...The loss of a family member is extremely hard to cope with, but it can be even harder to “lose” a family member that’s alive. Alzheimer’s disease makes this nightmare a reality by taking away someone’s mental ability to perform normal everyday tasks and remember their most important memories. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative, disease that affects the brain and can also profoundly affect you or someone you love. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells or neurons. The neurons slowly break their connections with other nerve cells and then begin to slowly die, resulting in memory loss, behavioral changes, and loss in thinking and language skills (About Alzheimer’s, Definition of Alzheimer’s 1). An estimated 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease and half a million Americans under the age of sixty-five have a kind of early onset dementia including Alzheimer’s disease (About Alzheimer’s, Statistics 1)....
Words: 1241 - Pages: 5
...remember her family members, what if she doesn't even remember how to speak? Or imagine the person that she was yesterday can not even recognize it today. Even with the increase in the technology that we have, we could not bring back the memories that we lost. With the increase in the technologies, we increase in diseases connected with middle aged people. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is one of the common diseases that is affecting middle-aged people. Although...
Words: 1313 - Pages: 6
...Alzheimer's disease is a disease of the brain that is eventually fatal and affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts. It is an "irreversible disease and destroys brain cells causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate." ("Alzheimer's Disease", 2016). Each individual with this fatal disease is affected in different ways. There is no order in which symptoms occur or the speed of their progression. Alzheimer's disease affects a person's ability to make decisions, perform simple tasks, or follow a conversation. It also affects a person's emotions, mood, and physical abilities. Individuals with this disease can lose interest in their favorite hobbies, become less expressive and withdrawn. An individual may also seem "different" or out...
Words: 1697 - Pages: 7
...Alzheimer’s disease General Psychology Term Paper Assignment Monday Night Class Abstract In the society that we are living right now, we can find a lot of different kinds of illness and health problems. A large number of these diseases have a cure and they also have a happy end; but there is one that does not. Over the past 20 years, Alzheimer’s disease came from an unknown dark side. Once studied as a strange disorder; it is one of the most common health problems that affect a lot of people around the world and their families. More of a 90% of Alzheimer’s disease cases shows up in people around 60 years old. Even do we ignore how this treats starts; science people have found that the change inside the brain starts 10 to 20 years before we can observe the symptoms. Knowing a little more about this illness, will help us to understand these people that are in need of love, attention and comprehension. Alzheimer’s disease In the society that we are living right now, we can find a lot of different kinds of illness and health problems. A lot of these diseases have a cure and they also have a happy end; but there is one that does not. Alzheimer’s disease is a very ordinary illness that severely affects our society, specially the older population. It is a fact that we have to deal with. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there that suffer...
Words: 2369 - Pages: 10
...Genetics of Late Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) is a frightening and expensive disease. Studies show that in 2010 over $215 billion dollars were spent on dementia care, and the condition is among one of the highest diseases that people currently fear getting, second only to cancer (PBS). Scientists are actively searching for clues to determine cause of this disease. Due to the fact that the genetics and risk factors of late-onset are not fully understood, scientists around the globe are actively researching Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and developing theories and finding clues that may help with identifying the causes, genetic risks, and biomarkers or early indicators of the disease. Research into these areas...
Words: 1184 - Pages: 5
...to Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease Megan Zann April 27, 2012 Health Psychology Dr. Ackerman Introduction It is normal to periodically forget your keys or a homework assignment, because you generally remember these things later. However, individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease may forget things more often, but they do not remember them again. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease has dramatically increased because people are living longer. This is a result of advancements in medical technology that are increasing the human life span. That being said, now there is more responsibility placed on the individual and their caregivers to provide a supportive environment to combat this disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes a gradual, irreversible cognitive deterioration. The individual experiences a significant decline in their memory, language skills, perception of space and eventually, their ability to be self-sufficient and independent. Alzheimer’s disease takes a toll on the patients as well as their caregivers. “Being a caregiver for an ill or disabled loved one is widely recognized as a threat to caregiver’s quality of life” (Poulin et al 2010). The diagnosis of this disease affects the caregivers on physical, psychological, and social levels. Family, friends, and caregivers suffer from pain and stress as they witness their loved one experiencing the progression of the disease. Background “Alzheimer’s disease is the most common...
Words: 3180 - Pages: 13
...Alzheimer’s Disease Susan Edmonson Daymar College Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimers Disease is a progressive, deteriorating disease that attacks the brain causing diminished memory, thinking and behavior. Therefore it is imperative to know how Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed, risks and the different stages of the illness. It is an illness that is evident in a gradual decline in brain function that gets worse with time. It can affect a person’s ability to find words, finish thoughts or follow instructions. Learning about Alzheimer's disease and realizing that it is much more than memory loss can benefit the families of those with the illness. This disease is progressive and eventually leads to death. While there is no cure, it can be treated. Alzheimer’s is not a classic part of aging (What is Alzheimers, 2015). It can earnestly affect a person’s ability to carry out daily activities. Those affected by Alzheimer’s live an average of eight years after the symptoms are evident. One can survive from four to twenty years, dependent on the age of the person and their health situations (What is Alzheimers, 2015). “In 2013, as many as 5 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s disease”(Center for Disease Control, 2015 ). There are quite a few risk factors that can increase one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (Cummings,2008). “Aging is the most powerful risk”(Cummings, 2008). Having a family history of dementia can also be a risk factor, even though it is uncommon...
Words: 1811 - Pages: 8
...Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerating disorder that affects the brain cells. It is NOT a normal part of aging and it is also not something that happens inevitably in later life. The disease was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician in 1906, after he had performed an autopsy on the brain of a dead woman who had experienced severe memory loss, confusion and difficulty understanding questions and found dense deposits around her nerve cells. It is the most common type of dementia, which is a progressive dysfunction of the brain which results in a restriction of daily activities. A lot of kids grow up being first introduced to this disease in their grandparents or older people in their...
Words: 1070 - Pages: 5
...effects of Alzheimer’s disease The former liberal party leader, Michael Ignatieff said in his essay, “Deficits” (2010) “Sometimes I try to count the number of times she asks me these questions but I lose track” (p.108). Ignatieff is expressing his own feelings towards his mother’s Dementia of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician discovered a patient that suffered from a severe dementia due to brain abnormalities. Alzheimer’s disease is the second most-feared irreversible illness in America, following Cancer. It affects as many as 5 million Americans, a number that could soar to 16 million by 2050 (Hoffman, Froemke, and Golant, 2009, para 1). These numbers are due to the fact that there is no cure. The major effects of this specific disease can be depicted by Ignatieff (2010) in “Deficits” and also scientific studies that create a clear picture of how an individual is affected through the brain, how the individual does not have that sense of security and those caregivers who are trying to cope with the disease to that individual. The brain is a vital organ in the human body, when the brain is affected; the entire functions of the body are affected. In most individuals affected by Alzheimer’s, memory loss is usually the first sign. The individual begins to lose memory of recent events and later the ability to complete regular tasks declines as nerve cells break down. In the book, “The Everything Health Guide to Alzheimer’s disease” Terry...
Words: 1546 - Pages: 7
...individuals in the US, Alzheimer’s affects 5.3 million Americans, like president Ronald Regan . Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common of dementia and rises steeply with age . AD is a progressive mental deterioration of the brain where the disease attacks the brain’s nerve cells, which results in progressive thinking, judgment, and memory loss . These symptoms last for decades. Eventually, individuals with this disease will be unable to remember facts, family members or events . Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s will kill the diseased person. Changes in the brain, which are caused by Alzheimer’s, contribute to the death of the individual, but the...
Words: 1823 - Pages: 8
...The Alzheimer’s disease is a diseased named after Alois Alzheimer, who ironically died of the disease, and the disease is a senile Dementia. A simply definition of the word would be memory loss. Alzheimer’s is incurable, unstoppable, inevitable, degenerative, and a terminal disease. It is most common in people over the age of sixty-five, but there are rare occasions where it can occur in younger ages. The effect of this disease is still unknown today. Alzheimer’s bears a great burden on not only the family, but the caregivers who deal with battled every day. This disease can cause someone not to remember a friend of over ten years, or giving birth to their child. Not only is there an emotional strain on people providing care to an Alzheimer’s...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...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,...
Words: 1581 - Pages: 7
...Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disease that destroys mental and physical functioning in human beings, and invariably leads to death. It is the fourth leading cause of adult death in the United States. Alzheimer's creates emotional and financial catastrophe for many American families every year, but fortunately, a large amount of progress is being made to combat Alzheimer's disease every year. To fully be able to comprehend and combat Alzheimer's disease, one must know what it does to the brain, the part of the human body it most greatly affects. Many Alzheimer's disease sufferers had their brains examined. A large number of differences were present when comparing the normal brain to the Alzheimer's brain. There was a loss of nerve cells from the Cerebral Cortex in the Alzheimer's victim. Approximately ten percent of the neurons in this region were lost. But a ten percent loss is relatively minor, and cannot account for the severe impairment suffered by Alzheimer's victims. Neurofibrillary Tangles are also found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. They are found within the cell bodies of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, and take on the structure of a paired helix. Other diseases that have "paired helixes" include Parkinson's disease, Down's Syndrome, and Dementia Pugilistica. Scientists are not sure how the paired helixes are related in these very different diseases. Neuritic Plaques are patches of clumped material lying...
Words: 730 - Pages: 3
...Alzheimer’s Disease is a type of dementia, a term for a decrease in mental ability that affects your memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer’s Disease progressively worsens over time. The longer Alzheimer’s is in your system, the more difficult it is to do daily activities. Alzheimer’s affects about 4.5 million Americans. The majority of people that have Alzheimer’s Disease are at least 65 years old. However, Alzheimer’s is not just for the old. 5% of people with Alzheimer’s suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s. This often affects people in their 40s and 50s. In 1901, Dr. Alois Alzheimer was working in a German mental hospital. He met a woman there who showed signs of dementia. She often made false accusations and used strange words for...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...Alzheimer’s Disease We live in an advanced world of technology and medicine. As much as many things positively impact society, numerous may also have a negative effect. Throughout the years, we were able to create cures through medicine that have allowed the life expectancy of the older generation to outlast the previous ones. But for many seniors, new problems arise that still require an antidote with the help of research and development. Even though females have a higher rate in life expectancy, they also have a greater chance in degenerating diseases; but both have an equal chance in getting a specific disease. One of which is the most common form of Dementia called Alzheimer’s that is caused within old age. Alzheimer causes memory loss and it goes from losing a little portion to even forgetting your entire past. This paper will discuss what happens with Alzheimer’s, who it targets, what are the signs of detecting this disease, and if there is a way to cure it. Alzheimer’s was first discovered in the early 1900’s by a German physician, Alois Alzheimer. He discovered the disease while observing a patient, a 51 year old woman named Frau Auguste D., who developed symptoms of memory loss and had difficulty understandings and speaking. After a few years of observations, Dr. Alxheimer discovered a progression of the symptoms which inevitably led to the death of the patient. Upon autopsy, abnormal impairment of the brain was discovered, along with a remarkable...
Words: 2692 - Pages: 11
