Alzheimer's Disease Essay

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common form of Dementia. Over the past ten years, there is increase in number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and is expected to increase significantly in coming decades.1 Alzheimer’s disease describes as lapses of memory, personality and sense of self, changes of mood easily and progressive decline in the ability to learn, to communicate and to reason. Suffers from Alzheimer’s disease greatly influent the quality of one’s life.2 The early detection of Alzheimer’s disease is difficult because Alzheimer’s disease starts in a very subtle way and the symptoms of early stage Alzheimer’s disease are same to several conditions which are lack of vitamin, depression and thyroid problems.3 What went wrong with the disease state? What is the drug treatment for Alzheimer’s disease?

What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s disease is a memory disability. It is a form of dementia. It causes problems with memory, train of thoughts, and even your own behavior. One half to three fourths of each dementia diagnosis is Alzheimer’s disease. Most people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are the age of 65 or older. It is a thought that Alzheimer’s is caused by genetic traits, lifestyle activities, and environmental factors that affect the brain in a certain amount of time. There isn’t a complete reasoning behind Alzheimer’s that has been proven. Alzheimer’s is not guaranteed by a change in less than five percent of each cases. Alzheimer’s not only damages the brain cells but also kills them. There is not very many connections from the brain cells that are left. As brain cells die the brain begins to shrink. When studying the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s the doctors or scientists see two things that are not normal. These two things are plaques and tangles. Plaques are clots of protein. These are very dangerous. They are what kills the “cell to cell communication”.Nutrients are needed for the transportation of other necessary nutrients. The brain tangles the healthy little strings with the dead cells. Diagnosing the disease consists studying the symptoms and signs of the person. Doing tests can help as well. Neurologists would study the brain and also reviewing the medical history of you and your family. Doctors will also test your memory skills. Early signs can be difficulty remembering events, problems planning, confusion of the date and time,etc. Patients experience the horrible thing of memory loss. They might repeat themselves over and over again. They will also most likely forget the names of close family member...

Alzhiemer’s disease is the most common form of dementia . It is a disease in which nerve cells in the brain die. As nerve cells die it’s difficult for the brain's signals to be transmitted properly. The death of the nerve cells occurs gradually over a period of years. The gradual loss of brain function seems to be due to two main forms of nerve damage, nerve cells develop tangles (neurofibrillary tangles) and protein deposits known as beta-amyloid plaques build up in the brain. The first sign of Alzheimers is memory impairment. Recent memory is lost first and as time goes on, attention is lost, simple calculations become impossible, and ordinary daily activities become difficult, and the patient feels bewildered and frustrated. Symptoms tend to worsen at night which is known as the sundown effect. Patients have dramatic mood swings such as outbursts of anger, bouts of fearfulness, and periods of lethargy. The patient becomes increasingly disoriented and because of disorientation they may wander off and become lost. Alzheimer’s also results in physical problems like an odd gait, or a loss of coordination. Over the course of time patients lose physical and communicative abilities entirely. Alzheimer's disease can run its course from onset to death in as few as four years, or it may play out over a period of as long as 20 years. On average people suffer with Alzheimer's disease for about nine years. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. One person out of eight age 65 and over has the disease.

1. Introduction Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is on the rise among ageing populations worldwide. Alzheimer’s disease leads to the death of neurons in numerous areas of the brain, including the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, which are two areas of the brain correlated with memory. (5) According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease could rise from 5 million to 16 million in the United States and by 2050 the total worldwide is predicted to rise to 100 million.

Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type was first recorded in 1901, where German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer began a study on a fifty-year old woman he called Auguste D. He meticulously examined her actions and routines on a daily basis, and concluded that what was previously thought of as old-age senility, was actually a completely independent disorder, in and of itself. Alois recorded Auguste D’s for five years, until her death in 1906. The results of his study provided the structural framework for scientists and doctors to further the research of this disorder and create diagnostic criteria, which would later set Alzheimer’s disease apart from all other forms of cognitive impairments.

Alzheimer’s disease is the leading neurodegenerative disease in elderly adults. It affects more than 30 million people in the world (1). There are a few major markers behind Alzheimer’s disease. These include amyloid β plaque, oxidative stress, and inflammation. A potential target for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease are the processes involved in the synthesis, transport, and function of retinoids.

As stated by actor Seth Rogen in an interview he gave to CNN, “I think until you see it [Alzheimer’s] first hand, it’s kind of hard to conceive how brutal it is.” These are the words of a man; who aside from being a comedian, actor, producer, director, screenwriter, and voice actor has had the chance to have someone really close to him suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. In the interview he describes how heartbreaking it is to see his mother in law with this disease and the matter of a fact is that it is very difficult when you hear stories like these, it is then that you realize the importance of cherishing every memory with those parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. that are already in the age perfect for Alzheimer’s to kick in and change their wholes lives drastically. To take a better grasp of what is Alzheimer’s disease; in the next few pages, this research paper will provide you with information that is key to help you better understand this disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting memory, cognitive and non-cognitive functions. Studies show that most cases of Alzheimer’s disease pertains to people who are 60 years of age or older; meanwhile, 80% of these cases are due to genetics. The risk of one having Alzheimer’s disease varies with their age and ethnicity. That being said, some elders are obtaining this disease in very late life, nearing their 90’s.

In the world certain diseases can initiate many difficulties in person’s daily life. Forms of dementia, or gradual mental decline in an individual, comprise a core amount of these diseases. Around a century ago, a man named Alois Alzheimer first classified a distinct form of dementia that occurred in an individual near old age (“Alzheimer’s disease”). This individual was a fifty-one year old female named Auguste, and an autopsy of her brain approximately four years after her diagnosis revealed a degeneration of her brain, an accumulation of amyloid plaques, and an appearance of neurofibrillary tangles, the characteristics connected with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Fraller, Deidre Brett). Occurring in brain cells, Alzheimer’s disease impacts areas of the brain centered on interpreting and storing information ("Alzheimer's disease"). Studying the scientific nature of Alzheimer’s disease and possible methods of discovery and treatment are necessary to identify potential methods for treating the disease on a greater scale.

Mykenzie Moyle Ms. Douglass English I, P.4 16 May 2014 Research Paper Alzheimer’s Disease is formed in the brain but yet, has no known cure or treatment. Alzheimer’s Disease has many symptoms. Memory is the biggest symptom along with mood swings and having a hard time with keeping a conversation. A patient with Alzheimer’s goes through 7 stages; The first stage, which is misplacing things or forgetting what something is used for, second stage, they start losing more of their memory and they begin to forget where they are or what they are doing, the third, fourth and fifth begin to mentally decline and need someone to take care of them and worsen over time.