Alzheimer 's Disease : The Most Common Form Of Dementia

The term ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms which can include loss of memory, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning. These symptoms occur when the brain is damaged by certain conditions and diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. 
Age is the greatest risk factor for dementia. Dementia affects one in 14 people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80. However, dementia is not restricted to older people: in the UK, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 with dementia, although this figure is likely to be an underestimate.

Alzheimer’s is a disease in the brain that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia and is common in adults older than 65. More than five million Americans are being affected by Alzheimer’s at this moment. Alzheimer’s comes in three stages; early, middle, and advanced. The disease is caused by the shrinking of the brain due to many risk factors and genetics.

An estimated 47.5 million people suffer from dementia. Every 4 seconds one new case of dementia is diagnosed. Dementia is a term that describes certain symptoms such as impairment to memory, communication and thinking. It is a group of symptoms and not just one illness. Even though one‘s chance of getting dementia increase with age, it is not a part of aging. Dementia is usually diagnosed after a series of assessments that includes a physical evaluation, memory tests, imaging studies and blood work. It affects three aspects of one’s mental function, cognitive dysfunction (Problems with memory, language, thinking and problem solving), psychiatric behavior (changes in personality, emotional control, social behavior and delusions) and difficulties with daily living activities (driving, shopping, eating and dressing). “The median survival time in women is 4.6 years and in men 4.1 years” (Warren, 2016).

One of the most prominent and perhaps most feared condition associated with aging is dementia. The family of disorders can cause individuals to lose their mind, reducing one from being a complex, thinking, feeling human being to being confused and vegetative, unable to recognize their loved ones. Serious dementia affects nearly 37 million people globally, but predictions of how those numbers will change over the next few decades are conflicting (textbook). Although we know dementia as to do with damage to nerve cells in the brain, there are ongoing studies looking at correlations between other health issues and these types of diseases.

More than 5 million Americans currently have dementia in the United States and this number is projected to rise to between 8 and 13 million by 2050 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). Dementia is known to become more prevalent with age, increasing from 5 to 10 percent in people over 65 years of age to almost one half of people over the age of 85 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2015). Although family members provide the majority of care for people with dementia, increasing needs over time often lead to placement in a long-term care setting. Dementia is the most common reason for entry into long-term care facilities (Zimmerman, 2013) and nearly 90% of persons with dementia will have at least one stay at a nursing home in their lifetime (Grunier, 2007).

Dementia is a disease which causes mental debility and affects one’s way of intelligent, attentiveness, recollection and problem-solving (NHS, 2013). As a result of dysfunction of brain cells in some parts of the brain it affects the thinking process then dementia occurs and it usually comes with age (Ibid). It is estimated that 560

Dementia is a neurodegenerative, progressively deteriorating and terminal clinical syndrome characterized by a loss or decline in memory and other cognitive abilities. Most recent scientific thinking is that dementia may be caused by various diseases and conditions affecting over 5 million Americans and 27.7 million worldwide. It is projected that the number of Americans with dementia will exceed 7.7 million by the year 2030 and from 11 to 16 million by the year 2050. There is presently not a cure for dementia.

When treating Alzheimer’s disease the main goals are to maintain mental function, manage behavioral symptoms, and slow or delay the disease. As of right now there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. There is also not much we understand about the disease or know its causes.

The National Institutes of Health reports that, “According to their calculations, 13.9% of Americans age 71 and older have some type of dementia.” (National Institutes of Health 1). Dementia is a generic term used in reference to a wide group of symptoms. The disease has no cure and is different in every patient. There are many different definitions and forms of dementia; consequently, while not on purpose, there have been many misdiagnoses and negligence of dementia. Although studies show that dementia is prevalent in 30 to 47% of people over the ages of 85, it is not an inevitable part of aging.

Alzheimer’s is a disease that is irreversible, it is considered progressive and it slowly destroys the memory and thinking skills. It will eventually prevent the person carrying out the easiest tasks. Alzheimer’s is considered one of the leading cause of dementia in older adults. When an individual has dementia they will lose cognitive functioning and have behavioral issues which can interfere in a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia can at first be mild (when it is just starting to happen) up to the severe stage, when the individual must depend on other’s to help them with all their basic needs.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of Dementia. There is said to be 50% to 80% of Dementia cases. Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Neurodegenerative is “degenerative nerve diseases affect many of your body's activities, such as balance, movement, talking, breathing, and heart function. Many of these diseases are genetic. Sometimes the cause is a medical condition such as alcoholism, a tumor, or a stroke. Other causes may include toxins, chemicals, and viruses. Sometimes the cause is not known.” (Medline Plus, n.d.) Neurodegenerative disease is the abnormalities or death of neurons. “In the early-stage of AD, cognition and the ability to acquire new memories are impaired. In the later stages, symptoms include

The future increase in number of people who got their 80’s and 90’s must be caused mostly by the developments in medicine and medical technologies and also in social and environmental conditions. As a result of a direct connection between frequency of dementia and age, the amount of diseased will also rise significantly (Alzheimer’s Association 2010).

Alzheimer’s disease is a very slowly progressive disease that occurs inside the brain in which is characterized by damage of memory. Also this type of disease can lead into interruption in language, problem solving, planning and perception. The chance of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease increases enormously after the age of 70 (Crystal, 2009). Also people who are over the age of 85 have over a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This type of disease is not at all normal in the aging process and is also not something that happens out of no where in a person’s life.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex, multifactorial neurodegenerative disease that is currently being managed by symptomatic treatment. The affected areas include the central nervous system (CNS) which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. The brain is essential in managing our thoughts, cognitive abilities, and our ability to interact with the environment. AD patients are known to experience symptoms such as memory loss in the early stages which develop into speaking difficulties to eventually hallucinations. The commonly used AD treatments include Donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine. Only the last two will be discussed in this essay and novel treatments. The current treatments for AD focus on relieving symptoms

Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a decline in mental ability that has an impact on a person’s daily living. By reviewing literature on dementia it was evident that there are currently 800,000 people with dementia in the UK. One in three people over 65 will develop dementia and there will be over a million people with dementia by 2021 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2013).