we are currently living in the age of technology. Our advancements in the past few
decades overshadow everything learned in the last 2000 years. With the elimination of
many diseases through effective cures and treatments, humans can expect to live a much
longer life then that of their grandparents. The population of the United States continues
to rise, and with the baby boom era coming of age, the number of elderly people is rising
as well. This increase has brought with it a large increase in diseases associated with old
age. Alzheimer's dementia is one of the most common and feared diseases afflicting the
elderly community. Alzheimer's disease, once thought to be a natural part of aging, is a
severely debilitating form of mental dementia. Although some other types of dementia are
curable or effectively treatable, there is currently no cure for the Alzheimer variety. A
general overview of Alzheimer's disease including the clinical description, diagnosis, and
progression of symptoms, helps one to further understand the treatment and care of
patients, the scope of the problem, and current research. The clinical definition of
dementia is a deterioration in intellectual performance that involves, but is not limited to, a
loss in at least 2 of the following areas: language, judgment, memory, visual or depth
perception, or judgment interfering with daily activities. (Institute, 1996, p.4). The initial
cause of Alzheimer's disease symptoms is a result of the progressive deterioration of brain
cells (neurons) in the cerebral cortex of the brain. This area of the brain, which is the
largest and uppermost portion, controls all our thought processes, movement, speech, and
senses. This deterioration initially starts in the area of the cortex that is associated with
memory and then progresses into other areas of the cortex, then into other areas of the
brain that control bodily functions. The de...