Preview

alzheimers disease

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1303 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
alzheimers disease
Kelsey Larrabee
June 5th, 2014
Psychology 200

Alzheimer’s Disease Research Paper

Kelsey Larrabee

Abstract: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in elderly individuals. Currently, 4.5 million people in the United States approximately have Alzheimer’s disease. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease presents the victim with a sharp decline in memory, language, visuospatial perception, executive functioning and decision-making. Because this disease is so harsh on people’s personality, behavioral and psychiatric symptoms are frequently present in Alzheimer’s disease. The impact Alzheimer’s disease has on health care is significant and estimated to cost $100 billion dollars per year and predicted to rise as it is a demand to find new medication and the number of Alzheimer’s disease individual rise. (Burns) There is medication available, however there is currently no cure, the medications that are given have symptoms that do not alter the negative progression of the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is defined as progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells and neurons resulting in a loss of memory, thinking, language skills, and behavioral changes. (Burns) Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by cognitive dysfunction, psychiatric symptoms, behavioral disturbances, and difficulty performing daily activities. Alzheimer’s disease is currently the 6th leading cause of death in the United States and presently 4.5 million Americans are living with it. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in elder individuals. (Burns) Even though there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, the health care costs are extremely high, being just over 100 billion dollars per year. The hopefulness of the development of a cure or new therapies becomes more desperate every year for new advances in the future. (Burns) The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in every individual vary; the disease can be extremely severe and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    In the times in which we live, there are many hundreds of institutions that are working on the Alzheimer’s issue. Researchers are hoping to break the mysteries of this disease and wipe it from the face of the earth forever. It is estimated that there are now more than 5.2 million people in the United States living with AD and as the population ages; this number is expected to triple by the year 2050. Among baby boomers aged 55 and over, one in eight will develop AD and one in six will develop a dementia. Half of all persons 85 years and older will develop the disease. Although the illness usually develops in people age 65 or older, it is estimated that over 500,000 people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s have Alzheimer 's disease or a related dementia. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the country. According to the California Department of Public Health,…

    • 3191 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and social/behavioral skills. The direct cause of it is not yet fully understood, but based on studies, the disease seems to be a result of the combination of genetic material, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain. While Alzheimer’s is most commonly found among people above the age of 65, it is not what would considered a normal part of aging. However, it is the most common risk factor for this disease. As the age of a person reaches 65, the risk of getting this disease doubles every five years.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    NVQ 5 dementia

    • 1460 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is classically defined as a dual clinicopathological entity. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown. This gap in knowledge has created a stumbling block in the search for a genuinely effective treatment or cure for this dementia,…

    • 1460 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibiliography

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bibliography: Bren, Linda. "Alzheimer 's Searching for a Cure." FDA consumer Jul 2003: 18-25. ProQuest. Web. 23 Sep. 2013. This source is extremely valuable because of the way it describes the ways on how to improve the lifestyle of someone who is dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. It also goes in depth talking about the ways doctors and scientists are attempting to find a cure for the disease. The text includes a multitude of pictures, and a few charts that help the author to enhance the understanding that research is constantly taking place, and there have been a few advances towards finding a cure. The graph was useful because it gave the reader hope that, someday, there could be a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This source seemed to be useful for someone who wants to learn more about the research taking place in order to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It also is helpful for those who may be dealing with a family member or a friend with the disease. The source is reliable because it comes from a credible source, the FDA.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer was the first one to recognize the abnormality of a brain affected with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. With Alzheimer’s the connections between the brain cells deteriorate and die, which causes the memory loss. There are many myths surrounding Alzheimer’s disease. “It is a normal part of aging” is one of the biggest. While some memory loss is expected with aging, Alzheimer’s is concerned with a severe amount of memory loss. The severity can limit a person’s ability to perform daily tasks. “Older people are the only ones who get it” is one that seems to go hand-in-hand with Alzheimer’s being a normal part of aging. While the majority of those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are between the ages of 65-80, there are cases where early onset can be detected as early as ones 40s or 50s. Past treatments included treating some of the symptoms because there was no known cure. Medication to treat depression and memory loss were able to help some of the symptoms, but some had seen cognitive effects because of this.…

    • 1407 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Alzheimer's - Essay 2

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Learning about Alzheimer’s disease and realizing that it is much more that just a loss of memory can benefit the families of those with the disorder as well as society. The purpose of this paper is to look at the disorder, as well as to discuss the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes of a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer'sDisease

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    At this point, a careful medical interview should be able to detect clear-cut symptoms in of Alzheimer's in several areas:…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alzheimer's is a strange and mysterious illness. There are many frequently asked questions that must be answered.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer’s affects more than 5.1 million Americans and nearly as 44 million people worldwide. “Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes,” (Alzheimer). Alzheimer’s is an illness that develops in individuals as they are aging and the number of cases of individuals developing Alzheimer’s have doubled in recent time. Alzheimer’s attacks the brain in ways the effects how a person lives their daily lives. It prevents people from being independent since it attacks the brain functions and causes them to become forgetful and confuse most of the time. During the early stages of Alzheimer’s individuals forget small things like where they placed something, and in later stages they…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Paper

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Alzheimer’s disease, what is there to say about this disease? There is an uncomfortable ease about knowing that it is known that you develop this disease in old age, or do you. We will learn and understand about how (AD) Alzheimer’s disease was discovered, named, its’ myths, past and present treatments, signs and symptoms, and diagnosis. It will be known how it was considered a disease and not just a normal or regular part of becoming of age or aging. With Alzheimer’s having several stages associated with it, we will discover that not everyone will experience all stages, symptoms, or progress at the same time or rate.…

    • 1450 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that has been plaguing the citizens of the United States of America. Approximately, 5 million Americans of all ages have developed this disease; but most of the people affected are above the age of 65. Recently, estimations have shown that the disease is expected to grow up to 7 million people. According to statistics, by 2050 the numbers of cases are projected to be around 13 million citizens if the disease failed to be controlled. Moreover, as life expectancy escalates from year to year, Incidents of Alzheimer’s will increase because this disease takes effect as individuals become older. With the improvement in the overall quality of life people will be living longer; if these individuals develop Alzheimer’s it will be a burden financially on the health care…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer’s disease is characterized as a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. It is irreversible and it slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to perform simple tasks. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and over five million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. There are many symptoms within each category of Alzheimer’s. In mild Alzheimer’s disease, where Alzheimer’s is usually diagnosed, the person presents with memory loss and other problems such as behavior changes, losing things, repeating questions, getting lost, and taking longer to complete activities of daily living. In the next category, moderate Alzheimer’s…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Alzheimers Disease.

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The following paper focuses on Alzheimer’s disease, the disease which is a devastating brain disease and is one of the most typical forms of dementia, a general term that is most commonly used for memory loss and the diminishing in mental and physical abilities. It is most frequently diagnosed in the elderly although there have been some cases of the disease affecting people of middle age. There is not one known single cause for Alzheimer 's, however, scientists believe that due to the structural and chemical changes in the brain eventually gradually destroy brain cells thus effecting reasoning, learning and memory. If it continues to advance, the result is body failure. The disease affects the body in different stages, and as the stages become higher the symptoms become worse. Though the disease is incurable there are medications that can keep symptoms under control, and help the individual maintain a regular lifestyle.…

    • 1343 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The social, economic and personal costs of dementia are increasing as the population ages. Our understanding of the causes and progression of this group of diseases is poor, adversely affecting the development of treatments to prevent, reverse or cure dementia. Therapies for dementia are limited to modifying the behavioral and psychological symptoms. Drugs in development that might treat the disease itself have had limited success in trials. An understanding of these limitations allows nurses to support patients and family with…

    • 1039 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The development of mental changes in Alzheimer's disease is often so slow that the sufferer and his or her family cannot easily date the onset of the first symptoms.…

    • 826 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays