Alzheimer’s
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“Alzheimer’s Disease”
Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that causes a steady decline in memory. This results in dementia, which is loss of intellectual functions severe enough to interfere with everyday life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, affecting ten percent of people over 65 years old, and nearly 50 percent of those age 85 or older. My grandmother was diagnosed with “probable” Alzheimer’s disease over two years ago.
After finding this out, I wanted to know more about this particular disease.
Alzheimer’s disease usually begins gradually, causing a person to forget recent events and to have difficulty performing familiar tasks. How rapidly the disease advances varies from person to person. Communication becomes difficult as the person with Alzheimer’s struggles to find words, finish thoughts, or follow directions. Eventually, people with Alzheimer’s become totally unable to care for themselves. My grandma is very close to this point.
Scientists are still not for certain what exactly causes Alzheimer’s disease. Research suggests that the central problem is malfunction and death of nerve cells, but scientists are still working to learn why this happens. Key areas of study focus on biochemical processes and pathways in nerve cells, effects of inflammation, and the influence of genes. Many experts believe that it usually arises form a complex combination of factors.
Increasing age is the greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. It strikes individuals from every walk of life, every ethnic group, and every income level. Family history is another big factor. Having a parent or sibling with the disease increases a person’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s. Scientists have found one gene that raises Alzheimer risk as well as several faulty genes causing rare forms of Alzheimer’s that tend to occur before age 65.
There are many affects of having Alzheimer’s disease. One of the most common is forgetting recently learned information. While it’s somewhat normal to forget appointments, names, or telephone numbers, those with Alzheimer’s will forget such things more often and not remember them later. They also find it hart to complete everyday tasks that are so familiar we usually don’t stop to think about how to do them. People with Alzheimer’s will also often forget simple words or substitutes unusual words, making their speech or writing hard to understand.
People with Alzheimer’s usually have disorientation to time and place. They can become lost on their own street, forget where they are and how they got there, and