is quickly growing. Five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease today, including 200,000 people under the age of 65 (“2015 Alzheimer’s,” 2015). Most people living with the disease are not aware of their diagnosis and about half have not even been diagnosed. In Georgia, 130,000 adults older than 65 have the disease and that number is expected to nearly double by the year 2025 (“2015 Alzheimer’s,” 2015). Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.…
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and irreversible degenerative disease of the brain. Each phase of the disease presents distinct characteristics, and it is these characteristics that are used to determine how far the disease has progressed. Although there is, as of yet, no cure, various advances in medicine are geared at easing the ravages of the diseases, with the hope of a definitive cure on the minds of many. A form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease presents in two main forms: early onset and late onset. Early onset Alzheimer's disease affects people between 30 and 60 years old, and familial gene inheritance mainly being implicated as a risk factor for the disease.…
Currently there are five million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, thus meaning that every 66 seconds someone in the United States develops this memory-snatching disease (). As a matter of fact, Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and kills more than breast and prostate cancer combined (). With these growing statistics, the high stakes of finding a cure is becoming incredibly increased. However, in order for a cure to be discovered the origin of this disease must first be identified.…