Alzheimers essays

Alzheimer's essays Alzheimers disease is a complex disease that affects the brain. Approximately 4.5 million Americans have this disease (Alzheimers Disease, 2004, 1). Alzheimers disease is a disorder that causes the gradual loss of brain cells. The disease was first described in 1906 by German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer (Alzheimers Disease, 2004, p.2). The disease was once considered rare. However, Research has shown that it is the leading cause of dementia (Alzheimers Disease, 2004, p.2). Although many things about Alzheimers remain unknown, research continues to bring a better understanding of the disease, more accurate diagnoses, and more effective treatments. Dementia is a general term for several symptoms related to a decline in thinking skills. Common symptoms include a gradual loss of memory, trouble with reasoning or judgment, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, and weakening in the ability to perform routine tasks. People with dementia also experience changes in their personalities and behavior problems, such as agitation, anxiety, delusions, and hallucinations. Alzheimers disease advances at broadly different rates. According to Alzheimers Association (2004, p.2), The duration of the illness may often vary from 3 to 20 years. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are affected first, but as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain. The person with Alzheimers will need complete care. At 92, former President Reagan is in the last stages of Alzheimers, which he has suffered for nearly a decade. As said by Heyman, et al. (2003, p.121), If the individual has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function itself will cause death. The once-robust leader of the free world can no longer speak, feed himsel ...