Alzheimer’s: A Caregiver’s Disease
Introduction
Named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the man who first diagnosed the disease after examining the brain of a woman that died of an unusual mental illness, Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that attacks and destroys memory, thinking, and eventually life skills including the ability to perform simple tasks such as speaking, swallowing, and writing. The deterioration of the brain is the result of amyloid plaques (or clumps) and neurofibrillary tangles as well as the loss of connections between neurons. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia among older adults, and most people are diagnosed after the age of 60. There is currently no cure for this debilitating disease, and it often takes a devastating toll on the loved ones that surround the patient.
While there are currently medication and psychological treatments available that help those living with the disease and those caring for those that have been diagnosed, there no cure for the disease and no way to stop or reverse damage to the brain. Much attention has been focused on this disease and it’s treatment, and over 1000 clinical trials have been preformed to test various drugs. While some medications have proven to slow the disease slightly, most treatments are ineffective and focus mostly on keeping patients comfortable and treating symptoms of the disease such as irritability or sleeplessness. Besides medication, other treatments that have proven useful include exercise, mental stimulation, and a healthy diet. Since many people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s no longer have the ability to care for themselves, treatment often focuses on making it easy for caregivers to provide daily care to loved ones. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, promising research and development for early detection help illuminate early on symptoms, which can educate the patient and family about the current treatments available. Alzheimer’s not only affects the individual diagnosed with the disease but the family and the people surrounding the patient. There may be some determining factors that families may grasp onto as they are getting signs that someone in their family may be developing early signs of the disease. This paper will discuss the specifics of the disease, including its three clinical stages, its progression, the causes of loss of cognitive function (i.e., dementia) in people, current treatments, and prognosis. This paper will also address its prevalence in culture such as in popular movies, books, and in television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy. What Exactly is Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow-acting brain disease that affects as many as 5 million people over the age of 65. While the cause of loss of cognitive functions such as memory has been determined to be the plaque and tangles in the brain, it is actually a disease that begins as many as ten years before symptoms are even present. In the first stage, or preclinical stage, there are no symptoms present but early abnormal changes in the brain are occurring and neurons are beginning to work less effectively. Proteins form the amyloid plaques and tangles, which cause neurons to clog up and eventually die. As mentioned, this is a slow process that occurs slowly over time but begins in this initial stage of the disease. In the middle stage, individuals experience mild cognitive problems when the brain damage spreads to the hippocampus in the brain, the structure that is responsible for forming memories. During this stage, the brain …show more content…
Memory processes require all parts of the brain to work together. In particular, the hippocampus (located above the brain stem) and the amygdala (located under the temporal lobe) are most critical for storing and retrieving memories. The hippocampus is connected to various pathways to other parts of the brain, where memories are acquired and stored. This part of the brain is responsible for organizing experiences so they can be recalled later. The hippocampus could be called a directory. When damage occurs here, this so-called database is damage which affects everything associated with what is stored – the majority of everyday experiences. People with partial damage to this region – which usually occurs in the second stage of AD – cannot recall pas learning experiences in order to apply them to current
Introduction
Named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the man who first diagnosed the disease after examining the brain of a woman that died of an unusual mental illness, Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder that attacks and destroys memory, thinking, and eventually life skills including the ability to perform simple tasks such as speaking, swallowing, and writing. The deterioration of the brain is the result of amyloid plaques (or clumps) and neurofibrillary tangles as well as the loss of connections between neurons. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia among older adults, and most people are diagnosed after the age of 60. There is currently no cure for this debilitating disease, and it often takes a devastating toll on the loved ones that surround the patient.
While there are currently medication and psychological treatments available that help those living with the disease and those caring for those that have been diagnosed, there no cure for the disease and no way to stop or reverse damage to the brain. Much attention has been focused on this disease and it’s treatment, and over 1000 clinical trials have been preformed to test various drugs. While some medications have proven to slow the disease slightly, most treatments are ineffective and focus mostly on keeping patients comfortable and treating symptoms of the disease such as irritability or sleeplessness. Besides medication, other treatments that have proven useful include exercise, mental stimulation, and a healthy diet. Since many people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s no longer have the ability to care for themselves, treatment often focuses on making it easy for caregivers to provide daily care to loved ones. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, promising research and development for early detection help illuminate early on symptoms, which can educate the patient and family about the current treatments available. Alzheimer’s not only affects the individual diagnosed with the disease but the family and the people surrounding the patient. There may be some determining factors that families may grasp onto as they are getting signs that someone in their family may be developing early signs of the disease. This paper will discuss the specifics of the disease, including its three clinical stages, its progression, the causes of loss of cognitive function (i.e., dementia) in people, current treatments, and prognosis. This paper will also address its prevalence in culture such as in popular movies, books, and in television shows such as Grey’s Anatomy. What Exactly is Alzheimer’s Disease? Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow-acting brain disease that affects as many as 5 million people over the age of 65. While the cause of loss of cognitive functions such as memory has been determined to be the plaque and tangles in the brain, it is actually a disease that begins as many as ten years before symptoms are even present. In the first stage, or preclinical stage, there are no symptoms present but early abnormal changes in the brain are occurring and neurons are beginning to work less effectively. Proteins form the amyloid plaques and tangles, which cause neurons to clog up and eventually die. As mentioned, this is a slow process that occurs slowly over time but begins in this initial stage of the disease. In the middle stage, individuals experience mild cognitive problems when the brain damage spreads to the hippocampus in the brain, the structure that is responsible for forming memories. During this stage, the brain …show more content…
Memory processes require all parts of the brain to work together. In particular, the hippocampus (located above the brain stem) and the amygdala (located under the temporal lobe) are most critical for storing and retrieving memories. The hippocampus is connected to various pathways to other parts of the brain, where memories are acquired and stored. This part of the brain is responsible for organizing experiences so they can be recalled later. The hippocampus could be called a directory. When damage occurs here, this so-called database is damage which affects everything associated with what is stored – the majority of everyday experiences. People with partial damage to this region – which usually occurs in the second stage of AD – cannot recall pas learning experiences in order to apply them to current