How Alzheimer's Affects The Brain

A healthy adult brain has about 100 billion neurons, each with long, branching extensions (Alz). As people live longer, chronic diseases become more prevalent. Statistics show 4% of Alzheimer’s patients are 65 years or old, 15% are between 65-74 years old, 44% are between 75-84 years old, and 38% are over 85 (Alzheimer’s Foundation Of America). Ranked sixth among the top ten leading causes of death within the United States, Alzheimer’s causes nearly 85,000 deaths per year (CDC). By 2050, approximately 14 million Americans will be suffering from this disease, over 131 million worldwide. Discovered in 1906 by a German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, who first noticed the disease in Auguste D. who experienced symptoms of “profound memory loss, unfounded suspicions about her family, and other worsening psychological changes” (Alzheimer’s Association). …show more content…
The inability to remember basic things and retain new information are the first symptoms in three out of every four cases. Neuronal damage eventually affects parts of the brain that enable a person to carry out basic bodily functions such as walking and swallowing (Alz). In the case of Alzheimer’s the hippocampus nerve cells die first. The loss of judgement and linguistic skills occur once the cerebral cortex is dead (Science Direct). The diagnosis for Alzheimer’s relies on the documentation of mental decline but not limited to lab tests, neuroimaging and other neuropsychological tests. Other functions such as following instruction, abstract thinking, money management, and word selection are lost within the early stages of Alzheimer’s (Bright Focus