The Causes and Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease

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Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia; it affects one’s memory and the ability to complete everyday tasks. In 1906, Alzheimer’s disease was founded by a German physician, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. He had a patient who had experienced a significant amount of memory loss, but not knowing why. In and around the nerve cell in the brain, while studying the patient’s autopsy, he was able to differentiate the deposits that led to the nerve cells and compared to normal brain nerve cells. Dr. Alzheimer has touched many lives with his findings about Alzheimer’s disease. A German Psychiatrist, Emil Kraepelin had worked with Dr. Alzheimer and named this disease after him. By 1968, researchers and doctors started to see the increase in the diagnosis of the disease in older adults. The cureless disease, Alzheimer’s is affecting many elders and their families; it is the sixth leading cause of death in the Unites States (“About Alzheimer’s”). Many researchers and scientists have been trying to find what causes this disease and they have found that it has to do with neurological brain functions or genetics. Alzheimer’s disease falls into two categories: risk genes and deterministic genes. Risk genes are when one may develop the disease but it’s not definite that it will happen. There is one gene that has been identified in the risk genes category called APOE-e4, it is the most common gene for someone who has Alzheimer’s disease (Atkins 45). The other category is called deterministic genes and it is the cause of the disease. If someone in one’s family has this disease, it will increase the chances of one developing the disease. According to the Alzheimer’s association, “ Deterministic genes, which are estimated to account for less than 5 percent of Alzhe... ... middle of paper ... ...usion, aggression, hostility, and uncooperativeness patients can use olanzapine, quetiapine, risperdone and siprasidone. All these drugs have to be used with extreme caution (“About Alzheimer’s”). Alzheimer’s disease is a rapid growing disease that is affecting millions of people around the world. From the discovery of Alzheimer’s disease in 1906 to now, technology has improved in finding the details in the brain and nerve cells. Research centers and doctors are working together to find the cure and other treatments to relieve the symptoms. It’s depressing to see these elders not being able to remember their own family and going through all the pain that this disease causes. Not only does it affect the patient but also the caregivers and/or family around them. Raising awareness for this disease is important so there can be more research done to help find the cure.

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