Christina Thorpe Michael Langdon Intro to College Writing 831-103 Definition Essay 24 June 2015 Alzheimer’s disease is one of the leading causes of death in adults. (Farlex, 2003-2015) What is Alzheimer’s and how do we live with it? Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that affects two to four million people in our country and eight million more worldwide. Alzheimer’s is an aggressive disease that destroys the brain. “Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, a neurologic disease characterized by loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting at least six months, and not present from birth.’ AD usually occurs in old age, and is marked by a decline in cerebral functions, …show more content…
By 1990, researchers thought they had it all figured out. (Costandi, 2014) Still Alzheimer’s has no cure, although there is medications and management strategies that can temporarily improve symptoms. The first symptoms of AD vary per person. Some of the first indications of Alzheimer’s disease for many are perception, not understanding visual images, and are not responsible for the decisions they make. “There are three brain irregularities that are the symbols of the Alzheimer’s disease process: loss of nerve cell connections, tangles, and plaques.” • Plaques. A protein called beta-amyloid accumulates and forms sticky clumps of amyloid plaque between nerve cells (neurons). Reduced levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are associated with high levels of beta amyloid. (Neurotransmitters are chemical couriers in the brain.) Acetylcholine is part of the cholinergic system, which is critically and increasingly destroyed in Alzheimer’s disease. • Tangles. Neurofibrillary tangles are the injured remains of macrotubules, the support structure that allows the movement of nutrients through the neurons. A key feature of these tangled fibers is an unusual form of the tau protein, which in its normal version helps preserve healthy
The causes of Alzheimer’s are not yet fully understood; however, its effect on the brain can be understood. Alzheimer’s disease - insidious, attacking and terrifying - stalks and then murders brain cells. A brain afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease has a decreased count in cells and connections among cells. The more brain cells die, the smaller the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s gets. When doctors examine a brain with Alzheimer’s tissue, they see two types of deformities that are known to be trademarks of the disease. The first trademark is known as plaque, which is a cluster of a beta-amyloid protein that may damage and kill brain cells in a number of ways, including blocking with cell-to-cell communication. Whereas the final cause of brain-cell death in Alzheimer’s remains a mystery, the groups of beta-amyloids that cover the brain cells are a sure sign of the disease. The second trademark of Alzheimer’s is the tangle. Brain cells are reliant on internal support and a transport system to bring nutrients and other essentials to their distant regions. This system needs a protein called tau. In Alzheimer’s, strings of tau protein roll into abnormal tangles inside brain cells, concluding in failure of the cell's transport system. This breakdown of the system is powerfully involved in the decline and death of brain
Alzheimer 's Disease (AD) is a standout amongst the most widely recognized of the dementia-affecting sicknesses. Alzheimer 's is a dynamic, degenerative ailment that assaults the mind;
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes complications with memory, thinking, and behavior. Long before any signs of memory loss, there a microscopic changes occurring in the brain, altering its functionality (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016). The brain has billions of nerve cells that work together, and when one portion of the brains neurons are malfunctioning it leads to breakdowns in other parts of the brain. The two most noted abnormal structures that are suspected to damage and kill neurons in the brain in patients with Alzheimer’s are plaques and tangles. Plaques are deposits of a proteins fragment called beta-amyloid that build up in the spaces between nerve cells; and tangles are twisted fibers of another protein called tau that build up inside cells (Alzheimer 's Association Organization, 2016).
Damage or lesions to the brain are the main causes of Alzheimer’s disease; the two main causes of these lesions are neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. (4) These are commonly known as plaques and tangles and are caused by the build-up of two proteins. The plaques are a build-up of the protein beta-amyloid (β-amyloid) while the tangles are formed by the build-up of the protein tau, even though both are found in Alzheimer's disease only the β-amyloid plaques are unique to the disease and it is these plaques that are believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer's.
There is also hope that one day, researchers will create a vaccine to prevent and even treat individuals with the disease. (A guide to alzheimer's disease. 2012). The treatments I’ve mentioned is very hopeful for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, but curing the disease is still a long way from now to help individuals with Alzheimer’s as well as helping families of the individual. Although, there are currently no known cure for Alzheimer’s, researches about Alzheimer’s has helped health care providers provide the best care and understanding of the disease to improve people living with Alzheimer’s today. It has also created support groups throughout the world to support the lives of family members taking care of individuals with Alzheimer’s (A guide to Alzheimer’s disease,
Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Currently, there is no cure. However, there are many clinical trials being done to find a way to slow down, or even cure, this disease.
Scientists can study under a microscope and see the devastating effects of these continually dying cells. The brain of an Alzheimer 's patient has much fewer nerve cells and synapses than a healthy brain. Gradually the brain deprived of nourishment, shrinks and dies. Presently, there is no cure. The five medications available today can only temporarily ease Alzheimer 's symptoms.
A neurodegenerative disease is when the central nervous system progressively deteriorates thus causing nervous system dysfunction. Neurodegenerative conditions are characterised by the change in the neurone function within the brain cells. Alzheimers disease(AD) can be classified as a neurodegenerative disorder, (Griffin & W.S.T 2006). The pathology of alzheimer’s disease has been described as a person having neural plaques within the brain, they are made up of high levels of protein β-amyloid, and this causes neurofibrillary tangles and cholinergic nerve degeneration. Early onset of AD presents symptoms of forgetfulness and anxiety which can in later years produce a total dependency on ones carer and lead to having no awareness on the
At the present time, there is no cure for Alzheimer's malady. Once a man begins giving suggestions – memory misfortune and issues with learning, judgment, correspondence, and everyday life - there aren't any medicines that can stop or turn around them.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or elderly age. It destroys memory and other major mental functions (Mayo Clinic staff).
“Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes” (alzfdn.org). Alzheimer’s disease which is commonly known as (AD) appears as the most common cause of dementia. In Alzheimer’s disease, there is a loss of neurons and synapses, due to the presence of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles which affects memories. Alois Alzheimer a German physician and neuropathologist was the first to discover plaques and tangles in 1907. Neurotic plaques and the neurofibrillary tangles still remain as two major factors of the disease and are used for the basis for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (Gandy
The second imported, tangles are abnormal collections of twisted protein that found inside nerve cell. The chief of tangles is tau it’s a protein cell. The neurons that are healths are internally supported is some part by
The brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease have an abundance of two abnormal structures – amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These are made of misfolded proteins which can stick together with other misfolded proteins to form insoluble aggregates. If these aggregates build up, they can disrupt cellular communication and metabolism. The third main feature of Alzheimer’s is the loss of connections between cells leading to the ill-functioning and death of cells (Institute and Aging, 2011).
Plaques are formed from deposits of the beta-amyloid protein collecting in the spaces of the brain between the nerve and cell (Unknown Author 2011). Researchers believe that plaques and tangles affect the brain by blocking communication between cells and therefore disrupt the processes needed to survive. “It is the destruction and death of nerve cells that causes memory failure, personality change, problems carrying out daily activity, and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease” (Unknown Author 2011).
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a severe neurological disorder. It shows up most commonly in older adults over 65*. There is no current cure for AD. Most people suffer through it and watch their life's memories slowly melt away.