Paper On Alzheimer's Disease

Dementia is a debilitating condition affecting the mind of affected persons so that their cognitive skills and memory are impaired to the extent that it affects their ability to perform their activities of daily living. There are differing forms of dementia such as vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Currently Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death among individuals in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease is currently felt to account for sixty to eighty percent of dementia cases within the United States. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015) Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. The disease was first diagnosed and described by Alois Alzheimer, a German psychotherapist, in 1906. The disease symptoms begin slowly and progressively worsen over time until it affects daily life skills. The disease is typically categorized by three …show more content…
There is no single test to diagnose. Physicians must get an extensive medical history; perform mental status exams, physical and neurological exams, as well as possible lab work and brain imaging to rule out other possible causes of dementia like symptoms. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s may vary depending upon which stage of the disease a person is currently in. There is a preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s disease during which the affected person is unaware that they have the disease but changes are occurring within their brain. These changes at this time are not enough to be noticeable or affect their skills of daily living. In the first stage of the disease, they may still be able to live by their self, drive, and still remain very social. It may be hard for them to find the right words to use, remembering names of new people, forgetting things that they just looked at or read, losing important things, or trouble with planning or