Alzheimer's Disease Essay

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.
There are three types of Alzheimer’s; Early-onset Alzheimer's, late-onset Alzheimer's and Familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Early-onset Alzheimer’s is a rare form of Alzheimer's disease where people are diagnos...

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...nd to increase the risk of developing Alzheimers. But many people develop the disease withouth inheriting APOƐ4 so APOƐ4 is not a consistent marker.
Alzheimer’s has no cure. Current treatments focus on maintaining mental function, managing behavioral symptoms, and slowing or delaying the symptoms of disease. Four medication used to treat Alzheimers are Donepezil (Aricept), Rivastigmine (Exelon), and Galantamine (Razadyne) which are used to treat moderate Alzheimer's,and Memantine (Namenda) which is used to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer's. They work by regulating neurotransmitters to help maintain thinking memory, speaking skills and help with behavioral problems. There are also ongoing clinical trials for interventions such as immunization therapy, cognitive training, physical activity, antioxidants, and effects of cardiovascular and diabetes treatments.