Living with Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease

Nowadays, over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2013). This statistic is staggering, and unless a prevention or cure is found, it’s predicted that 16 million of Americans will have Alzheimer’s disease by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2007). Alzheimer’s disease can be either sporadic or familial. Sporadic Alzheimer’s disease can affect adults at any age, but usually after age 65. Familial Alzheimer’s disease is a rare genetic condition where one of several genes is mutated and finally lead to Alzheimer’s disease, usually in their 40’s or 50’s. (Fight Alzheimer’s Save Australia, 2010) Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, (Sam Fazio, 2008), degenerative brain disease that slowly destroys brain cells, resulting in impairment of cognitive function and eventually even the ability to perform the simplest tasks of daily life.( Alzheimer’s Association, 2014) Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. For instance, Rivastigmine is a parasympathomimetic or cholinergic agent for the treatment of mild to moderate dementia of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug can be administered orally or via a transdermal patch and is normally sold under the trade name Exelon. (Wikipedia, 2014) ; (AMH,2013)

Figure 1: Transdermal Patch: A medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the skin to deliver a specific dose of medication through the skin and into bloodstream. (sv.vt ,no date)

Scientists still have not idea how Alzheimer’s disease process begins. Nevertheless, it seems likely that damage to the brain starts a decade or more before problems...

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...fficient chemical messenger that enable nerve cells to communicate with each other in the brain, allowing them to perform their jobs such as thinking, learning and remembering. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014)

Although there is no treatment can stop Alzheimer’s disease. However, some drugs such as rivastigmine may help to keep the symptoms from getting worse for a limited time. (MedicinePlus, 2014) Today, Alzheimer's is at the forefront of biomedical research. Researchers are working to uncover as many aspects of Alzheimer's disease Ninety percent of what people know about Alzheimer's has been discovered in the last 15 years. Some of the most remarkable progress is how Alzheimer's affects the brain. The hope is this well understanding will lead to new treatments. Many potential approaches are currently under investigation worldwide. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014)