Alzheimer's Disease
We are currently living in the age of technology. Our advancements in the
past few decades overshadow everything learned in the last 2000 years. With the
elimination of many diseases through effective cures and treatments, Canadians
can expect to live a much longer life then that of their grandparents. In 1900
about 4% of the Canadian population was over the age of 65. In 1989 that figure
tripled to 12% and the government expects that figure to rise to 23% by the year
2030 (Medical,1991,p.13). This increase has brought with it a large increase in
diseases associated with old age. Alzheimer's dementia (AD) is one of the most
common and feared diseases afflicting the elderly community. AD, ...
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is "a deterioration in intellectual
performance that involves, but is not limited to, a loss in at least 2 of the
following areas: language, judgement, memory, visual or depth perception, or
judgement interfering with daily activities" (Institute,1996, p.4).
The initial cause of AD symptoms is a result of the progressive
deterioration of brain cells (neurons) in the cerebral cortex of the brain. This
area of the brain, which is the largest and uppermost portion, controls all our
thought processes, movement, speech, and senses. This deterioration initially
starts in the area of the cortex that is associated with memory and then
progresses into other areas of the cortex, then into other areas of the brain
that control bodily function. The death of these cells causes an interruption of
the electrochemical signals between neurons that are a key to cognitive as well
as bodily functioning.
Currently AD can only be confirmed at autopsy. After death the examined
brain of an ...
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symptoms include an
increased memory loss, changes in mood, personality, and behavior, symptoms that
are common of depression, prescription drug conflict, brain tumors, syphilis,
alcoholism, other types of dementia, and many other conditions.
The onset of these symptoms usually brings the patient to his family doctor.
The general practitioner runs a typical battery of urinalysis and blood tests
that he sends off to the lab. If the tests come back negative, and no other
cause of the symptoms is established, the patient is then refereed to a
specialist. The specialist, usually a psychiatrist, will then continue to rule
out other possible illnesses through testing. If the next ...
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CITE THIS PAGE:
Alzheimer's Disease. (2008, April 10). Retrieved April 20, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Alzheimers-Disease/81924
"Alzheimer's Disease." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Alzheimers-Disease/81924>
"Alzheimer's Disease." Essayworld.com. April 10, 2008. Accessed April 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Alzheimers-Disease/81924.
"Alzheimer's Disease." Essayworld.com. April 10, 2008. Accessed April 20, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Alzheimers-Disease/81924.
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