Dementia and Alzheimer's Research Analysis Paper

Dementia and Alzheimer’s Research Analysis Paper

Part 1: Introduction

The topic I am writing about is memory loss or more specifically: Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Modern medicine has improved significantly in the last decade and the average human lifespan has been extended. However, since humans are living longer, there is also an increased susceptibility for chronic diseases as opposed to infectious diseases. A chronic disease that is slowly on the rise is Alzheimer’s, as it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. This topic is important to me because I’ve had numerous encounters with patients with dementia and have seen the impact it has on many families and friends. Additionally, the brain is arguably the most important organ in our body; therefore diseases that affect the brain usually cause irreversible damage.

Dementia encompasses a wide category of brain diseases that cause long term loss of the capacity to think and reason to the extent in which it is severe enough to affect a person's basic functions. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia and makes up for up to eighty percent of dementia cases. There are many risk factors for Alzheimer’s but greatest known risk factor is increasing age. The majority of people with this illness are 65 and older but there are also some cases where there is early onset as well. Like all chronic diseases, Alzheimer’s symptoms gradually worsen throughout the years. The average survival rate of those with Alzheimer’s is eight years and unfortunately, there is no current cure for this disease. However, there are treatments available to lessen the severity of the symptoms and to increase the quality of life of Alzheimer’s patients.

Alzheimer...

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...between healthy older adults and patients with Alzheimer's disease.

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