Alzheimer’s A Case Study
Mauricio Alvarez
Human Anatomy & Physiology I – Theory
Galen College of Nursing
Professor Kelly Washington, MA
November 27, 2016 Alzheimer’s disease, is a progressive nerve cell degeneration disease that develops in mid-to-late adulthood, (65 to 80 years and beyond) affecting 5 million Americans. ("Alzheimer 's Disease Fact Sheet | National Institute on Aging," n.d.)
Pathology
The pathology of this disease leads to a loss of memory affecting judgement and reasoning, and movement coordination. Alois Alzheimer a German Scientist, Neurologist, Psychiatrist (1864-1915) studied a 51-year-old woman Auguste Deter who presented with progressive cognitive impairment, hallucinations and psychosocial incompetence. After she died, Alzheimer performed an autopsy identifying several pathological changes in her brain such as: shrinking of the cortex and neuritic plaques. This structural changes are believed to decrease acetylcholine a cranial neurotransmitter by as much of 75%, contributing to cognitive impairment. Maurer, K., & Volk, S. (1997).
Body System (s) involved
Alzheimer’s disease mainly affect the brain by impairing the parts of the brain that allow us to form memories, to reason, to orient ourselves. This disease spreads to parts of the brain that control
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In Alzheimer 's disease, the appearance of the Alzheimer 's affected brain is very different to a normal brain. Cortical atrophy, enlarged ventricles, basal ganglia wasting, changes in the proteins of the nerve cells of the cerebral cortex, accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques, (deposits of protein and altered cell structures on the intraneural junctions), granulovacuolar degeneration, loss of cholinergic nerve cells (important in memory function and cognition). In lay man terms: shrinkage of the brain making the neurotransmitter systems impaired. (In Venes, 2005, p.
Dementia is a serious disorder caused by a variety of brain illnesses which affects a person memory .There are three symptoms stages which are early,middle,and late stages. A Person with dementia lose the ability to think well enough to do everyday activities or solve problems. It is also difficult for a person with dementia to interact with others which makes this disease overwhelming for the families of the Patient. The number of people who have dementia is currently estimated at 47.5 million.
There are different types of dementia and are described as follows: Fig 1.2 (a) different types of dementia with their percentages There are different types of dementia are Alzheimer’s, vascular, mixed, dementia with lewy’s body and frontotemporal dementia etc. and there are other types of dementia too such as AIDS dementia, Parkinson’s dementia etc. The Alzheimer’s is most common form of dementia. Let us describe the each of them in detail: Alzheimer’s dementia: Fig 1.2(b) area of brain affected and cross-section that is seen from the front in Alzheimer’s dementia.
Villegas Although it was not that long ago that I started doing research, Dr. Villegas has given me the privilege of working in his lab. He is currently conducting research on a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Working with Dr. Villegas has allowed me to learn new scientific methods and facts. Such methods and facts include, but are not limited to, tissue sectioning, electrode implantation, and recording data.
Alzheimer’s disease is a specific cognitive impairment that falls under the dementia umbrella. Currently there is no cure and researchers are still looking to find the cause for diseases like Alzheimer’s. It is important, as the baby-boomer generation ages, to make sure the general public is educated on common myths and misconceptions about dementia. 1.
Dementia is not a specific illness. It 's an overall term that describes a range of symptoms associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to cut a person 's ability to do everyday activities. Alzheimer disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of cases. Vascular dementia, which occurs after a stroke, is the second most common dementia type. Dementia is often incorrectly referred to as "senility" or "senile dementia," which reflects the formerly widespread but incorrect belief that serious mental decline is a normal part of aging.
OGO3 meron Dementia Dementia is a mental disease where you lose some maybe all of your memory for a long period of time or even eternity rly symptoms can occur for some people and can include behaviour swings and anxiety or even blindness. There are many different types of dementia and some of them include the mo common Alzheimers Disease which takes up 70% of all the people that have dementia, vascular dementia, Frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body dementi a and many more, these often occur over the age of 60 but it is possible to also get it if you are young. 90% of people with Parkinson 's disease will get the exact same symptoms as people with dementia would get It 's possible to get more than one form of dementia. Alzheimers disease Alzheimer 's disease
Dementia History Dementia is a disease that brings grief to a family if it is not handled correctly. This disease gradually begins and worsens the cognitive ability over several years. In the dawn of nineteenth century, dementia was just a clinical concept. The doctors believed that dementia in aged people fluctuated within the idea that was due to the blockage in the major arteries in the brain or small strokes inside the vessels of the cerebral cortex. Recently they believe that the dementia is caused due to the mixture of both conditions.
It is the sixth leading cause of death in the united states overall, but may be third in the elderly population(Alzheimer’s Association).
Dementia is a disorder which causes the brain cells to deteriorate therefor causes a decline in several symptoms and affects a person’s mentality, capacity and how they go about their everyday life. NVQ 1.2 2) Describe the functions of the brain that are affected by dementia. There are many brain functions affected by dementia depending on which form of dementia the individual has. The temporal lobe’s functions affected are Memory loss for example forgetting things you have just been told or something you have just said so repeating yourself several times, balance, posture and vision can also be affected due to decline in health of the temporal lobe. Frontal lobe affects behaviour for example becoming withdrawn.
The article titled “Half of Alzheimer 's cases misdiagnosed” made it evidently clear that Alzheimer’s disease is a disease we have yet to fully understand or treat. Not only is there a lack of information about this disease, it is common for the similar side effects of dementia to be confused with Alzheimer’s disease. To clarify what dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is, I will provide an authentic definition of each. To begin, I will state that there are different forms of dementia. According to a site that specializes in providing information about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, states that “Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life.
The term ‘dementia’ is an umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions that affect the brain. Doctors typically use the word ‘dementia’ to describe the common symptoms such as memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. Each type of dementia stops an individual’s brain cells working in specific areas, namely their ability to speak and remember things. 1.2 -Describe key functions of the brain that are affected by dementia The brain is made up of four lobes, namely frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital, all of which have different functions.
Introduction Alzheimer’s is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and gets worse over time. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events or short memory loss. As the disease advances, symptoms can include difficulty with language, disorientation, mood swing and behavior problems. As a person 's condition progressed, they often withdraw from friends and family. Slowly, bodily functions deteriorated and eventually death occurs.
Dementia is a progressive diagnosis that can take place over months or years.
Topic: Dementia Written By: Roxanne Lim, Panchami Chandukudlu, Aditi, Jenny Sui Yuan Abstract: 1. Brief Outline Dementia, commonly referred to as senility, constitutes a vast branch of neurodegenerative disorders that affect the cognitive well being of an individual’s ability to think, remember and act. More commonly addressed in its chronic form, dementia is associated with a range of diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease, the most common form of dementia (making up to 70% of cases), Parkinson’s Disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and frontotemporal dementia. 2.
Dementia is one of the most feared diseases and expensive to society currently. It is defined as a clinical syndrome of acquired cognitive impairment that determines decrease of intellectual enough capacity to interfere social and functional performance of the individual and their quality of life. It is a known fact that patients tend to express themselves through their behaviour and expect their carers to understand this notion. The diverse kinds of causes of different behaviours are inability to communicate, difficulty with tasks, unfamiliar surroundings, loud noises, frantic environment, and physical discomfort. Many diseases can cause dementia, some of which may be reversible.