Alzheimer’s disease Holly Salyards Cincinnati State Technical & Community College Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disease which slowly destroys thinking and memory skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day to day life. This irreversible disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst the elderly, with an appearance of first symptoms after age 60. In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, noticed some changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms were comprised of memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. After her death, Dr. Alzheimer examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (neurofibrillary tangles). The aforementioned plaques and tangles in the brain are considered two of the primary features of Alzheimer’s disease. The third feature is the loss of connections between nerve cells or neurons in the brain. There is currently no cure for this traumatic disease, but current Alzheimer’s disease medications and management strategies may temporarily improve symptoms. This can sometimes help people with Alzheimer’s disease maximize function and maintain independence. There is still no known fact on how the Alzheimer’s disease process begins. They seem to think that the damage to the brain starts a decade or more before problems become evident. During the preclinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease, people are asymptomatic, but unfortunately there are toxic changes taking place in the brain. Abnormal deposits of proteins form amyloid plaques and tau tangles throughout the brain, causing the once-healthy neurons to work less efficiently. Over time, neurons lose the ... ... middle of paper ... ...ww.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_4719.asp (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/causes (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/treatment (n.d.). Retrieved from website: http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-fact-sheet (n.d.). Retrieved from website: https://www.alz.org/advocacy/2006program/1.asp (n.d.). Retrieved from website: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_facts_and_figures.asp Anonymous. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/alzheimers-basics http://inserbia.info/today/2013/06/alzheimers-disease-cause-found/ http://www.alz.org/downloads/Facts_Figures_2014.pdf http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/basics/tests-diagnosis/com-20023871 What is alzheimers?. Retrieved from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp
Alzheimer is a dementia type of disease named after Dr. Alois alzheimer that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills,and eventually , the ability to do simple things, or recognize their family. The first case occurred in the 1906 when a woman died on a unusual mental illness. After she died Dr.Alois examined her brain , amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary. Alzheimer’s is in older people the most common cause of dementia. Dementia is a loss of remembering ,thinking and reasoning skills, that intervenes with your daily life and activities. It is very common in people over sixty years of age. People younger than sixty years can also
Clinically, Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaque between living neurons in the brain (Sabbagh, 2008). This results in an excessive calcium influx inside the neurons and the breakdown of a protein called tau. Normally, the rol...
Alzheimer’s disease is a complex illness that affects the brain tissue directly and undergoes gradual memory and behavioral changes which makes it difficult to diagnose. It is known to be the most common form of dementia and is irreversible. Over four million older Americans have Alzheimer’s, and that number is expected to triple in the next twenty years as more people live into their eighties and nineties. (Johnson, 1989). There is still no cure for Alzheimer’s but throughout the past few years a lot of progress has been made.
The first case of dementia was discovered in 1906 by a German physiatrist Alois Alzheimer. It was first observed in a female patient and she was forty-one years old her name was Auguste D. Dr. Alzheimer observed a decline in the patient’s cognitive abilities. She lost her memory, she exhibited behavioral issues, and she suffered from hallucinations, lost the ability to comprehend language, disorientation and lost her speech. After Augusta’s passing Dr. Alzheimer preformed an autopsy that showed the classic triangles and knots we associate today with Alzheimer. Those triangles and knots are a proteins and plaque. The brain is self looked smaller and had distinct characteristics. Still with modern medicine the only way to diagnose a person with Alzheimer is after their death with an autopsy. (THE ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT, 2014).
Alzheimer’s disease got its name from the German doctor, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, he noticed that there were abnormal clumps and bundles of fibers i...
Alzheimer's Disease Introduction to Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain. It was first described by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915). in 1905. This disease worsens with advancing age, although there is no evidence. that it is caused by the aging process.
Alzheimer's Disease is the result of what occurs when nerve cells in the brain begin to deteriorate and die. A neuron's primary role in the brain is to communicate with other neurons, transmitting information to different regions of the brain and body. Neuron cells are also responsible for creating memories, both short-term and long-term memories. The hippocampus, which is a small area in the brain that holds a key role in the formation of memories (Mandal). As provided by Dr. Ananya Mandal, the association between the hippocampus and Alzheimer's Disease is that the neurons located in the hippocampus are suggested to be the first cells to be damaged in the way of the disease (Mandal). It is unknown at what point in time that neuron cells begin to degenerate. Nevertheless, when neurons do deteriorate within the brain, the occurrence of plaque and tangles - abnormal proteins - begin to appear as a result of a weakening in the connection between neurons. According to information gathered by Richard Mayeux, a Professor of Neurology at Columbia University ...
Alzheimer’s disease, named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, is a disease that is on the rise in America and the rest of the world. People should learn as much as they want about this disease, because as you age, your chances of becoming an Alzheimer’s Disease, or AD, patient increases. It is estimated that approximately 3 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have the illness, and more than half of all people over age 85 have the ailment.
In the field of Psychology you can find an abundance of mental disorders that can have an affect on people all throughout the world. Out of all the mental disorders that can be found around the world, some of them are more well-known and more widespread than others. The following disorders could be described as being well-known and widespread disorders: depression, bi-polar disorder, Alzheimer's, and OCD, which could also be called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. All of these mental disorders can be very dangerous and possibly deadly if people don't receive the proper care in order to be able to contain these disorders. Out of these very dangerous and possibly deadly disorders, I believe that Alzheimer's is the most interesting disorder. I think that Alzheimer's is the most interesting disorder, because I think we have the least about of knowledge of the Alzheimer's disorder. As a society we still to this day don't have a cure that totally stops this disorder.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the leading causes of death in America and there are currently more than five million people living with the disease (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). What may be most troubling about these numbers is the fact that Alzheimer’s disease has no current cure. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurocognitive disorder and a common form of dementia that will affects a person’s memory, way of thinking and their behavior (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). AD typically develops slowly and the more time a person has the disease the worse the symptoms will become. AD in its later stages becomes so severe that people with the disease cannot even do simple daily tasks. Although there is no cure there are still ways to prevent, delay, and possibly treat the disease.
In 1906, a German physician named Dr. Alois Alzheimer dealt with a patient that had been battling severe memory and confusion problems and had tremendous difficulty understanding questions and basic functions. Alzheimer suspected that the ailment had more to it than inherent memory loss. During an autopsy of the brain, he discovered that there were deposits of neuritic plaques surrounding the nerve cells and twisted fibers, known as neurofibrillary tangles, inside of the nerve cells. These observations became the definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The plaques and tangles that develop are a natural part of aging; however, they develop far more aggressively in Alzheimer’s victims. The plaques and tangles then block communication among nerve cells and disrupt the cells processes, eventually killing them. This destruction causes memory failure, personality changes, and problems carrying out everyday functions. Alzheimer’s especially attacks the memory. A victim in the later stage of the disease can...
Scientists know that Alzheimer disease is characterized by a gradual spread of sticky plaques and clumps of tangled fibers that disrupt the organization of nerve cells in the brain. However , a definite cause, prevention, or cause has not been found.
Thesis/Preview Statement – Alzheimer’s disease (AD) causes a decline in brain function, it destroys healthy nerve cells. Today, we have discussed Causes, Symptoms, and Diagnosis of AD.
Alzheimer’s disease or AD is an incurable disorder of the brain that results in loss of normal brain structure and function. In an AD brain, normal brain tissue is slowly replaced by structures called plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The plaques represent a naturally occurring sticky protein called beta amyloid and in an Alzheimer’s brain, sufferer’s tend to accumulate too much of this protein. Neurofibrillary tangles represent collapsed tau proteins which, in a normal brain along with microtubules, form a skeleton that maintains the shape of the nerve cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins break loose from their normal location and form tangles. Without the support of these molecules, nerve cells collapse and die. As normal brain structure is lost with progression of the disease, brain function also degenerates. Patients afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease display a gradual mental decline. Initially, and most apparently, there is a loss of short-term memory. Eventually, as a patient progresses to later stages of the disease, the brain becomes so damaged that patients can no longer communicate or recognize immediate family or even themselves. They have difficulty walking and standing and frequently fall. In the final stages, they lose bladder and bowel control and have difficulty with swallowing, frequently leaving them malnourished and dehydrated. Eventually, they are forced to remain bedridden and, without the help of life-prolonging measures provided in a hospital, die. However, this level of deterioration is severe and may take as long as twenty years. Because of the disease’s slow progress and its usual later start in a person’s life, a victim of AD will usually die first of natural causes. Under the objectives ...
Scientist have misunderstood this conditions for years, but they now believe the proteins that is a guarantee of Alzheimer disease may play a role in fighting infection. Although there is no way to cure Alzheimer’s there is medication to help slow the process of the memory loss. Medication include Aricept, Exelon, and Namenda, these are cholinesterase inhibitors. These drugs work by reducing the rate at which acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter, is broken down, thereby increasing its concentration in the brain and offsetting loss of the substance caused by death of the neurons, known as brain