General Overview of Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an illness that causes changes in the brain‚ primarily affecting memory and other mental abilities. Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging‚ it is a disease. Loss of memory is usually the first symptom of the disease. As the disease developments‚ the loss of reasoning ability‚ language‚ decision-making ability‚ judgment and other critical skills make day-to-day living impossible without help from others‚ most often a family member
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The immunological theory of aging‚ or immunosenescence‚ advances the idea that the immune system is programmed to decline over time. This programmed deterioration in immune system results in an increased vulnerability to infection disease‚ and thus leads to aging and death. The gradual deterioration of the immune system leads to loss of antibody efficacy‚ and with the body’s defense mechanisms against new diseases compromised‚ the body becomes more susceptible to cellular stress and eventual death
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Although dementia as a whole is caused by brain damage‚ hindering the brains ability to communicate properly‚ subsets of dementia are linked with different types of brain cell damage according to the region affected (Alzheimer’s Association). Alzheimer’s contains a high number of hallmark abnormalities‚ including “deposits of the protein fragment beta-amyloid and twisted strands of the protein tau” (Alzheimer’s Association). Vascular dementia is typically caused by strokes and/or instances that cause
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On average‚ the human prefrontal cortex begins to develop around the age of three‚ and fully forms around the age of twenty. The prefrontal cortex forms without flaws‚ although it is the main reason why human babies develops in a much slower rate compared to other mammals. The only mission of the prefrontal cortex is to complete its form‚ like a caterpillar on its merry journey to transform into a butterfly in time. The prefrontal cortex is truly an anomaly of nature‚ humans have the largest prefrontal
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Respiratory system Asthma A chronic (long term) lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways‚ asthma causes recurring periods of wheezing ( a sound when you breathe)‚ chest tightness‚ shortness of breath‚ and coughing. The coughing often occurs at night or early in the morning. Asthma is characterized by inflammation of the bronchial tubes with increased production of sticky secretions inside the tubes. People with asthma experience symptoms when that airways tighten‚ inflame or fill with mucus
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I am writing this letter to you to as a student at MIT‚ who is very concerned about her internship with Professor Tsai‚ since you are considering cutting back your research funding while Professor Tsai is doing such great work to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). As an intern with Professor Tsai‚ I am against your decision because P. Tsai has worked so hard to create a valuable research that will help in the process of finding a treatment for AD. Alzheimer’s disease has become a serious
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The Alzheimer’s Association reports that by the year 2025‚ 7.1 million people 65 and older will be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia and its devastating that there will be roughly 7.1 million diagnosed with one specific form of dementia. With this skyrocketing increase will come the need for more intervention and prevention projects to help the number of individuals suffering from all forms of dementia. Even though there is an umbrella of different forms of dementia
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Before the turn of the 20th century‚ Alzheimer’s Disease did not exist in the United States or any other part of the world. It is unknown whether cases of this disease were simply omitted from history or if the disease just did not exist before then. While there are no accounts of Alzheimer’s Disease specifically‚ there are several accounts of dementia with its definition dating back to as far as the middle of the 18th century (Berrios). It was not until the beginning of the 1900s that Alzheimer’s
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What could be worse than losing your mind‚ while your body has many years to run? Knowing that when you reach at least 80 years old‚ a third of the world’s populations will be diagnosed with dementia. More likely about 70% can be caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is the progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. With Dementia‚ possible areas that will be affected are memory‚ attention span‚ language‚ and even
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Rest Tremor Rest tremor occurs when the limb is completely at rest against gravity; that is‚ the affected body part continues shaking when the patient is sitting and relaxed (Louis & Ferreira‚ 2010). The affected body part‚ however‚ can stop shaking when the patient intentionally moves it. This type of tremor includes Parkinson’s disease‚ multiple-systems atrophy‚ supranuclear palsy‚ and drug-induced tremor‚ each discussed in the paragraphs below. PD. PD as originally described by James Parkinson
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