Alzheimers Disease Essay -- essays research papers fc

Alzheimer 1It is inevit satisfactory that eventually each of us pull up stakes grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly good deal ar challenged by umpteen illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as volume age is Alzheimers disease. Alzheimers a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient roles cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimers disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends pass on line up it very hard to cope when a loved one begins move away and losing memory of who they are.Alzheimers disease comes from the last name of a neuro-psychiatrist from Germany, Alois Alzheimer. The disease was first diagnosed when a woman in her early mid-fifties began experience memory problems. Alzheimer recounted the now famous case of Auguste D. a 51- family-old homemaker who had been failing me ntally for several years. As a result she had been admitted to his business organisation in the Asylum for the Insane and Epileptic (Maurer and Maurer 1). After her death, he act to examine her champion to find causes and explanations for her behavior. He discovered classic neuro-pathological signs of plaques and tangles (Maurer and Maurer 1). Plaques are chains of amino acids that are pieces of the amyloid precursor proteintangles are aggregates of the protein tau (Secko 1). As plaques develop they produce tangles and these two abnormalities ultimately lead to loss of cognitive function (Secko 1) Alois Alzheimers research has allowed many specialist to conclude that the apolipoproetein E gene may contribute to the disease.Alzheimer 2The occurrence and deposits of these proteins in the brain and in the body may ultimately lead to whether or not someone will be susceptible and diagnosed with Alzheimer disease.Alzheimers disease is climb at a very high rate. The number of unseaso ned cases per year is estimated at 360,000 equating to 980 new cases per day or 40 new cases every hour (Cummings and Cole 1) This evidence shows that an increasing number of passel will discover the effects of a cognitive impairment that will most likely be due to Alzheimers disease. As people age, their risk of being diagnosed with this disease increases ... ... (Cummings and Cole 1). This astounding figure should promote people to become aware of the disease and its signs and symptoms so that they are able to seek help and medical treatment in the early stages of Alzheimers disease in attempt to live and cope with this condition.Works CitedCummings, Jeffrey L., Cole, Greg. Alzheimer Disease. ledger of the American Medical Association. May 2002 287-18. health Source. EBSCOhost. Utica College Lib. 15 Apr 2005. . Maurer, K., and Maurer, U. Alzheimer The Life of a Physician and the Career of a Disease. Journal of the American Medical Association. February 2005 293-6. Health Sour ce. EBSCOhost. Utica College Lib. 15 Apr 2005. .Santacruz, K. S., and Swagerty, D. Early Diagnosis of Dementia. American Family Physician. February 2001 63-4. Health Source. EBSCOhost. Utica College Lib.15 Apr 2005. .Secko, David. Alzheimers Disease Genetic Variables and Risk. Canadian Medical Association Journal. March 2005 172-5.