Term Paper On Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s the Killer Disease
Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that destroys a person’s mind and eventually their body. Alzheimer’s Association said, “Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading death in America. Recent studies say it’s becoming the third way people over the age of sixty-five tend to pass away from”. This illness is sweeping the United States and are killing our older citizens. This disease is spreading around the United States and many people do not understand all the symptoms. Society should be more aware of this growing epidemic. People in America need to understand what Alzheimer’s disease is and who it affects every single day.
This epidemic was first talked about in 1904. It was founded by a German doctor by the name
of Alois Alzheimer. German scientists and others started researching more about it during the 1900’s. In 1976, the Alzheimer’s was starting to be known as a form of Dementia. The Alzheimer Association was founded in 1980. The association helped to research and start awareness of this disease.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that has many different symptoms and stages.
Alzheimer’s a form of Dementia. “It accounts for sixty to eighty percent of dementia cases” (Alzheimer’s Association). This disease is a progressive disease. Which means that it gets worse over time. Alzheimer’s has three various stages that people can go through. The first one is what they call Mild Alzheimer’s disease. This stage is where they start to experience memory loss and different brain troubles. This is where people start to forget the minor things, ask the same questions over again, getting lost and their personality starts to change. The second stage is the Moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Memory loss starts to get worse. They get more confused with people and start causing problems with remembering people. It changes their brain that effects their control over language and the ability to accomplish ordinary tasks; for example, putting clothes on. Severe Alzheimer’s is the very last stage. The Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center talks about the Severe stage, “Plagues and tangles spread throughout the brain, and brain tissue shrinks significantly”. This stage requires people with this disease are completely dependent on a caretaker. In the end, the body starts to cease to stop working properly. Anyone can start to develop the first stage of Alzheimer’s and start treatments to slow down the effects of the
disease.
The disease can affect many different people and genders. Most people who develop Alzheimer’s are around the age of sixty-five or older. There are chances that people can get early onset Alzheimer’s. With early onset, the symptoms can start happening around thirty, at the earliest. On table 3, the question was asked, whether men or women get diagnosed with this epidemic more than the other. Most of the class thought men and only fifteen percent went with women. Jennifer A. Foley wrote in her article that more women are diagnosed with the disease. Alzheimer’s is also hereditary. This means that it passes through generation to generation. If a relative has Alzheimer’s there is a chance it can be in the genes. The treatments are to slow down Alzheimer’s vary according how your body is handling the disease. Most of the treatments are different varieties of medicine. A great deal of treatments is unsuccessful. Still, today people are struggling to find a cure to Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s not only effects the patient but their family and caregivers as well.
In a study in August 5th, 2015 in an article written by Tarja H Villmakka showed us that caregivers live in the same household with their patient. The caregivers or the family must take care of this person twenty-four hours a day without a break. It can cause financial hardships, emotional problems and physical strain on the caregiver. One example of financial hardships is buying all the medicine to help the behavior problems or to slow down the symptoms. It can also include all the different doctor appointments that individual who has the disease. The emotional aspect is watching a person slowly lose themselves. To watch that person slowly stop remembering their family and to slowly have declining health. Another aspect is to have the responsibility of taking care of that person and their well-being. Taking care of an Alzheimer patient takes physical strain on your body. There will be situations of helping them out of bed, or picking them up when they fall, and monitoring them all hours of the day. There are many ways that other people’s lives are affected by one person getting diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. But people start to create different myths about
Alzheimer’s.
People created this myth that you only get Alzheimer’s when your old and that memory loss is a part of aging. The sad part is that memory loss or Alzheimer’s disease can develop as early as thirty years old. As said earlier, it is called Early Onset Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s Association researched that about 200,000 people under the age of sixty-five has the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is more than memory loss. It is more than just losing the keys but forgetting where they are or the people around them.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that attacks a person’s brain. It is a disorder that destroys a person’s memory, cognitive skills, and the ability to do everyday tasks. People start to forget simple things, family and friends, and start to fade away. This disorder starts to destroy who that person is. But it also affects the people who are surrounded by that individual. Alzheimer’s is a disease that can happen to anyone especially if it runs in the family line.
Society needs to learn more about Alzheimer’s to be aware of the people around them who may have it. Alzheimer’s disease is getting to become the third way to die for people sixty-five or older. Today, many loved ones are starting to develop or already have the disease. By learning and promoting this disease will help the people who are suffering with this disease or the caretakers and family that take care of those individuals. Also, people need to be aware of the symptoms because its highly possible someone in their life will get Alzheimer’s.