Alzheimer's Disease is a disease that affects many elderly people throughout the
world and is considered one of the most traumatizing diseases for families with elders in
them. This statement is supported by many facts and personal feelings of many stated
below. I feel that this disease is just as important as AIDS and Cancer because this disease
is very unpredictable and families see loved ones waste away their life at a longer time
span than the others. Loved ones are affected so greatly because the elders of these
families turn into people that they are not because of memory loss and brain deterioration.
Most people feel that Alzheimer's Disease is not that important to society because the
majority of the people who get diagnosed with this disease are over the age of 65 and
people feel that these people have "lived" their life already and should die soon. They feel
that the elderly are less important than the younger generations of society today.
"Alzheimer's Disease was first discovered by Alois Alzheimer. Alois Alzheimer
(1864-1915) was a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist who first discovered the
disease in 1906. Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive and degenerative disease that
attacks the brain, causing impaired memory, thinking, and behavior (Bradbury, 13)." He
discovered the disease in a neurological autopsy on the brain of a 56-year-old woman who
died after several years of progressive mental deterioration marked by increasing
confusion and memory loss. "The person with Alzheimer's Disease may experience
confusion, personality and behavior changes, impaired judgment, and difficulty finding
words, finishing thoughts, or following directions. The disease was first thought to be a
rare condition affecting only young people, and was referred to as senile dementia
(Bradbury, 17)." An estimat...