Alzheimer's Disease

The speed with which the disease progresses can vary, but ultimately, as it destroys brain cells, causes confusion, personality and behavior changes and impaired judgment so severe that the patient may not seem to be the same person. Communication becomes difficult for the patient as they struggle to find words, finish thoughts or follow directions. Some experts classify the disease by stage (early, middle and late). But specific behaviors and how long they last vary greatly, even within each stage of the disease. Eventually, most people with Alzheimers become unable to care for themselves (1).

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that has behaviors that go along with it. In this disease, the orderly system of the brain becomes damaged and no longer works properly. “The brains of Alzheimer 's disease victims appear shrunken, particularly in large parts of the neocortex, the outer layer of gray matter responsible for higher brain functions such as thought and memory” (“Alzheimer’s Disease,” 2015). It usually begins with minor memory loss of recent events. This memory loss is slowly joined with forgetfulness, cluelessness of hygiene, impaired judgement, and loss of concentration.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of Dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to enter. The Tau protein ensures the tubes in your brain stay straight allowing molecules to pass through freely. In Alzheimer’s Disease the protein collapses into strands or tangles, making the tubes disintegrate. There is visible differences of brain tissue in the from misfolded proteins called plaques and tangles. Beta-Amyloid clumps block signals and communication between cells in the brain.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer’s disease affects central nervous, neuromuscular, and digestive system. In the digestive system, swallowing difficulties are common for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. In the neuromuscular system, the ability to walk and maintain their posture in a chair is common for people with Alzheimer’s. In Alzheimer’s disease, the connections between brain cells and the brain cells themselves deteriorate and die, which causes a steady decline in memory and mental function.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder which kills the brain cells, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. This leads to severe psychological impairments which changes how people think, behave and other complications such as paranoia, disorientation and unprovoked aggression. These psychological impairments reduce people’s functional ability and therefore reduce their quality of life. People with Alzheimer’s disease often suffer from fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite and visual impairment. They are more likely to develop infection, such as pneumonia and bladder infections.

This happens because the levels of acetylcholine are known to drop up to ninety percent beginning in the entorhinal cortex and moving into the hippocampus. Because of this, of the first signs of Alzheimer’s is the loss or decrease of the sense of smell, hence the entorhinal. The cells in the hippocampus called the hippocampal cells lose their connection and the result of this is the total loss of short-term memory. The neurons resting in the cerebral cortex then start to degenerate which in turn leads to the difficulty with the function of language and judgment. This also causes appetite to decline and then there is the loss of control over bowel movements.

Upon further inspection under microscope, tissue samples are observed and synapses and nerve cell count is severely decreased. Tangles, are also found which our twisted strands of another protein due to nerve cells dying and bunching together. Plaques and tangles are prime suspects in the death and tissue loss in the Alzheimer’s brain. Beta-amyloid is a chemical and is sticky which causes it to gradually build up into plaques. This chemical derives from a larger protein found in the nerve cells with fatty membranes.

One of these abnormalities is plaques that clump up, a protein called beta-amyloid which damages and destroys brain cells. In patients with Alzheimer’s the plaques created interfere with cell to cell communication. The other abnormality seen is tangles in the brain. Brain cells depend on an internal support and transport system to carry nutrients and other essential materials throughout their long extensions. This system requires the normal structure and functioning of a protein called tau.

forgetting faces of familiar people). At the moderate stage of Alzheimer’s patients often lose cognitive function rapidly, forgetting recent events and even personal history. They also start to experience personality changes and often suffer from hallucinations. Patients with severe Alzheimer’s disease require... ... middle of paper ... ...er’s disease. The medication prescribed to Alzheimer’s patients can only delay the developments of Alzheimer’s.

During the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease, people are asymptomatic, but unfortunately there are toxic changes taking place in the brain. Abnormal deposits of proteins form amyloid plaques and tau tangles throughout the brain, causing the once-healthy neurons to work less efficiently. Over time, neurons lose the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ww.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_4719.asp (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/causes (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/treatment (n.d.).