Alzheimer
"Alzheimer's is the death of the mind before the body". (1) This definition of Alzheimer's is very simple, but very true; it sums up the disease in one simple statement. Scientifically Alzheimer's is a progressive, neurological disease, in which plaque and tangles, composed primarily of protein, build up on and in neurons respectively, in the hippocampus and interfere with memory, thinking, language skills and behavior. (2) It is still unclear whether these structures cause the disease, or if they are a byproduct of it. The disease is named after a German physician, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906 he did a case study on a 51-year-old woman who suffered from a brain disorder, and her brain autopsy showed the same plaques and tangles that are used to diagnose Alzheimer's today. The cause of Alzheimer's is still unknown. (2). However current research is finding that there can be several contributing factors such as genetics, head injuries, age, neuron damage from free radicals, brain inflammation, and environmental factors. Age being the most important risk factor. There are also two types of the disease: sporadic and familial. Familial Alzheimer's follows an obvious inheritance pattern, however
A hallucination is the false perception of an object, or objects in absence of proper stimuli, and can be auditory or visual. By third stage, mild cognitive decline, early-stage Alzheimer's can be diagnosed in some individuals. In addition to earlier stated memory lapses (amnesia) the individual:· Might have trouble remembering new names· Have performance issues in work or social setting (apraxia)· Have trouble retaining what is read (receptive aphasia)· Misplace valuable objects· Have trouble planning and organizing. The National council on the Aging has released a study saying that exercise slows development of Alzheimer's-like brain changes in mice. This program is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association and provides a better chance of finding and identifying an Alzheimer's patient who has wandered off and become lost. Signs and Symptoms: There are two general categories of Alzheimer's symptoms: cognitive and psychiatric. Once an individual enters the fourth stage, it is considered mild or early-stage Alzheimer's and a medical interview should detect obvious deficiencies in the following areas: · Decreased knowledge of recent occasions and current events· Difficulty performing challenging mental arithmetic· Decreased capacity to perform complex tasks (apraxia)· Reduced memory of personal history (amnesia)· The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn (depression)The fifth stage is also called moderate or mid-stage Alzheimer's, and is when day-to-day assistance becomes necessary. As the medical field advances Americans are living longer and therefore the elderly population will be increasing along with the number of people suffering from Alzheimer's. Stages: The onset and progression of Alzheimer's can be broken down into stages. Individuals often feel embarrassed by aphasia and will often try to hide it. The individual may:· Be unable to recall their current address or telephone number (amnesia)· Become confused about the date or where they are, or what season it is (agnosia)· Have trouble with simpler mental arithmetic· Usually still know their own names and the names of their close loved onesStage six, moderately severe or mid-stage Alzheimer's disease is when personality changes emerge and the day-to-day help increases. This is the final stage of Alzheimer's and is usually when the diaphragm muscle fails and the patient stops breathing. Aphasia can manifest in different forms, such as expressive aphasia, or the inability to speak and write, and receptive aphasia, the inability to understand spoken or written words.
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