Family Of Patients With Alzheimer's Disease example essay topic
433 words
Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disease that damages the memory, thinking and behavior in someone. The person with AD may experience confusion, personality and behavior changes, damage the decision making in someone, and difficulty thinking of words, finishing thoughts or following directions. It eventually leaves the person unable of caring for himself or herself. The nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls memory, thinking, are damaged, stopping the passage of messages between cells. The cells develop typical changes that are called neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The cortex of the brain shrinks; the spaces in the center of the brain become bigger, also reducing surface area in the brain. Alzheimer's Disease is a, which leads to loss of brain capacity. Symptoms usually occur in older adults and include loss of language skills, trouble finding words, problems with thinking, bad choices, confusion in place and time, mood swings, and changes in personality. This disease is not communicable, it is also not congenital you get it at an old age not at birth or at an early age. Alzheimer's Disease affects men and women about equal.
The disease strikes older people more common, affecting about 10% of Americans over age 65 and 47% of those over age 85. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is not known. Researchers are studying assumed causes such as neurological damage, chemical deficiencies, viruses, genetic abnormalities, environmental toxins and malfunctions in the body's disease defense systems. There is a slightly increased risk that family of patients with Alzheimer's disease will get it. Some patients who get the disease in middle age have a familial type, which means more than one get it in the family. Right now there is no cure or treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
Unfortunately, there are many dishonest individuals who sell so-called "cures'. These treatments are often expensive and they don't cure AD. However, since being old is such a scary problem and families are desperate to find help for loved ones, these bogus treatments continue to sell. People with Alzheimer's disease may live from 2 to 20 years after the beginning of the memory loss symptoms. It shortens someone's life span, but given good care, people often stay alive for many years. Death can't always be told until the very deadly stages.
It is common for patients in a deadly stage to lose weight, to have difficulty swallowing, controlling when to use the restroom, and walking and speaking.
