...In “Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease”, the author, Shan, discusses how even though Alzheimer’s disease was identified more than 100 years ago, there is still much to learn and understand about the etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, management, and prevention of the disease. The article highlights that diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease is a difficult task, especially during the earlier stages of the disease. In this article, Alzheimer’s disease is clearly defined at each stage of onset and the prevalence of the disorder is mentioned. The article also notes that effective treatments for Alzheimer’s are impalpable and require further empirical research. The rest of the article reviews the evidence and proposed theories about the course of the disease...
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...Abstract Alzheimer's disease involves cognitive disorders and problems with abstract reasoning in older people mostly. Alzheimer's disease has many behavioural and emotional characteristics which affects the victims of Alzheimer, as well as their families and those who care for them. The exact cause of Alzheimer is still not clear to us, not even after all these years of research. Till now, all we know is that a small proportion of Alzheimer’s disease is inherited, many scientist believe that there is some connections between a person’s environment and genetic make-up. According to statistics, more than 44 million people in the world have Alzheimer disease. By the year 2030, there might be a rise in the number of Alzheimer victims, up to...
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...Speech Outline I Introduction A. Opening (you need to use at least one in your outline and speech) 1. personal story 2. startling statement or fact 3. appropriate quotation 4. appropriate story 5. appropriate poem B. Preview 1. Share with your audience the purpose of your speech and what you plan on telling us. II Body A. Main Point #1 1. Support material – use at least 2 support statements or proofs for each point (story, experience, facts, expert testimony, quote,) 2. Support material B. Main Point #2 1. Support material 2. Support material C. Main Point #3 1. Support material 2. Support material III Conclusion A. Summarize each point one by one B. Share a quote that can summarize your message C. Share a story that can wrap up the speech and leave us with something to wonder D. Demand a call for action E. Make a recommendation I Introduction A. Personal story about grandma 1. with my cousins at grandma’s house on Easter. She screamed at us while we were watching tv in an old room. 2. The only things I remember about my grandma were her weird sayings and frail body. 3. Grandma’s health went from forgetting small things like directions, names, and mail to not being able to feed, dress or bathe herself. 4. She died at 82 suffering 16 long years with a disease called Alzheimer’s. B. Preview of speech 1. I want to tell you about this disease and how it affects millions of Americans today. II Body A. (Main point #1 ) Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia, which is a disorder that impairs...
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...CAUSES OF DEMENTIA SYNDROME There are many different types of dementia: Alzheimer’s which is usually found in people over the age of 65 (extract from mayo clinic}Although in most cases the exact cause of Alzheimer's disease isn't known, plaques and tangles are often found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Plaques are clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid, and tangles are fibrous tangles made up of tau protein. Certain genetic factors also may make it more likely that people will develop Alzheimer's. Vascular dementia which is the second most common form of dementia which is caused by reduced blood flow or blocked blood vessels or even a infection of a heart valve (vascular condition. Lewy body dementia which is caused from abnormal clumps of protein that have been found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. (Extract from mayo clinic} Frontotemporal dementia (Formally known as picks disease) is caused by break down of the nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain which controls behaviours, language, thinking and concentration as well as movement. Korsakoffs syndrome Korsakoff's syndrome is a brain disorder usually associated with heavy alcoholconsumption over a long period. Although Korsakoff's syndrome is not strictly speaking adementia, people with the condition experience loss of short-term memory. This factsheet outlines the causes, symptoms and treatment of the syndrome. This factsheet also...
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...http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE * Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Bottom of Form * Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. But Alzheimer's is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. * Alzheimer's worsens over time. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those with Alzheimer's live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable to others, but survival can range from four to 20 years, depending on age and other health conditions. * Alzheimer's has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. Although current Alzheimer's treatments cannot stop Alzheimer's from progressing, they can temporarily slow the worsening...
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...of their personality may change. A person with dementia may lose empathy (understanding and compassion), they may see or hear things that other people do not (hallucinations), or they may make false claims or statements. As dementia affects a person's mental abilities, they may find planning and organizing difficult. Being independent may also become a problem. A person with dementia will therefore usually need help from friends or relatives, including help with decision making. Most types of dementia can't be cured, but if it is detected early there are ways to slow it down and maintain mental function. Dementia is a collection of symptoms including memory loss, personality change, and impaired intellectual functions resulting from disease or trauma to the brain. These changes are not part of normal aging and are severe enough to impact daily living, independence, and relationships. There will likely be noticeable decline in communication, learning, remembering, and problem solving. These changes may occur quickly or very slowly over time. Common signs and symptoms of dementia include: * Memory loss * Impaired judgment...
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...EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE and ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Introduction As defined in 2012 by the American Nurses Association, “nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations. “To deliver the best optimal treatment when performing their duties, nurses are taught to follow evidence-based practices (EBP). Following EBP when dealing with clients especially those affected by Alzheimer’s disease facilitates the nurse in performing his/her main responsibilities that include maintaining health promotion, risk reduction and disease management. Maintaining health promotion From Florence Nightingale era in the 19th century to today’s world, nursing has become a new field where it is just not described “as the action of putting the patient in the best condition for nature to act “(“Healing Environment,”2011). Nursing turned to an immense expertise where maintaining health promotion is a master key. Health promotion favors the enhancement of health and the setting up of plan for a healthy lifestyle and well-being (Potter and Perry, 2011). Examples of health promotion consist of encouraging immunizations and regular checkups. Risk reduction Many complications can be avoided by promoting risk...
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...got too wrapped up into drugs. I believe that my memory has not suffered from the minimal use but I have close friends that have obviously suffered memory loss due to drug use. There are other things having to do with memory loss that have impacted me and left me to really appreciate my own health. The first time I met my girlfriend’s parents I went to a family reunion with them in Indianapolis, Indiana. We stayed with her aunt and uncle. While there I was never able to meet her grandma. She went with her parents for a brief visit and I stayed with her aunt and uncle. Upon returning her dad seemed very upset. They found out a few days earlier that her Alzheimer’s was getting worse. Her grandma wasn’t even able to recognize her or her own son. This made me sad and was my first experience with Alzheimer’s disease. All of these things and more have added...
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...Professor Staab Psychology April 28, 2012 Prolonging the Inevitable Alzheimer’s disease was named after a German neuropathologist and psychiatrist by the name of Aloysius Alzheimer who is credited with identifying two symptoms of the disease; amyloid plaques and neurofribrillary tangles in the brain. It is important to understand that Alzheimer’s disease is not a type of dementia; it is simply a disease that causes dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is an incurable progressive disease that can take up to twenty years to advance, but typically takes between eight to ten painful years for the Alzheimer’s sufferer and their family. Christian Nordqvist author of What is Alzheimer’s Disease? What Causes Alzheimer’s Disease? states that “During the course of the disease plaques and tangles develop within the structure of the brain. This causes brain cells to die. Patients with Alzheimer’s also have a deficiency in the levels of some vital brain chemicals with are involved with transmission of messages in the brain – neurotransmitters” (1). The disease is typically broken down into three common stages that people experience: mild, moderate, and severe. As well as the duration, the length of each stage can vary depending on the person, as Rosemary Blieszner and Peggy A. Shifflett confirm in their article The effects of Alzheimer’s Disease on Close Relationships Between Patients and Caregivers, “This disease is very unpredictable in terms of duration and nature of symptoms, with...
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...Culture and Disease HCS 245 December 15, 2011 Dementia is not a disease on its own. It is a term used in describing a vast array of symptoms related to the decline of mental function, starting with memory loss and eventually impeding on the ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s patients. Alzheimer's worsens over time. It is a progressive disease, where the symptoms gradually worsen over a period of several years. In its early stages, memory loss is minor. A person might start to forget little things, like if they turned the oven off or momentarily forget how to tie their shoes. When a person suffers from late-stage Alzheimer's, he or she loses the capability to carry on a conversation or respond to his or her environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those who suffer from the disease live an average of eight years after their symptoms have progressed enough that the people around them start to notice. Although somewhere around eight years is the norm, it is not uncommon to hear of people living anywhere from four to 20 years after others notice. A big part of how fast a person declines depends on age and other health conditions. One major thing to remember is that Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging. The greatest known risk factor for this disease is increasing...
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...Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory This is a 8 page, 10 resource paper discussing Alzheimer’s disease, discussing the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes for a cure of the disease. Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory Introduction Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia. It currently afflicts about 4 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of mental impairment in elderly people and accounts for a large percentage of admissions to assisted living homes, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. Psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, have been reported in a large proportion of patients with this disease. In fact, it is the presence of these psychotic symptoms can lead to early institutionalization (Bassiony, et all, 2000). Learning about Alzheimer’s disease and realizing that it is much more that just a loss of memory can benefit the families of those with the disorder as well as society as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to look at the disorder, as well as to discuss the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. History Around the turn of the century, two kinds of dementia were defined by Emil Kraepin: senile and presenile. The presenile form was described more in detail by Alois Alzheimer as a progressive deterioration of...
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...Running Head: OBSERVATION OF ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT 1 Observation of Alzheimer’s Support Group OBSERVATION OF ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT 2 Observation of Alzheimer’s Support Group On February 7, 2011 I attended the Alzheimer’s support group held at St. Roberts Adult Daycare Center in St. Charles, Missouri. Tina Joyner facilitated this group of nine caregivers and three students. There were two groups conducted simultaneously; one for the caregivers, the other for the individual who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The groups were held in different rooms in the same building, and were scheduled for a one hour time period. A guest speaker, Grace, from Washington University appeared to invite caregivers to a pilot study being conducted over a one year period which was titled Caregiver Stress Project. The purpose of the study is to measure the effect of stress on the caregiver. I had arrived early and had a chance to speak with “C”, whose wife was unable to attend. He explained that she was in the final stages and had been placed on hospice in August 2010. He told me that a nurse comes weekly, and as needed, but he provides all other care for his wife. They have a daughter who stays with her mother while “C” takes care of errands and demands outside the home....
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...Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory Introduction Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia. It currently afflicts about 4 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of mental impairment in elderly people and accounts for a large percentage of admissions to assisted living homes, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. Psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, have been reported in a large proportion of patients with this disease. In fact, it is the presence of these psychotic symptoms can lead to early institutionalization (Bassiony, et all, 2000). Learning about Alzheimer’s disease and realizing that it is much more that just a loss of memory can benefit the families of those with the disorder as well as society as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to look at the disorder, as well as to discuss the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. History Around the turn of the century, two kinds of dementia were defined by Emil Kraepin: senile and presenile. The presenile form was described more in detail by Alois Alzheimer as a progressive deterioration of intellect, memory and orientation. As a neuropathologist, Alzheimer studied the case a 51 year-old woman. When she died, Alzheimer performed an autopsy and found that she had “cerebral atrophy”...
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...1. Title: Aging cells offer new target for Alzheimer's therapy 2. Author: Jessica Hamzelou 3. Published: September 26, 2012 4. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528843.200-ageing-cells-offer-new-target-for-alzheimers-therapy.html?full=true 5. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. It is normally diagnosed in people over the age of 65, but it can be diagnosed earlier than that (early-onset Alzheimer's). There are many stages of Alzheimer's. In the early stages, a patient simply forgets recent events. In more advanced stages, they can have mood swings, language difficulty, problems with bodily functions, confusion, and aggression. "On average, the life expectancy following diagnosis is approximately seven years" (Molsa PK, Martilla RJ, Rinne UK, 1986). The causes of Alzheimer's has long been unknown, and has accounted for the hundreds of unsuccessful treatments. Scientists recently discovered large numbers of senescent cells in Alzheimer's patients. Senescent cells are cells that lose the ability to divide after many cycles of division, which results in deterioration and death of the cell. Claudio Torres at Drexel University College did an experiment to show the damage of senescence. He exposed human astrocytes (star-shaped cells in the brain) to hydrogen peroxide, which mimicked the metabolic stress that occurs with aging. It showed that cells started displaying similarities to genes associated with senescence. "Torres's team then looked for senescent...
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...“Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.” (Howard Crystal) In Health 1000 we were asked to read the book Still Alice. I have never dealt with or have done any study on Alzheimer’s disease before reading this book. After finishing this book it has really opened my eyes to how bad of a disease and how it cripples the mind. I never imagined the effect of this disease on a patient and the patient family. This book is about a upper middle aged lady named Alice who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and how she and her family learn how to deal with disease. One of the things this book has made me realize is that literally anybody can get Alzheimer. It doesn’t matter if you are the President of the United States of America or super wealthy. This disease will take everything from you such as you intelligence and dignity as a human being. In the book Alice was a well-respected professor at Harvard, who was also well thought of in the community. After being diagnosed this disease it destroyed her career and eventually ended her life too. After finding out about her disease she tries to keep it to herself but eventually realizing she has to let John know about it. At first John refuses to believe her and makes Alice go through multiply testing till he finally admits that she has Alzheimer disease. Once he admits that Alice has Alzheimer...
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