Caregiving and dementia

The total cost of dementia to the UK is estimated at £26 billion a year but only £90 is spent on dementia research per patient per year (Alzheimer's Society, 2014). By gait analysis being cost effective it will mean that more money would be able to be spent on research than the diagnosis. Another advantage of gait analysis is that it is not just used for diagnosing one type of disease it can diagnose many types such as dementia, MCI (mild cognitive impairment). It is also…

This video is about maturing and aging. In 1950 research on maturing and aging began. Development and growth are not the same in this context. Erikson helped redirect developmental psychology toward the entire life cycle from his own experiences as an immigrant. He developed 8 stages of development: trust vs. mistrust 0-1 years old), autonomy vs. doubt (1-3 years old), initiative vs. guilt (3-6 years old), industry vs. inferiority (6-11 years old), identity vs. role confusion (11-18 years…

They run, punt, and pass. Can you guess who “they” are? Of course, football players. Football is the 9th most popular sport in the world and 1st in Texas. If you watch football, you know it is a very aggressive and dangerous sport. It involves a lot of physical contact within the players, but sometimes that contact can cause serious injuries. In spite of the fact that sport trauma and or wounds rarely add to the fatalities, the main source of death from sports related wounds is traumatic mind…

Our interest in the topic of Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) started when we heard about how many people are affected by this disease. The number of people affected by this disease in the United States alone is around 400,000 people. This genetic disorder is caused when a person is born with an extra copy of chromosome twenty-one. Down syndrome is recognized by things such as short stature, a distinctive palm crease, stubby fingers, mental retardation that can end up being serious, a wide gap between…

MS occurs when the immune system attacks the myelin sheath that cover and protect the nerve fibers. When myelin is damaged the information, or the nerve impulses, from the sensory nerves can no longer reach CNS , which consequently lead to wrong responses in the body. Because MS is unpredictable disease, the progression of MS differ from one patient to another. Therefore, doctors have to follow the patient’s case carefully to recognize whether the Disease progresses to later stages or not. The…

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is inherited disorder that affects the lower motor neuron in the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord and brain stem resulting in progressive weakness of the skeletal muscles [1]. It is considered as one of the most common autosomal recessive diseases and leading genetic cause of death during childhood [2]. The primary cause of SMA is mutation of the spinal motor neuron 1 (SMA1) while the severity of the disease is determined by the number of identical spinal…

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that involves motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. ALS is considered to be one of the most common progressive neurological diseases, affecting approximately 20,000 individuals in the United States in a given year (Fried-Oken et al., 2006). Etiology of ALS remains unknown; however, there appears to be an existing genetic component associated with this disease. Changes in speech are first seen in patients with bulbar onset…

Nerve cell degeneration that occurs in AD (as shown in Figs. 4 & 5) reflects in a great way symptoms that the individual experiences. Typically, nerves degeneration occurs first in the brain area responsible for learning and memory, and gradually spreads to cells controlling other aspects such as thinking, judgment and behavior. Eventually, damage reaches nerve cells that control and coordinates movement. Figure 4 Brain from normal elderly person (upper left and right)vs. brain of…

Alzheimer's Care: The Stages of Alzheimers Alzheimer's disease is a progressive form of dementia that erodes the memories and cogntive skills of tens of millions of Americans every year. While this degenerative brain disorder follows a standard path of progression, no two seniors will have the same experience. For those providing Alzheimer's care, it is important to understand the stages of the disease, although there are a number of factors that impact the speed at which a person will go…

There are three stages of alzheimer's, early stage, mild to moderate, and severe alzheimer’s. Learning, memory thinking, and planning is affected in the early stage. Speech and comprehending speech is affected in the moderate stage. In the severe alzheimer’s stage, the individual is unable to recognize family and loved ones, unable to care for themselves, and lose ability to speak. Scientists have been exploring if alzheimer’s can be prevented in health and lifestyle factors like exercising,…