Within the last century, and even merely in the past decade, incredible advancements in technology have allowed modern medicine to rapidly progress to extraordinary levels, leaving scientists with unprecedented understanding of the human body, and of the aging process especially. While the field of gerontology has flourished as a result and knowledge of physiological changes in the aging body increased, scientists still only have a some-what fundamental understanding of the normal aging brain, and even less of abnormal age-related changes in the brain.
Though humans largely retain optimal cognitive function and experience little physical neural changes throughout adulthood, with aging comes change in structure and decline in brain function.
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This discussion will aim to focus on analyzing an extensive array of different aspects related to the disease. The main focal points of this investigation will delve into the risk factors, including demographics and heritability, and environmental causes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as briefly explaining the biological process of neurodegeneration, improvement in finding new treatments, and innovations to methods of detection. Additionally, examined will be explorations into advancement of further understanding the disease, including recent studies and the implications of such to the future of the field of …show more content…
Neurodegeneration in the central nervous system can lead to a wide assortment of cognitive dysfunctions as the system itself consists of the brain and the spinal cord in its entirety. In a multitude of cases, Alzheimer’s disease has led to eventual deterioration of the cerebrum, the frontal lobe in particular. The disease has, in the utmost severity, led to the loss of reasoning skills, learning ability, sensory awareness, and has even gone as far as negatively impacting emotional response.
As such, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for being one of the major contributing factors in dementia. In fact, Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around forty to seventy percent of dementia symptom diagnoses (16). With each year, the number of individuals being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease continues to rise. This number is only expected to keep escalating, with a prediction that one in eighty-five people will suffer from the disease by the year 2050
Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.
In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).
Alzheimer’s disease has been around since 1901; a German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer was the first man to identify and follow a case that is now known as Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is involved in synaptic deterioration and neuronal cell death, and causes degeneration in the hippocampus and amyloid deposition in blood vessels, ultimately cell death is the cause of the disease. There are various ways that someone can acquire the Alzheimer’s, a few include; family history, obesity, and Down syndrome. Some symptoms of the disease are, memory loss, difficulty completing familiar daily tasks, confusion with
Alzheimer’s disease is a common problem in today’s society and within the older population this disease makes up the largest form of dementia. Although it is a problem in mainly older people, this disease can still occur in the younger population also. People in their 30s-50s can be diagnosed with this disease, even though it is not as common as people in their 60s-90s. The number of people with Alzheimer’s in the U.S. is close to five million and is expected to double within the next 30 years. With our modern medicine and advancements one would think a cure would be available, however, getting to the cause of the disease is a major factor. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is one that is very debatable and questionable and most likely is a result of multiple factors rather than one. The main issue with finding the cause is because this disease affects the brain and can
The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning
Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain from which there is no recovery. There are three brain abnormalities that are the hallmarks of the Alzheimer’s disease is initially caused by plaques buildup in the brain’s neurons as illustrated in figure 1. The support structure that allows the flow of the nutrients through the neurons gets damaged and ultimately there is loss of connection among the neurons and they die off (National Institute of Health, 2015). This causes the brain tissue to shrinks, which is called atrophies. All this ultimately lead the victim of this disease to face difficulties in governing emotions, recognize errors and patterns, coordinate movement, and remember. Ultimately, a person with AD loses all memory and mental functioning.
Alzheimer’s is a systemic disease, meaning that it affects more than one part of the body. There are three major systems that are affected by Alzheimer’s. The first involves the Central Nervous System. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord, allowing the nervous system to make the spinal cord and brain function. The Central Nervous System is affected because specific brain proteins begin to malfunction and brain cells die. The loss of brain cells is the reason for memory loss and
Alzheimer’s disease is a prominent brain disease that effects a massive amount of individuals in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases, with no chance of being cured, prevented or decelerating over time (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). AD is the most well-known form of dementia, causing complications in brain function in the areas of memory, thinking, and behavior (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers create new knowledge about the disease, which is then distributed to the public. The goal in this information disbursement is to find new and inventive ways to treat AD, prevent AD from progressing at such a rapid pace, and aid in the quality of life in those diagnosed with AD as well as caregivers and medical professionals providing treatment to individuals’ with AD.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 8 (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory (Beattie, 2002). Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death, affecting more than five million people in the United States and is also one of the most common forms of dementia. Dementia can be defined as a disorder of progressive cognitive impairment severe enough to affect daily functions of an individual’s life (Fillit, et al., 2002).
With the growing number of people becoming diagnosed, and experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, we must begin to take precautions and somehow attempt to gain knowledge of how the disease can be better treated, and ultimately prevented.
Alzheimer’s disease is among the sixth top leading causes of death in the United States and even with an estimated 4.5 to 5.4 million suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) not much is known about the causes. Only the symptoms are addressed. The main characteristics of AD are degeneration of the ability to remember, reason, communicate and with loss of motor skills and function (Piazza-Gardner, 2013). Cognitive function that is lost and is accompanied by other physiological conditions such as depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression and inappropriate behavior for a setting or location that occur in most AD suffers (Senie, 2014). AD was noted as abnormal clumps and a bundle of proteins in the brain which was discover in patients with
Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.
As age increases, we can expect some loss of heart, lung, joint, and sexual functioning. Some loss of brain cells and mental efficiency is a normal part of
Our brains are extremely important in the way we move, think, act, and react to certain situations. Little is known about the molecular structure involved in the decline of the brain. People are born with basic survival skills and reflexes that develop and grow until around age 20, developing personality, increasing our spacial awareness and judgment. In our 20’s is when our brains are fully developed, running at peak performance, however, the brain begins its decline as early as age 30. It begins to lose volume, the cortex becomes thinner, and your neurons don’t fire as quickly. Late 30’s to early 40’s the brain loses neurons, becoming slower and losing processing power. Causing reaction times to become longer, and make learning new subjects
It is clear to neurobiologists that aging results in a decrease in brain size as well as a decrease in the efficiency of brain functions. It has been a widely held belief that aging causes neurons to die and for the overall number of neurons to decrease as one reaches old age. Studies