Preview

How Does Alzheimer's Affect The Brain

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1517 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Alzheimer's Affect The Brain
The Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and its affect on the elderly

Widely range research has been looked at when studying Alzheimer’s disease and the brain. Scientist and doctors have their own theories which are to be proven evidence on how Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain. Periodic figures show the results in the stages studied about Alzheimer’s. No one knows the actual cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but they do know the affects it does to the brain. “Clinical trials are the engine that powers medical progress. Through clinical trials, researchers test new ways to detect, treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Without clinical trials, there can be no new treatments or cures.
Over the last 15 years, scientists
…show more content…
Alzheimer’s disease is being researched by scientist who thinks that the absence of protein in the body plays an affect on ones brain. Alzheimer’s can strike fast or very slowly. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the largest diseases affecting the elderly population today. Alzheimer’s is listed number four in the highest death rate of the elderly. Alzheimer’s is known to strike the brain. There are many signs and symptoms, such as speech, forgetfulness of where you live, or where you put your keys last. As Alzheimer’s increases with age there becomes a need for assistance with bills, bathing, cooking, …show more content…
There is new, and advance technology to help with finding a cure, and medications use to slow the growth of Alzheimer’s as it affects the brain. The disease itself really makes the elderly very stressful as it progresses on the brain. It is know for killing the nerve cells in the brain. Scientist and doctors are studying more and more as they show interest about the disease. The interest of study in Alzheimer’s is the early, mid, and late onset of the disease. Alzheimer’s disease has not yet has a cure, but medications are giving slowing the rapid process of the disease. The University of Carolina, in San Francisco has a research center for Alzheimer’s disease, where they have done studying on medication for Alzheimer’s disease. The term dementia defines a collection of symptoms and is not in itself a specific disease. Tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine are five FDA approved drugs for the treatment of AD. These drugs, with their limitations, are not perfect agents. Numerous therapeutic options are currently being investigated for treating AD and improving patient care,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer’s disease is the most common of dementia which affects both memory and cognitive processes, such as our way of thinking , calculation, language and of planning process. As the shrinking of the brain is so obvious in…

    • 616 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibiliography

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fisher, Abraham. Advances in Alzheimer 's and Parkinson 's Disease: Insights, Progress, and Perspectives. New York: Springer, 2008. Print. This text goes in depth explaining the possible advances in curing Alzheimer’s disease. Also, it tells how far the research has come since the earliest research in curing the disease. Alzheimer’s disease research has advanced a lot since the beginning. The text includes a few graphs which depict the advances in technology used, and the progress that has been made in the ongoing research. The text is a decent source for those who are looking into the scientific research side of Alzheimer’s disease. It also shows how different perspectives on the topic have brought different outcomes in research. No matter the stance, the text clearly shows there have been advances in research and it gives a positive outlook to the reader.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    NVQ 5 dementia

    • 1460 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is classically defined as a dual clinicopathological entity. The cause of Alzheimer's disease is unknown. This gap in knowledge has created a stumbling block in the search for a genuinely effective treatment or cure for this dementia,…

    • 1460 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    dementia unit 33

    • 5506 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common causes of dementia. The term 'dementia' describes a set of symptoms, which can include memory loss, changes in mood and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when certain diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, damage the brain. Alzheimer's disease could be described as a physical disease affecting the brain. During the course of the disease, protein 'plaques' and 'tangles' develop in the structure of the brain, leading to the death of brain cells. People with Alzheimer's may also have a shortage of some important chemicals in their brain. These chemicals are involved with the transmission of messages within the brain.…

    • 5506 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the 1960s, scientists discovered a link between cognitive decline and the number of plaques and tangles in the brain. The medical community then formally recognized Alzheimer’s as a disease and not a normal part of aging. In the 1970s, scientists made great strides in understanding the human body as a whole, and Alzheimer’s disease emerged as a significant area of research interest. This increased attention led in the 1990s to important discoveries and a better understanding of complex nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. More research was done on Alzheimer’s disease susceptibility genes, and several drugs were approved to treat the cognitive symptoms of the disease.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This is the most common cause of dementia. During the course of the disease, the chemistry and structure of the brain changes leading to death of brain cellsYoung, C. (2001) English Heritage position statement on the Valletta Convention, [Online], Available: http://www.archaeol.freeuk.com/EHPostionStatement.htm [24 Aug 2001].) Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia affecting around 496,00 people in the UK. Alzheimer’s disease was first described by a German neurologist Dr Alois Alzheimer. Alzheimer’s disease is a physical disease of the brain. During the course of the disease plaques and tangles develop in the brain leading to death of the brain cells. We also know that people with Alzheimer’s disease have a shortage of some important chemicals which are involved in transmitting messages within the brain. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition and symptoms become…

    • 2053 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer’s affects more than 5.1 million Americans and nearly as 44 million people worldwide. “Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes,” (Alzheimer). Alzheimer’s is an illness that develops in individuals as they are aging and the number of cases of individuals developing Alzheimer’s have doubled in recent time. Alzheimer’s attacks the brain in ways the effects how a person lives their daily lives. It prevents people from being independent since it attacks the brain functions and causes them to become forgetful and confuse most of the time. During the early stages of Alzheimer’s individuals forget small things like where they placed something, and in later stages they…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alzheimer's is a strange and mysterious illness. There are many frequently asked questions that must be answered.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Diagnosis and treatment of dementia: 1. Risk assessment and primary prevention of Alzheimer disease". CMAJ) sheds light on the fact…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Today I will inform my audience of the history of Alzheimer’s , what happens to the brain in alzheimers disease; the stages as well as treatment.…

    • 1951 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodenerative disorder of the brain that causes memory loss and is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer's affects about four million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Although mostly everyone that has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's has the same symptoms- there are three different types of the disease. Early-onset Alzheimer's happens to those who are under the age of 65, Moderate Alzheimer's is the most common form of the disease that happens to people aged 65 and older. The last stage is Severe Alzheimer's, which is the final stage of the disease. There is currently no cure for AD, only dedicated research to try and early detect this disease that has many people…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the average life span continuously rises the population of the elderly also increases. This rise relates to the increase in late onset diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disease which causes many functional impairments and comes with many challenges. These challenges are not only life altering for the individual but also manifest within the family. Although there are many challenges there is also an abundance of opportunities, adjustments and adaptions as well as new therapies and treatments that are progressing towards an easier life for those that live with this disease.…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Future Alzheimer's Disease

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Every sixty eight seconds another person is diagnosed with this cruel disease. We all know this is a deadly disease with absolutely no way to stop it, at least at this present time. Hopefully the future will hold information that will be used to fight Alzheimer’s, maybe not prevent or cure it but even slow its progression. The future does not look so good though with currently about five and a half million people living with Alzheimer’s in America, that number is set to triple by the year 2050; that being one in every eighty-five individuals with the…

    • 1398 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that damages and eventually destroys brain cells, leading to loss of memory, thinking and other brain functions. There is a misconception that Alzheimer’s is a normal part of aging, but that is not true. The risk of Alzheimer’s does increase with age and the majority of the…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The drugs that are on the market for the disease boost the action of a brain chemical called acetylcholine. These drugs typically improve the patient’s symptoms to where they were six months earlier. However, they do not work for all patients, and even when they do work, the symptoms eventually become so severe that a six-month improvement does not help. Numerous new approaches to treatment are currently being researched, however, so new treatments will likely be available within the next few years. Until then, the goal of those caring for Alzheimer’s patients is to ensure their safety, comfort, and self-respect (Willett, pg.5-6). In the 1970s, when awareness about AD was rising, researchers discovered that levels of acetylcholine were lower in people with AD. The reason is that a enzyme (a protein that speeds up a chemical reaction) called acetylcholinesterase breaks down acetylcholine. This prevents the neurotransmitter from delivering its message. This discovery led scientists to develop drugs that stop or slow down this enzyme in order to prevent it from interfering with communication between neurons. These drugs are called cholinesterase inhibitors. Although their action in the brain is not completely understood (Adams,…

    • 2383 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays