It slowly takes over your mind, catapulting its victims into darkness. Profound forgetfulness and involuntary physical violence. There is no worse fear then forgetting loved ones, having them take care of you every day, but for some reason, it's hard to remember who they are and what the mean to you. Most likely if you ask any healthy senior citizen what they fear most as they go into old age, you'll hear Alzheimer’s and Dementia. To help prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia primal lifestyle is crucial to a healthy brain function. The American Medical Association (AMA) should educate young and healthy individuals as well as those with predisposed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) on how to prevent these cognitive impairments. Educating individuals on how to avoid, progression and future treatments of AD and DLB is a step in the right direction, to stop and one day fully eradicate AD and DLB. More than 30 million people are affected worldwide, Alzheimer's is the number one cause of dementia. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys memory and essential mental functions. The brain cells and the actual cells deteriorate and die; the main symptoms are confusion and loss of mind. Dementia follows Alzheimer's; you can’t have one without the other. Dementia, on the other hand, it is not its own disease, it is a group of thinking and social symptoms that hinder everyday tasks. Over 100 years ago a German physician by the name Alois Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Alzheimer’s accounts for 70-80% of dementia cases. By the age of 65, 1 in 9 people are diagnosed and by the age of 85, 1 in 3 people will have the disease. According to the Alzheimer Association, 5 million people in American have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s starts to form 20 years prior to being diagnosed. Learning about Alzheimer’s can help families understand how Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss, it is an incurable mental disease.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a disease of the future. With the growing aged population, this disease, which affects primarily the elderly, will become of increasing relevance to the medical profession. Also, the high frequency of Alzheimer’s, and the high cost in labor, money, and material of caring for its victims shall put considerable burden on the society as a whole. Here, however, these issues are not going to be debated. Instead the pathology of Alzheimer’s will be reviewed to the extent it is known today.
Alzheimer’s disease is nothing we can control. Unfortunately, this disease is a progressive, devastating brain illness that causes cognitive decline, including memory, language and thinking problems; which also happens to have no current cure even after all the years of trying to find one. “It is unknown what causes Alzheimer’s disease but older age and family history appear to play a role.” (Shu, 2011) Not only do age and family history play a factor in Alzheimer’s Disease, changes to the immune system can also play a part. However, throughout the years of our knowledge of Alzheimer’s, there have been many claims that the influenza vaccination (flu shot) increases the risk of getting this disease. This has caused a great deal of worry in many people, mostly elders. They’re not sure if they should get the vaccine, or if their loved ones with dementia should continue to get the vaccination. However, before this claim was made, numerous people were getting the influenza
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 8 (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death, affecting more than five million people in the United States and is also one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia can be defined as a disorder of progressive cognitive impairment severe enough to affect daily functions of an individual’s life (Fillit, et al., 2002).
Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).
Alzheimer’s disease, also referred to as AD, is a form of dementia that affects millions of people worldwide. AD is best known for causing memory loss in those who suffer from it, as well as affecting decision-making, language, and decision making progressively over time (Zou et at, 2014). According to Zou et el (2014), the symptoms of AD are caused by a build of plaques in the neurons of the brain. Alois Alzheimer discovered the disease, which was later named after him, when a woman at the age of 51 presented to him with a case of dementia that was new to him. Alzheimer was able to deduce the behavior of the woman with certain cognitive features, as well as through autopsy proceedings, that the symptoms were caused by “senile plaques” within
In this informational story we will be discussing the topic of alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a very serious disease, it causes many problems to the brain. It will cause judgement issues, memory loss, etc. I know this because my great grandmother has alzheimer’s and it really causes problems. How does alzheimer’s develop?
Imagine waking up in a strange place, not knowing where you are. You don’t know who your are. You forgot how to to walk, or even take a sip of water. A strange woman claiming to be your daughter comes in and explains over and over again who she is. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that targets the brain of elderly people. Most of the time it results in death. Alzheimer's is the third leading cause of death among people over 50 in the United States. But when someone is in the severe and final stage of alzheimer’s, is miserable, and the result is inevitably death, is it ethically right to stop treatment? The answer is yes, would you want to sit and watch a loved one lose everything that makes them happy and have no recognition of you or
Imagine, a thirty year old woman wants to start her own family but has family history of Alzheimer’s disease and has tested positive for the Alzheimer’s genes as well. In fear of passing on the disease to her child, she underwent preimplantation genetic diagnosis, also known as PGD. The woman decided to implant embryos without the Alzheimer’s gene into her womb and months later, she gave birth to a healthy baby, free of the Alzheimer’s gene. Currently, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is mostly only used in similar cases, like eliminating the possibility to obtain life-affecting diseases. Many people would agree that PGD is for the great good of the planet but however, there are possible negative results that could come out of PGD and designer
Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. It is also a progressive disease with no cure. Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1906. He noticed changes in brain tissue of a woman who died of an unusual mental illness. Although there are many types of dementias, Alzheimer's is the most common. It accounts for 60-80% of dementia causes. Aging is a normal process but Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of the aging process. Early onset Alzheimer’s affects 5% of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and it appears between the ages of 40’s and 50’s. Alzheimer’s is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. There are many symptoms that come along with Alzheimer’s
The alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging and only up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. This disease doesn’t have a cure, but there are treatments for symptoms available and research still continues to find the answer to cure this bad disease. Also, an interesting fact is that ninety percent of what we know about Alzheimer's has been discovered in the last 15 years. Lastly, Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the United
Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.
Alzheimer’s disease affects 1 out of every 8 people in the United States. It is a long and debilitating disease that affects every aspect of a person’s life from the way they preform daily tasks, to the physical and mental abilities that are diminishing. Along with the lifestyle changes that Alzheimer’s disease presents, it also affects one’s psychological perspective as well their view on what they can offer their family and society. There are some ways to maintain a level of independence with a disease of this magnitude but there are also factors in lifestyle choices that can make it worse. Alzheimer cannot be cured, it cannot be slowed, but there are ways to keep the effected person at a certain level of comfort, independence and safety
Patients and caregivers who are suffering from Alzheimer’s are seeking ways to relieve their burden and improve their quality of life. An intervention which includes community resources such as, community support groups, adult day care, respite care services and nursing homes can be excellent resources to help people with dementia and enhancing caregiver coping skills; with the early diagnosis, the patients and families can gain benefits to these programs (BrightFocus, 2015).