Alzheimer's Disorder (AD) is a progressive brain disease which
             primarily affects older people. The parts of the brain that control memory,
             language, and even thought gradually decline (ADEAR, date). While AD
             develops most commonly after the age of sixty, there is a rarer form that
             can develop at a younger age. Experts estimate that between the ages of 65
             and 75, 5% of the population may have AD. By age 85, however, nearly half
             may have AD (ADEAR, date). In spite of how common the disease is among
             people who have lived a very long time, AD is not considered a normal
             consequence of age but a disease process to which one becomes more
             While scientists are just beginning to untangle the mystery of exactly
             what causes AD, some facts have been established. The disease was first
             noticed by a German doctor, Alois Alzheimer. Although doctors had noted
             dementia in elderly people, Dr. Alzheimer examined the brain of a woman who
             had died of an unusual mental illness. In the brain he found clumps of
             matter that should have not been there (called amyloid plaques). He also
             found tangled figers, now called neurofrbrillary fibers (ADEAR, date). The
             presence of these formations are definitive signs of Alzheimer's, but since
             currently they can only be detected after death, their presence is not
             Since Dr. Alzheimer's first discovery, researchers have noted other
             brain changes in those with AD. Nerve cells that support memory and
             cognition die off, and the brains show diminished quantities of the
             neurotransmitters that allow neurons to communicate with each other (ADEAR,
             date). Researchers assume that the combination of diminished
             neurotransmitters and loss of nerve cells contribute to the disruption of
             thought processes in the patient with AD. The role of neurofrbrillary fiber
             bundles and the presence of amyloid plaque is less clear.
             The effects of Alzheimer's Disease on society ...