Mental Illness And Similarities Between Huntington And Alzheimers

Mental Illness Have you noticed people with abnormal changes in mood? Did you ask yourself how did they become like that? The answer sometimes is because they have mental illness. Mental disorders are more serious than normal diseases, for they affect the brain, which is the most important part in the human body. Many researchers wrote about mental illnesses because they found it interesting subject. They focused in their research on the definition of mental illness and comparison and contrast between mental illnesses. First of all, a mental disease defined as “a psychological syndrome or pattern, which occurs in an individual and causes distress via a painful symptom or disability, or increases the risk of death, pain, or disability”
Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s are different mental diseases, yet they have similarities. First of all, both Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s lead to focusing problems. For example, “some people with Alzheimer’s may have difficulty concentrating and take much longer to do things than they did before” (3). Similarly, Huntington’s causes adversity concentrating on tasks. Secondly, patients of both diseases have adversities in speaking. For instance, “those with Alzheimer’s may have trouble finding the right words to identify objects, express thoughts, or take part in conversation” (2). Likewise, people with Huntington’s have slowness in finding words. Third, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s also cause behavioral changes such as depression. Finally, “there is no cure for Huntington’s, and full-time care is required in the later stages of the disease” (1). Similarly, Alzheimer’s progress can’t be stopped or reversed by
First, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s have diverse causes. For example, “Huntington’s is caused by an autosomal dominant mutation in either of individual’s two copies of a gene called Huntingtin” (1). In contrast, “scientists believe that for most people, Alzheimer’s disease results from a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors that affect the brain over time” (2). A second area of difference is diagnosis. For instance, “there is no single test for Alzheimer’s disease” (4), so doctors run few tests to eliminate the illnesses that could have analogous symptoms. On the other hand, Huntington’s disease tests are based on answering questions, physical exams, neurological and psychiatric examinations, and reviewing the patients’ family medical history. Third, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s have few differences in symptoms. For example, Huntington’s causes movement disorders whereas Alzheimer’s causes memory lapses. Finally, treating methods vary between Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s. For instance, medications for memory are used in Alzheimer’s while movement and psychiatric remedies are used in