Alzheimers Disease and its Effect on the Mind and Memory - Essay Example

Alzheimer’s disease and its Effect on the Mind and Memory Introduction Alzheimer’s disease is seen to have first been identified over 100 years ago, however, research into the causes, symptoms and risk factors and treatment of the disease has only been ongoing over the last 30 years. Alzheimer’s disease is considered to be the most common type of dementia. Dementia is an umbrella term that was developed to aid in the description of a variety of conditions and diseases that are seen to develop when the brain nerve cells, which are commonly referred to as neurons, happen to stop functioning normally or die. Cutler & Sramek (1996, p. 11) point out that whereas dementia is defined as being the global and progressive memory loss that is commonly accompanied by the general deterioration of various intellectual functions, Alzheimer’s disease on the other hand is seen to be defined as being the condition of having dementia whose onset is seen to be between the ages of 40 and 90 years and is characterized by the absence of other brain diseases that could help account for dementia. The course of Alzheimer’s disease is seen to be divided into four progressive stages ranging from pre-dementia, early, Moderate and advanced Alzheimer’s. As the disease progresses from each stage, the effects of the disease on a person’s mind and memory become progressively worse. Memory Loss: The loss of memory is considered to be one of the most common complaints about growing older and it can be quite frustrating for individuals suffering from memory loss when they find that they cannot be able to recall information as quickly as possible. Person’s suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are noted as having ever increasing difficulty with short-term memory. One of the most common and easily noticeable signs of memory loss among individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s is the fact that they start forgetting about conversations that they have just had. The family members of the affected individuals start to notice when their loved one’s start to constantly repeat themselves or tend to repeatedly ask questions that have already been answered. The memory loss causes affected individuals to frequently misplace items. As Alzheimer’s progresses from one stage to the other, the affected individual will progressively find it more difficult to learn new information and effectively store it in memory (Ali, 2012, p. 34). Agitation and Mood Swings: Alzheimer’s can affect the mind in that it can cause individuals suffering from the condition to appear quite agitated and anxious. These individuals might easily get upset while in certain places, pace and move around frequently or even become uncharacteristically fixated on some specific details. The agitation can be seen to result from the mixed emotions of fatigue, fear, confusion and being overwhelmed from attempting to try and make sense of a world that appears to no longer make any sense at all. In addition to the episodes of extreme agitation, the individual might also display rapid and unprovoked mood swings that will see them quickly going from calm to angry to tearful for completely no apparent reason. The mood swings seen in persons suffering from Alzheimer’s are usually quite unexpected and rapid. The emotions of these persons change for reasons that others are unable to comprehend and the affected individuals often have difficulty in expressing exactly what they are feeling. Another effect of Alzheimer’s disease that is seen to be closely tied-in to change in mood swings is the loss of initiative. Persons with Alzheimer’s become apathetic and indifferent which results in their loosing interest in some of their usual hobbies and activities (Lu & Bludau, 2011, p. 34). Difficulty Communicating: People suffering from Alzheimer’s frequently find that their communication and language skills gradually diminish. In the early stages of Alzheimer’s a patient might seem to struggle with attempting to recall some of the commonly used phrases or words. However, this is not alarming as the patient will be able to cover up for this by finding alternative words. However as the disease progresses it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to be able to draw from their memory reserves. The individual might stop in the middle of a conversation and not know how to continue with it. Patients will choose to either try to describe the object in question or in the event that that proves to be too difficult, they might opt to completely circumvent the topic. During the later stages of the disease when the patient’s memory loss is seen to become gradually even more pronounced, the language deficits might become more and more noticeable and the patient will experience difficulties in recalling the names of common objects, people and places. It is common for Alzheimer’s patients using English as a second language to revert back to using their native tongue. In the final stages of the disease, the patient’s eventually become mute and completely lose their ability to talk (Battle, 2009, p. 507). Confusion with Place or Time: Disorientation is a common effect of Alzheimer’s and affected individuals commonly experience place and time disorientation by their getting easily lost, forgetting exactly where they live and frequently lose track of seasons, dates and the passage of time. One of the main concerns with Alzheimer’s time disorientation is that five minutes can seem like five hours to a patient. With disease progression, these changes causing the individual to become more and more confused become even more serious and eventually become impossible to easily hide or adequately compensate for. Increased Difficulties in Problem-Solving or Planning: As Alzheimer’s gradually progresses individuals might, it becomes increasingly more difficult for affected individuals to concentrate on simple tasks as they find that they take longer than before to perform these tasks. The development and subsequent following of plans such as grocery lists, following recipes and keeping track of monthly bills becomes quite difficult. Difficulties in Performing Familiar Tasks: As people grow older, it is considered to not be uncommon for them to have memory lapses that see then forget exactly how to perform some of the everyday simple tasks, however this is not alarming as the knowledge is seen to usually quickly return. Persons suffering from Alzheimer’s disease find that that it becomes quite challenging for them to perform common tasks they have easily done numerous times before. The problems experienced with performing the familiar tasks can at times be further compounded by the loss of coordination. When the different parts of the patient’s brain become affected by the disease, they affected persons might find that they are unable to use their feet and hands as they would like to when they are engaged in performing mundane tasks. Individuals might attempt to try and mask this deficit by avoiding the tasks that they are experiencing difficulties in executing such as opting to wear pullover shirts so as to avoid having to grapple with buttons or even wearing shoes with no shoe laces. However, as Alzheimer’s disease gradually progresses, the difficulties that the affected person become harder and harder to hide as they will tend to affect more and more skills ((Lu & Bludau, 2011, p. 32). Wandering: A large number of individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease develop a tendency to easily walk off, wander aimlessly and become lost, and often so, quite repeatedly. This wandering can be attributed to factors such as fear, their inability to easily recognize familiar places, people and objects, restlessness, fear, time related confusion as well as acute stress. In extreme cases, individuals might even leave the house in the middle of the night with the sole objective of attempting to fulfill a physical need such as finding food or a toilet, they might even be attempting to try and go home or even believe that it is 20 years earlier and they need to go to one of their previous jobs (Kaufman, 2007, p. 119). Personality Changes: While an individual temperament may change with age, this is considered to be completely natural and the temperament will remain relatively stable throughout the individual’s life. While the initial changes in the early development of Alzheimer’s might be quite subtle and be easy to brush off, the eventual personality changes become more noticeable and frequent. These personality changes might prove to be quite challenging form personality members as it is not always easy for them to deal with the personality changes. Person’s with Alzheimer’s might result to verbally attacking their family members which can be quite hurtful for them although they might already understand that these changes are actually unintentional and part of the overall disease process. Affected individuals do not recognize the changes in themselves and often tend to try and resist any help that their concerned loved ones might try to offer (Moore & Puri, 2012, p. 283). Conclusion Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and accounts for an approximate two-thirds of all the diagnosed dementia cases. By affecting a person’s mind and memory, Alzheimer’s can be perceived to be quite harmful as it not only affects the individual suffering from the condition, but also the individual’s family and loved ones, who are forced to watch their loved one slowly degenerate. This situation is seen to be worsened by the fact that there is currently no known medication to either stop or reverse the progress of the disease. The effects of Alzheimer’s can be considerably lessened by ensuring that one makes important decisions concerning their finances and legal issues earlier on in life to avoid being impeded by the disease. The family members can also help to create a happy and safe environment for the person to help care for the affected individual. References Ali, N. (2012). Understanding Alzheimer's: an introduction for patients and caregivers. Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Battle, U. C. (2009). Essentials of public health biology : a guide for the study of path physiology. Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Cutler R. N. & Sramek, J. J. (1996). Understanding Alzheimer's disease : California Clinical Trials, Beverly Hills, California; International Clinical Trials, London, England. Jackson [Miss.]: University Press of Mississippi. Kaufman, M. D. (2007). Clinical neurology for psychiatrists. Philadelphia [etc.] : Saunders Elsevier, cop. Lu C. L. & Bludau, J. (2011) Alzheimer's Disease. Westport : ABC-CLIO. Moore P. D. and Puri K. B. (2012). Textbook of Clinical Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience 3E. CRC Press. Read More