Few People With Alzheimer's Disease example essay topic

A terrifying disease indeed, Alzheimer's has to this date caused confusion and much speculation in the medical world. What is Alzheimer's? How does it occur? How can it be detected? Who is most susceptible to contract it? All of these are common questions doctors and medical researchers ponder on; questions that are investigate the fundamental roots of Alzheimer's [as well as other diseases].

With these questions being unanswered, it can be only known that Alzheimer's exists and takes over the lives of approximately 4% of US's elderly population every year with the number on the rise. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that is growing in numbers every single year. People over the age of 65 are the ones that need to worry most about getting it, yet some people that are younger can still get it. This disease is a terrible disease and can be scary and frustrating. Doctors have a very difficult time diagnosing it because there are so many things that are similar to this disease. This disease not only destroys the lives of the victims, but also can ruin the lives of the people that take care of them.

At this time there is not a cure, but many scientists are working very hard to find a cure for this terrible disease. Today there are almost 4 million Americans that suffer from Alzheimer's disease. It is estimated that this disease will claim 14 million victims by the year 2050. Experts believe this because of greater life expectancy (Beck 36).

Meanwhile, almost 4 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 to 74 will get this disease. For the people between the ages of 75 through 84 it is expected to strike ten percent, and people over the age of 85 have a 17 percent chance of contracting this horrifying disease (Larson 517). It can also strike the lives of people in their forties or fifties, although this is not that common (Fish 19). Undeniably, Alzheimer's is an extremely terrible disease to get because one loses memory, self-pride, and independence to care for one's self. Because so little information is known about this disease by the public and even medical experts, it is described as a "silent disease" (Frank 13).

In 1906 a German psychiatrist and neuro pathologist by the name of Dr. Alois Alzheimer discovered and named this disease. He had a female patient that was experiencing memory loss, confusion, depression, and hallucinations. She died in a nursing home at the age of 55. Dr. Alzheimer wanted to conduct an autopsy to see if he could figure out exactly what had caused her mysterious death.

He discovered "two startling abnormalities, inside and outside the brain cells". Tissue lying inside the cell bodies or nuclei of neurons exhibited an abnormally high number of fine nerve fibers or filaments, twisted around each other. He called these twisted fibers neurofibrillary tangles. He also saw unusually high numbers of fibrous plaques located between brain cells, composed of degenerating terminal dendrites or burned out nerve endings that surrounded fibrous amyloid protein. These abnormalities were known as senile or neuritic plaques. (Fish 63) Today there are many different theories of what causes Alzheimer's.

Some experts believe that the intake of too much aluminum may play an important role in what causes Alzheimer's, although there is no evidence yet (Gallo 64). Others believe that there are "three genes that are somehow part of the problem" (62). Yet other scientists suspect that it could be some sort of viral defect (Mace 383). Some scientists even believe that head trauma may be the cause of this horrifying disease. Some studies showed that people who have had head injuries in the past get this disease more than people who have not had any head injuries (384). It may also be possible that Alzheimer's disease is hereditary and passed on through the genes (Frank 55).

Some scientists believe that the amount of mitochondria in the cells may play an important role in what causes Alzheimer's disease. They have found that 8.3 percent of Alzheimer's patients had a "mitochondrial DNA mutation". This can possibly leave the brain cells "starved of energy", and in turn cause them to die (Travis 84). Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that leaves its victims confused, disoriented, and dependent on others. It is hard for the victims to even realize that they have the disease in the early stages.

Relatives or close friends of the victim may not even realize what is happening because it is so gradual. They may think that the victim is acting the way they are due to old age. The first stage of Alzheimer's can last anywhere from two to four years. The first thing that starts to happen is usually memory loss; victims may forget events or names. They may also have a hard time concentrating on something or learning new things (Fish 66). Then they may become confused and disoriented.

Victims might get lost and forget the day, month, and year easily. The person may have a difficult time completing sentences when talking. He or she may be unable to follow directions. Victims can also have a difficult time completing familiar tasks such as cooking, cleaning, and performing their job. The victim's mood changes and this leads to depression (67). Last of all they may neglect their personal hygiene, such as brushing their teeth or taking a bath (68).

In the early stages of Alzheimer's there is a gradual loss of mental and physical abilities (Frank 15). The victims seem to suffer physical damage to some parts of their brain (21). This damage to the brain is in the form of lesions, "abnormal changes in the brain cells themselves". Lesions can only be observed clearly during an autopsy of the brain (22). These lesions are usually found in the limbic system or other parts of the brain that help in the controlling of memory and learning. The presence of lesions somehow disturb brain cells, and in turn cause one to lose one's memory (23).

As previously stated, Alzheimer's is an extremely difficult disease to recognize or diagnose in the early stages. Other illnesses are similar in the way that they affect the brain and some mental disorders are also similar. Mental confusion, irrational behavior, and loss of memory is classified under dementia (31). For a doctor to find out if a patient has Alzheimer's he must find a way to rule out possibilities of the patient having some other "dementing illness". The doctor asks various questions about the person's general health and present condition to help in ruling out other "dementing illnesses" (32). The second stage of Alzheimer's leaves the victims basically helpless.

Their behavior can become extremely unpredictable in some people. This stage can last from two to ten years. The victims have continued and progressive memory loss which can make it impossible for them to remember past and even current events (Fish 68). The victims may become severely disoriented and confused. He or she may lose the ability to recognize loved ones and even their own reflection.

The victims might wander away and get lost. The victims become unable to express themselves and to complete sentences. They go through mood swings and personality changes which are usually short lived. The victim may wander around at night or repeat movements over and over. They suffer from behavior problems and can have hallucinations. Sometimes they hide things and then wreck things when they are trying to find the thing they hid in the first place.

Their motor activity becomes impaired and they may have a tough time buttoning their shirt or tying their shoelace. They may experience muscle twitching (69). They may also tend to lose their sense of balance (70). Scientists have tried a variety of drugs to cure Alzheimer's disease, but they have not been successful yet.

There have been hundreds of drugs tested on Alzheimer's patients, but none have been totally successful. Most of them were found either ineffective or caused some serious side effects (Mace 381). Lecithin was one type of drug that was tried but it was found to be ineffective. However, a drug by the name of taurine has shown to help a few people with Alzheimer's disease, but then more in-depth studies showed that these benefits could not be confirmed (382). Various medications may be prescribed to help with any behavior problems that the patient might have. Medications such as antidepressants or antipsychotic are sometimes given in small doses to patients in order to control their behavior problems (Larson 518).

It is rather disappointing that scientists have not found a cure for this disease yet, but they believe that there is still hope that one day they will find a cure. This disease can be extremely hard to live with if one does not have any close friends or relatives. Here is a story of a man named Andrew who had to go through this disease with no one to help him. Andrew's wife died when he was 65. He retired from his job and moved to a trailer park (Frank 68). He did not have any children, and he didn't have any relatives that lived close by.

He also had no friends. No one knew him that well, so when he started to show some early signs of Alzheimer's disease no one even noticed. Some of his cousins were surprised that they didn't hear from him over the holidays, but soon forgot about it because they were so busy with their own lives. His neighbors started to notice that he didn't dress neatly anymore, and that he didn't take care of his yard anymore. His neighbors all thought that someone else should check on Andrew to see if he needed any help.

After about two years he started to wander around outside. One morning he was found sleeping under a tree a few blocks from his house. He was very confused and could not tell anyone where he lived. The family that found him called the police, realizing that Andrew was ill. They took him to the emergency room at the nearby hospital. Finally a nurse got him to tell her his name.

No relatives or close friends could be found, so he was admitted to the hospital (69). He was diagnosed with having Alzheimer's disease, but the hospital could not find anyone to take care of him. A social worker also tried, but had no luck. He was sent to the state mental hospital because he had some financial problems and could not afford to stay at a nursing home. He had no choice in deciding this. Andrew soon realized where he was and wanted to get out.

He could not afford it, so he had to stay where he was (70). Soon a guardian was found for him, and took care of him until he died five years later (71). It is extremely difficult to have Alzheimer's. It can be even more devastating if the victim is not financially secure. This can make it hard to find a place to stay. In Andrew's case, he also had no friends or relatives to help him through it.

The victims of this disease are often felt sorry for, but people usually don't think of the people that take care of the Alzheimer's victim. It can be very rough on the caretaker in many different ways. There is a chance that the person taking care of the victim may feel angry or frustrated. He may be angry that he has to deal with this problem, angry that other family members fail to do their share. He might be angry at the Alzheimer's victim for his unusual behavior (Mace and Rains 259). The caregiver may feel embarrassed about the way that the Alzheimer's victim acts around others that do not understand exactly what is wrong with the victim (263).

The caretaker may feel guilty about the way that he is acting around the victim or for using harsh words at the victim when he loses his temper (264). The caregiver might be hopeful that there will be some cure for Alzheimer's sometime soon in the future, but yet discouraged that there is not a cure right now and the possibility that there may not be a cure for a long time (272). Taking care of a loved one with Alzheimer's can be extremely tiring and even frustrating. It can totally change the way that a person lives his life.

A group called the "Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (AD RDA) ", made up of mostly families of Alzheimer's victims, helps people to get through the difficulties of being a guardian or caretaker. This group has meetings at which members can express their personal feelings and experiences with Alzheimer's victims. They can also share what they do to deal with the problems that they have encountered (Frank 72). It also does research to help find the causes of Alzheimer's and a cure for this disease (Fish 52). This group has recently changed its name to "Alzheimer's Association" (51). Alzheimer's is a terrible disease that destroys the lives of many people and will probably destroy many more as life expectancy increases.

The victims know that the disease will slowly eat away at the life that they have left inside of them. They also know that there is no known cure at this time to help them overcome this terrible disease, so they can live their life like a normal person. offer from Alzheimer's disease..