Alzheimers Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment - Essay Example

"Alzheimer’s Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment" is an excellent example of a paper on neurology.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the brain’s degenerative progressive disease that is very hard to recover from. AD attacks the nerve cells in every area of the brain’s cortex slowly as well as the surrounding structures, thus impairing the ability of the patient to control emotions, coordinate movement, and identify patterns and errors. Eventually, the patient with AD loses mental functioning and memory.

Pathophysiology

The brain of an individual suffering from AD undergoes shrinkage of gyri, widened sulci, and displays marked atrophy. In many cases, all parts of the cerebral cortex are affected except for the occipital pole that is spared comparatively. The disease may cause the cortical ribbon to become thin and the ventricular dilatation to become apparent as a result of the atrophy of the hippocampus and amygdala.

Etiology

AD generally occurs as a result of a combination of factors including lifestyle, environmental, and genetic that impact the brain over the passage of time. In 5 percent of the cases at most, AD happens because of specific changes in genetics (Mayo Clinic, 2013). Although the exact causes of AD are not fully known, yet it is clear that the disease affects cells in the brain. The number of cells in a brain affected by AD is fewer, as well as the connections among the surviving cells, are fewer than those in a healthy brain.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of AD include loss of memory, challenges in problem-solving and planning, difficulty in accomplishing tasks, confusion with place or time, the problem in understanding spatial relationships and visual images, problems with speaking or writing words, misplacing things, and losing their track, poor judgment, and withdrawal from social activities (Alzheimer’s Association, 2009). These factors together complicate the life of the patient and there are fair chances of social exclusion.

Medical Interventions

Although there is no recognized effective treatment for AD and also there is no treatment that can either halt or reverse the progression of the disease, yet certain medicines can reduce the severity of symptoms in certain patients (WebMD, 2013). If AD is diagnosed in the earlier stages, patients can be enabled to live independently for a longer time. The providers of health care use medicines for sleeplessness, depression, and other behavioral problems to treat the symptoms of AD.

Surgical Treatment and Diagnostic Studies

There is no surgical treatment for AD. The disease is treated with medicines to reduce the severity of its symptoms, slow the disease’s progression, and support the patient as well as the family members. AD is diagnosed with a complete physical exam of the patient including the neurological exam, examination of the patient’s mental status, and the presence of certain symptoms.

Prognosis

The quick development of AD often means quick worsening of the disease. AD reduces the patient’s life. AD’s final phase lasts from few months to few years during which, the disability of the patient increases.

Conclusion

AD is the brain’s degenerative progressive disease. It is caused by various environmental and genetic factors. AD damages brain cells and causes loss of memory. There is no effective treatment, though medicines are prescribed to reduce the symptoms.