Adult Alzheimers Ailment Development - Essay Example

Running Head: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Alzheimer’s Disease Name Institution Date Alzheimer’s Disease Definition Alzheimer’s disease is a non-reversible, progressive disease of the brain that gradually destroys thinking skills and memory, and consequently the capacity to carry out tasks which are simple. In majority of the people with the disease, symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease comes to fore at around the age of sixty. According to Cruz (2004), Alzheimer is the prevalent cause of dementia among the elderly. Dementia is the inability of cognitive functioning, which is reasoning, remembering and thinking to such a level that it interferes with the daily life of a person and his activities. Estimates may vary but as many as 5.1 million Americans may be suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Jagger et al (1995) argue that memory losses are connected to worsening breakdown of the connections between certain neurons in the brain and their eventual disintegration. According to Jaggeret et al. 1995, there are three hallmarks that are connected with the disease process of Alzheimer disease: Amyloid plaques, which are composed of particles of proteins known as beta-amyloid peptide mixed with a collection of extra proteins, remnants of neurons, and pieces of other nerve cells. Secondly, there is what is referred to as Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and inside these neurons are a collection of a protein known as tau. Normal tau is needed for healthy development of neurons. Tau clumps together in Alzheimer’s disease. Owing to this, neurons fail to perform their functions normally and gradually they die. Thirdly, there is loss of connections between neurons which are responsible for learning and memory. According to Lott and Head (2005) neurons will not survive when they eventually lose their connections to other neurons. While neurons die throughout the brain, the affected regions commence to shrink, or atrophy. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s disease the damage is widely spread and the brain tissue shrink to a large extent. Head (2003) notes that Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In the year 1906 Dr. Alois Alzheimer came across changes in the tissue of the brain in a woman who had succumbed to unusual mental disease. Her symptoms included unpredictable behavior, memory loss, and language problems. After her death he studied her brain and came across many abnormal clumps which are called amyloid plaques and tangled bundles of fibres known as neurofibrillary tangles (Head, 2003). Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease Arnáiz and Almkvist (2003) states that loss of memory is one of the signs of Alzheimer’s disease. An individual tends to forget information that is just recently learned. The person begins to forget intensely and later he is not able to recall the information. Apart from Memory loss, a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease always loses initiative. An Alzheimer’s disease patient may become very passive, he may sit in front of the TV for long hours, not wanting to do normal activities or sleeping more than normal. The victim also finds difficulty performing familiar tasks. According to Marksteiner et al. (2007), people with this disease will find it difficult to complete or plan everyday task which before they performed without much effort. The patient may eventually lose track of the procedures involved in preparing a meal, playing a game or placing a telephone call. At times one will forget why he came to the room and what he had planned to say. According to Arnáiz and Almkvist (2003), people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease have poor or decreased judgment. They tend to dress inappropriately, wearing many layers on a particularly warm day or scant clothing on an exceptionally cold day. They may show reduced judgment such as giving extra cash to telemarketers. According to Arnáiz & Almkvist (2003) they make debatable or questionable decisions frequently. They are also associated with disorientation to time and place. Patients become lost in their own neighborhood, forget where they are and forget how they got themselves there. They are also unable to comprehend how to get themselves home. It is normal for them to forget the name of the day of the week or where they are going. Alzheimer’s disease decreases the ability or totally incapacitates an individual in performing complex mental tasks such as being unable to recall what numbers are for and ways they should be used. They find it challenging to balance a checkbook (Berchtold & Cotman 1998). Patients with the Alzheimer’s disease may exhibit fast mood swings from tranquility to bitterness for no obvious reason. They occasionally feel moody or sad. According to Berchtold and Cotman (1998) Personality change is also one of the signs and symptoms of the disease. Personalities of people with Alzheimer’s disease can change drastically. They became exceptionally suspicious, confused, fearful or totally dependent on a family member. This will be very different from the change occasioned by advancement in age. According to Perls and Herget (1995), people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will frequently be unable to recall simple words or substitute unusual words and therefore making their speech and writing difficult to understand. They forget appointments or names. Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease The disease can definitely be diagnosed only after death by the linkage of clinical course with the analysis of brain tissue and pathology through an autopsy. Head (2003) notes that doctors have come up with different means of enabling determine the signs and symptoms of a person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. To diagnose the disease doctors ask questions about the individual general health, historical medical problems if any, the capacity to perform daily activities, and variations in personality or behavior. Secondly, they perform tests of problem solving, memory, counting, language and attention. Thirdly, medical tests such as that of urine, blood and spinal fluid will be carried out. Lastly there will be brain scans like computerized tomography to magnetic resonance imaging. According to Perls and Herget (1995), the tests might be preformed several times to give doctors information concerning how the memory of the person is changing over time. Having a diagnosis carried out early will enable treatment to start early and therefore preserving the functioning for months to years although it is not possible to alter the underlying process. Head (2003) notes that early diagnosis will also assist the family in planning for the future, making arrangements for living, taking care of legal or financial affairs, and subsequently developing support networks. Moreover patients, if they are diagnosed early, can take place in clinical trials which involve scientist testing drugs to see which one work best and for which individual. Causes of Alzheimer’s disease According to Marksteiner et al (2007), scientists do not fully understand the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but it develops due to a complex series of events that take place in the brain over a prolonged period of time. It is possible that the causes comprise of environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors. Berchtold and Cotman (1998) notes that since individuals are different in their lifestyle and genetic makeup, the relevance of these factors for delaying or preventing Alzheimer’s disease differ from one individual to the other. Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease Presently, there is no medication that has shown to be able to slow the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease. Nevertheless, four FDA-approve medications are utilized in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. According to Marksteiner et al (2007), these kinds of drugs help individuals to perform their daily tasks by sustaining thinking, speaking skills and memory. They can also assist with some of the personality or behavioral changes that come with Alzheimer’s disease. In spite of this, they are not able to reverse Alzheimer’s disease and apparently they only assist patients for a few months or years. Rivastigmine (Exelon), Galantamine (Razadyne), and Donepezil (Aricept) are recommended for treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Dopezil was approved to be used to treat severe Alzheimer’s disease as well. The new medicine is Memantine(Namenda) which is approved to treat moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease (Marksteiner et al., 2007). Research done The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) support translational and basic research related to Alzheimer disease via grants to main medical institutions all over the country. Cruz et al. (2004) notes that present studies are probing how beta amyloid plaques development destroy neurons and the way in which abnormalities in tau proteins bring about the characteristic neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer’s disease. Other researchers are exploring the effect of risk factors relating to the development of Alzheimer’s disease like pre-existing problems in blood flow in the vessels to the brain. The organization is also supporting various studies that are testing and developing novel and new therapies that can stop the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and possibly lead to a complete cure (Lott & Head, 2005). References Arnáiz E, & Almkvist O. (2003). Neuropsychological features of mild cognitive impairment and preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neurol. Scand., Suppl. 179, 34–41. Berchtold N. C. & Cotman C. W. (1998). Evolution in the conceptualization of dementia and Alzheimer's disease: Greco-Roman period to the 1960s. Neuobiology. Aging 19 (3), 173–189. Cruz, V. T. et al. (2004). The initial symptoms of Alzheimer disease: caregiver perception (in Portuguese). Acta Med Port 17 (6) 435–444. Head, B. (2003). Palliative care for persons with dementia. Home Healthc Nurse 21 (1), 53– 60, quiz 61. Jagger, C. et al. (1995). Predictors of survival with Alzheimer's disease: a community-based study. Psychol Med 25 (1), 171–177. Marksteiner, J. et al. (2007). Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease: beta-amyloid(1-42), tau, phospho-tau-181 and total protein. Drugs Today43 (6), 423–431. Lott I. T. & Head E. (2005). Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome: factors in pathogenesis. Neurobiol Aging 26 (3), 383–389. Perls T.T. & Herget M. (1995). Higher respiratory infection rates on an Alzheimer's special care unit and successful intervention. J Am Geriatr Soc 43 (12), 1341–1344. Read More