Alzheimer's Disease

 What is Alzheimer's?

Alzheimer's is an progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In older people alzheimer is common cause of dementia. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.

 

Why is Alzheimer so common now than in the past?

The answer for this question is that people are getting older. People live longer and that`s why the Alzherimer`s dissease has more time and possibilities to progress.

How is Alzheimer`s an economic issue?

The costs, for supplies produced for keeping the Alzheimer`s victims alive and assistance for them are very high. Some companies, producing specific drugs, supplies, hospital technology but also many private clinics can have a big profit from people suffering from this disease. There are also several founds supported by the government were organized to aid the Alzheimer`s cummunity.

 How was Alzheimer`s discovered?

In 1901, Dr. Alzheimer met Auguste D., a 51-year-old woman who became his patient at the asylum for the next four years until her death. Her condition steadily deteriorated displaying memory loss, difficulty with speech, confusion, suspicion, agitation, wandering, and screaming when bedridden. She became incontinent and unaware of her surroundings. When Alzheimer performed the autopsy in 1905, he found her brain had shriveled and neurons had disappeared. He also discovered the characteristic “neurofibrillary tangles” and “senile plaques” that we now know as the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Alzheimer presented his findings to a group of psychiatrists in 1906, the first public description of this new disease. When he made this discovery, Dr. Alzheimer was unaware that the disease would be named after him and would also become the most common form of dementia in older people.

How Alzheimer's robs you as identity?

Alzheimer`s erases all the memories step-by-step.

At first the affected person does not remember where he or she putted her keys, forgets constantly names, dates. In the final stage of this terrible dissease people are not able to speak, to communicate and are not aware of their sorrounding. Memories are your identity. You could not be the peroson you are without them, so if they start to disappear, your identity disappears hand-in-hand with them.

Process of Alzheimer's:

 Alzheimer starts with simple forgetting of random every-day things like where the keys were left, what was eaten for breakfast or what date/day it is. There are two common approaches to managing the symptoms which include use of medications specifically engineered to control the symptoms and non-drug strategies such as changing the patient's environment to resolve challenges and minimize obstacles. Abnormal deposits of proteins form amyloid plaques and tau tangles throughout the brain, and once-healthy neurons begin to work less efficiently. Over time, neurons lose their ability to function and communicate with each other, and they die.

In Mild Alzheimer Stage is changes in other cognitive abilities are evident. These may include getting lost, trouble handling money and paying bills, repeating questions, taking longer to complete normal daily tasks, using poor judgment, and having some mood and personality changes. When this happened, usually people are diagnosed. In Moderate Alzheimer's Disease damage occurs in areas of the brain that control language, reasoning and sensory processing. Memory loss and confusion grow worse, and people begin to have problems recognizing family and friends. They may have hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia, and may behave impulsively. 

 

In Severe Alzheimer's Stage plaques and tangles have spread throughout the brain, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly. Therefore people with severe Alzheimer’s cannot communicate and may forgets how to breath and at the end as the body shuts down, person will die.