...Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. Research advances have enabled detailed understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of the hallmarks of the disease-ie, plaques, composed of amyloid β (Aβ), and tangles, composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. However, as our knowledge increases so does our appreciation for the pathogenic complexity of the disorder. Familial Alzheimer's disease is a very rare autosomal dominant disease with early onset, caused by mutations in the amyloid precursor protein and presenilin genes, both linked to Aβ metabolism. By contrast with familial disease, sporadic Alzheimer's disease is very common with more than 15 million people affected worldwide. The cause of the sporadic form of the disease is unknown, probably because the disease is heterogeneous, caused by ageing in concert with a complex interaction of both genetic and environmental risk factors. This seminar reviews the key aspects of the disease, including epidemiology, genetics, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as recent developments and controversies. 100 years ago, Alois Alzheimer gave a lecture at a congress in Tubingen, Germany, on the first case of the disease that Kraepelin some years later named Alzheimer's disease.1 In this single case. Alzheimer described typical clinical characteristics with memory disturbances and instrumental signs, and the neuropathological picture with miliary bodies (plaques) and dense bundles of fibrils (tangles), which we today...
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...DEMENTIA’S Dementia is a vague term used to describe a person that has loss of memory and change in behavior and activities. It goes beyond the forgetfulness and absent minded. It is commonly used In reference to the elderly, when cognitive abilities start to slip from one’s own control. Dementia cannot be diagnosed due to memory loss alone. It must be accompanied by two or more interruptions of brain function. Individuals who suffer from a disease that causes dementia undergo a number of changes. Simple daily tasks such as dressing or bathing may also become a problem. Anything can be a cause for dementia, a stroke, a car accident or even another disease. Here, I will compare four most frequent causes of dementia with four least frequent causes. Dementia is not a specific disease. It's an overall term that describes a wide range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. But there are many other conditions that can cause symptoms of dementia, including some that are reversible, such as thyroid problems and vitamin deficiencies. Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging. Dementia is...
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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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...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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...863573 Gaps in Alzheimer’s Knowledge Among College Students Elaine M. Eshbaugh School of Applied Human Sciences, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA Despite the prevalence of the disease, it appears that there may be a need for increased education for formal and family caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Today’s college students will be asked to fill both of these roles in the future. This study examined the level of knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease among college students. Two-hundred college students at a mid-sized midwestern university completed an online survey that included the Alzheimer’s Disease Knowledge Scale (Carpenter et al., 2009). Although most participants knew that people with Alzheimer’s remember things from the distant past better than more recent events, many college students were unfamiliar with risk factors and average life expectancy. Implications and recommendations for educational programs and curriculum are discussed. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are significant health concerns affecting our older adult population (Sullivan & Muscat, 2007). As our population continues to age and our demography shifts to higher proportions of elders, the number of individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia continues to increase. Although the causes of dementia are numerous, Alzheimer’s disease, which is irreversible and ultimately fatal, is the most common cause of dementia. About 70% of...
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...BEL311 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES TERM PAPER ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: NOT JUST A LOSS OF MEMORY Prepared by: XXXXXXXXX (matric no.) XXXXXXXXX (matric no.) Group XXX Prepared for: XXXXXXXXXXXX Date of Submission: July 2011 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 al, 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. This paper is to look at the disorder, as well as to discuss the history, symptoms, diagnosis, current researches 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...
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...Dementia Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning. This includes thinking, remembering and reasoning. Memory loss is usually accompanied by at least one of the following symptoms: impaired movement, difficulty with language and the inability to plan and initiate appropriate social behavior. Dementia ranges in severity from mild problems in functioning to the most severe stage of complete dependence. There are several types of dementia. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disease. It slows and destroys memory and thinking functions as well as the ability to complete even the simplest everyday tasks. Age related Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia in people over 60. The World Health Organization (2001) estimates that 5 percent of men and 6 percent of women suffer from Alzheimer’s disease worldwide (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2012). Throughout the coming decades the baby boom generation is expected to add 10 million Alzheimer’s cases to the U.S. population alone (Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 2013). Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, which causes issues with the thinking process, memory, and behavior. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s develop slowly and gets worse as time goes on. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s memory loss is very mild but as it progresses it starts disrupting their daily lives. Some of...
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...Dementia is the progressive decline of memory that affects a person’s ability to perform everyday tasks such as reasoning. Alzheimer’s is when dementia symptoms deteriorate and people lose the ability to carry on conversations and interact with the environment. Some symptoms include memory loss, mental decline, personality changes, as well as anxiety. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people 65 years or older has dementia or Alzheimer’s. Hypothesis In this article, scientist study whether self-reported memory failure is accurate in reporting early sign of dementia and Alzheimer’s in patients. It is important to be able to detect early sign of dementia disorders so that scientist can find effective medical treatments to slow down the process. In the study, the purpose was to investigate relationship between subjective memory and incident dementia. Subjective memory is an...
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...Case Study Alzheimer’s Jamie Newell HSC/245 Intro to Health and Disease September 8, 2014 Gwendolyn Ivy Case Study: Alzheimer’s Case Study Chapter 21 Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills with noticeable behavioral changes. (Alzheimer’s foundation, 2014). In the case of Jenny’s grandma, she states her grandmother is confused, forgets and is often short tempered; these are among the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Early stages can include mood and personality changes, poor judgment, difficulty with words or memory, trouble understanding simple directions, confusion with time or place and difficulty with normal daily activities. (Alzheimer’s signs & symptoms, 2014) There are many different stages of Alzheimer’s disease most are listed into three stages: stage 1 mild/early, stage 2 moderate/mild and stage 3 severe/late. For Jenny’s grandmother she appears to be between stages 1 and 2. Stage 1 has memory lost, confusion as well as mood swings and depression. Stage 2 is more progressive with even more confusion, memory loss is greater, some delusions and behavioral changes occur in this stage. Jenny states that her grandmother is short-tempered at times. Jenny needs to take her grandmother to a doctor so she can be evaluated by a professional to determine if she is in fact in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease...
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...Possibilities of preventing dementia One in 10 people age 65 and older (10 percent) has Alzheimer's dementia (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016 ). Over the course of many years, there has been an increase in people that have been diagnosed with dementia, a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental process caused by brain disease or injury. Studies have shown that there has been a decrease in memory loss when they’re older by living a certain lifestyle while they are young. Other studies have shown that dementia develops naturally and you do not know when to expect it. Dementia is to describe all the disease that are related to memory loss. Extensive analysis from cases of dementia and controls suggests that Alzheimer's disease is a primary irreversible nerve-cell disorder and not the result of accelerated ageing (Elsevier Ltd, 1979 ). Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells. People with dementia may have problems with short-term memory, keeping track of a...
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...The Devastation of Dementia: Pathophysiology and Case Study Introduction Relatively little is known about dementia, a disease which affects over 35 million people worldwide (Norton, et al., 2012). Early signs and symptoms may be confused with the “normal” aging process. Those with the disease often try to cover up their mental decline in the early stages, making early diagnosis even more difficult. Educating the medical community and the general population about the signs, symptoms and causes of dementia is an important step in seeking out a cure for this fatal disease. Dementia is a general term for a syndrome that is progressive in nature and is marked by deterioration in cognitive function that is greater than what would normally be expected. There are many types of dementia, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s Disease accounts for over 60% of the cases of dementia. Vascular Dementia is the second most common form. Others include Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinsonian Dementia, and Frontotemporal Dementia. There is no cure for any type of dementia, although there are treatments that help lessen the symptoms. Dementia is a progressive disorder and always results in death, either from complications such as falls" or pneumonia or the dementia itself. The number of people with dementia worldwide is expected to reach over 115 million by the year 2050. The current cost of treating dementia is over 1.5 times that of all cancers combined (Hurd...
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...Currently, Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States taking the over 80 thousand lives per year (Center for Disease Control, 2015), and as population continues to age, more people will develop Alzheimer’s. Therefore, a global epidemic is imminent and without a cure or a way to slow down the disease, it is something to be concerned about. However, this a disease that affects more people than just those who suffer from it. It is predicted that by 2050, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s will quadruple (Brookmeyer, Johnson, Ziegler-Graham & Arrighi, 2007). As the disease progresses, patients will need advanced care. This poses a burden to our society, as it will create an enormous strain on the health care system,...
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...Running Head: DEMENTIA Dementia The many stages of dementia Crystal Pare University of Phoenix Worldwide, there are 35.6 million people diagnosed with dementia and climbs another 7.7 million each year, most cases, over the age of 65. Alzheimer’s, the most widely known symptom of dementia can be detected in a small amount of people, well before they are 65 years of age. There is, as of yet, no cure for Alzheimer’s disease (dementia), and the progressive range of organic brain diseases which are categorized by difficulties of short-term memory and other cognitive insufficiencies. There is very little in the way of treatment at this time, while scientists have been studying this disease for many years, and have started getting a better idea of the disease with constant successes. As dementia becomes more prevalent worldwide, proper diagnosis of the stages of dementia, each defined by its own distinct symptoms and behaviors, is key to providing effective treatment. Dementia is the loss of logical functions such as thinking, memory, and perception that is severe enough to inhibit with a person’s daily operations or functions. Dementia is not a group of symptoms alone, but somewhat a collection of symptoms caused by several diseases or ill conditions. Symptoms can include fluctuations in character, mood, and behavior. Some cases of dementia are treated and even cured because the source itself is correctable. Instances of this include dementia formed by substance...
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...suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It is confusing how some people use these names interchangeably. While Alzheimer’s disease and dementia have similar characteristics, the treatment for the disease is based on symptoms as well as how the diseases are acquired. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia so they are very closely related. (Fraller, 2013) Knowing the slight differences between the two diseases could, in some cases, mean a cure. Both Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are caused by a dysfunction in the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, there is a loss of brain cells brought on by age. Studies have shown that 10% of all people over the age of 65 and 50% of people over the age of 85 have Alzheimer’s. Out of all those people, only 1% of them inherited the disease. Someone who has experienced multiple head injuries or high insulin levels are also at a greater risk of acquiring Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, dementia is caused by changes to the brain. These changes may be caused by a stroke, brain tumors, or even head injuries. Diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, hyperthyroidism, B12 deficiency, and fluid build-up on the brain have also been known to cause dementia. (Healthwise Incorporated, 2011) Once the causes of the two diseases have been determined, it is important to discuss the symptoms. The similarities between the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are typically what dupe people into thinking they are the same disease. Both diseases will cause...
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...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 of dementia symptoms and improve quality...
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