Alzheimer's Disease Research Paper

Alzheimer’s disease is most commonly caused by dementia, which causes one to become mentally impaired; it is classified to be a Neurodegenerative brain disease. It is a complex illness which is quite difficult to diagnose for the reason being that it directly alters the tissue in the brain, undergoes gradual memory loss, and even causes behavioral changes. This disease affects about 5 million Americans in the United States, most of them being 65 years of age or older; however, it is possible for a person as young as being in their 30’s to get affected by this disease. Those who suffer from Alzheimer’s will eventually lose complete control of how to perform certain things, causing them to rely on someone to care for them the 24 hours of the
day. As time passes by the disease will only worsen; progressing to the next stage of Alzheimer’s. There are three main factors that play a significant role in developing this disease, which are age, family genetics, and Apolipoprotein E also recognized as the APOE gene.
APOE gene provides the protein with a blueprint which carries cholesterol within the bloodstream. Yet, everyone receives one APOE on one of three forms from each biological parent, it could either be e2, e3, or e4. E3 would be the most common one, while e2 happens to be the least common one it has a limited overall prevalence. With the acknowledgement of this disease; the realization that it is not just the memory that is lost while suffering with Alzheimer’s Disease. However, by recognizing the symptoms, receiving a diagnosis, researching any possible treatment; the possibility of slowing down or even preventing the development of the disease is a path to take while dealing with a sever disease like
Alzheimer’s. “Alzheimer’s disease was first identified more than 100 years ago, but 70 years passed before it was recognized as the most common cause of dementia, as well as a major cause of death.” The first case ever diagnosed was Auguste D (51 years of age). in the hospical of Frankfurt’s for the mentally ill. Admitted in 1901 because she had begun experiencing hallucinations, disorientations and her communication ad began to be affected as well. Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s had been working in that hospital for 13 years and had never seen a case such as hers so he was interested as to what her disease was. Auguste died in 1906 however the hospital was able to obtain two hundred and fifty slides to use for further study on the disease. Within the sampled Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s was finding unusual things outside and inside the cells. Alois later confirmed his theory about the disease which was named after him because of is discovery. His claims are now used as signs to identify the disease. The existence of Alzheimer’s disease was confirming in 1901 yet, people questioned the illness or its discovery. For instance, was Dr. Alois Alzheimer’s the first doctor to discover this disease or has there been many previous causes dismissed because their symptoms well common along the lines of other possible brain disorders. This disease has killed many people and will continue to; however, it is only towards specific age groups. Since there is not a clinical test that can help identify the disease, the patient has to undergo a series of examinations. Scientists believe that with early detection of the disease, there is a possibility that Alzheimer’s will be sedated or could even be prevented from developing in the patient-to-be. “Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes Alzheimer's disease, but it appears that Alzheimer's disease develops as a result of a complex series of pathological events that takes place over time inside the brain.” The evaluation consists of the patient’s complete health history, current assessment on neurological and mental status, physical analysis, blood and urine, MRI and CT imaging examinations, and other included inspections. It is a requirement to do an examination, an autopsy of the brain tissue in order to receive verification of the diagnosis which has an accuracy of 90 percent. Receiving an evaluation early on before development of Alzheimer’s disease is significant for the reason being that the patient will have an advantage on controlling the given symptoms of the disease.
Considering that both men and women have a possibility of developing the Alzheimer’s disease; it is more profound on women because research shows that women’s mortality rate is greater than those of men. There are over 5 million people affected by Alzheimer’s disease and approximately 500,000 of them die each year. “The number of Alzheimer’s patients is expected to hit 100 million worldwide by 2050, including as many as 16 million in the U.S. Such huge demand for care would put unbearable strains on society and could bankrupt health care systems.” Just in the state of Texas there is approximately 350,000 people who suffer with the disease. However, the amount of dementia cases in Alzheimer’s is a significant portion of 60 to even 80 percent of the given cases. The only way to fully comprehend Alzheimer’s is to observe someone who is suffering from it.
Most people who develop Alzheimer’s are at the age of 65 years of age; however, it has been proven that there are patients of all ages suffering with this disease currently in 2016. An estimated number of approximately 5.2 million people being 65 and older suffer with this disease, and an estimated number of another 200,000 patients are affected while being 65 or younger. A study shows that out of nine individuals who are 65 are older only one has Alzheimer’s, with those being 85 and older being one-third of the individuals who also suffer from this disease. The possibility of developing the disease at an early age of 65 is possible, there is about 4 percent of the cases that are ranked under the age of 65; which are those who are in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s. With 10 percent of the Alzheimer’s cases being Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. More specifically, only a small minority of patients, between 1 and 7 percent, suffer from the early-onset form of Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s Disease is irreversible, with time the disease progresses and the symptoms worsen; however, the progression on the symptoms progress in both different rates and patterns.
The advancement of the disease varies is the individual who suffers with the disease, every patient’s progression rate is unique in its own way. As stated before the main symptom would be the loss of memory, progression affects them from doing basic daily activities such as being able to have a meal, releasing the waste from there body, remembering their loved ones such as family and friends. The disease reaches a certain stage where the patient is unable to provide for themselves in any way possible that they get to a certain point in time where showering, clothing themselves, communicating with others; eventually leads the patient to become bed-bound. Not being able to make the movements they were once able to make can cause the individual to become vulnerable to infections; this is where weight loss beings to take effect because since the patient is not able to provide for oneself, he or she has to wait until their “caregiver” provides what is necessary. One of them being pneumonia which is the infection in the lung; this is a contribution factor to those who pass away with the Alzheimer’s Disease. However, that is just the beginning to the many symptoms this disease comes with, others being anxiety, suspiciousness, confusion, agitation. All these symptoms eventually lead to the death of the
patient due to the fact that their body is slowly shutting down. Most of the caregivers happen to be women, since the job is quite difficult and stressful. Most men don’t take on the responsibility of becoming a caregiver precisely for those reasons that they don’t want to struggle with a person who is mentally and physically unsuited.
In conclusion, Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease which affects the brain known as Neurodegenerative brain disease, and those who surround the individual. It mainly affects the elderly who are 65 years or older, but those who are younger than 65 have a possibility of developing Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s is a deadly disease that yet doesn’t have a cure. Though if an examination is taken place before the disease is able to develop it gives the individual an advantage on being able to prevent developing the disease at all. It comes with many symptoms that eventually cause the person their life. Overall it is not just losing the patients memory, it’s basically losing their identity because all they have ever known has been taken away from them and they will never know what they lost, the ones who will struggle with that loss would be the friends and family that surround them. They will be the only ones left with the memories of those who have lost them.