Alzheimer’s disease is one of such being a type of irreversible progressing dementia that affects the mental capacity of human brains. Brain process dysfunctions eventually leads to the loss of memory and dementia that reduce the life expectancy of whoever develops the disorder Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory This is a 8 page, 10 resource paper discussing Alzheimer’s disease, discussing the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes for a cure of the disease. Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory Introduction Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia Nov 19, · Read this Science Research Paper and over 89, other research documents. Alzheimer's Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory. Introduction Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia. It
Memory loss in Alzheimer's disease
It currently afflicts about 4 million Americans and is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Psychotic symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations, have been reported in a large proportion of patients with this disease. In fact, it is the presence of these psychotic symptoms can lead to early institutionalization Bassiony, et all, Around the turn of the century, two kinds of dementia were defined by Emil Kraepin: senile and presenile.
The presenile form was described more in detail by Alois Alzheimer as a progressive deterioration of intellect, memory and orientation. As a neuropathologist, Alzheimer studied the case a 51 year-old woman. However, from a practical standpoint, conducting an autopsy of an individual to make a definitive diagnosis is rather ineffective. Newer diagnostic techniques will be discussed in a later section of this paper.
The forgetfulness phase is the first stage and is characterized by a loss of short-term memory. Patients in this phase will often have trouble remembering names of well-known people and will misplace items on a regular basis. This stage also may include behavioral changes. Additionally, a loss of spontaneity and social withdrawal often occurs as the individual begins to become aware that there is something inherently wrong.
Speech problems and difficulty with comprehension may also appear. In the confusional stage, the cognitive deterioration is more noticeable and memory loss is much more pronounced. Individuals in this stage will often have trouble recognizing where they are alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper remembering the date and day of the week.
In the final stage of dementia, there are profound losses of memory and mental abilities. Patients will often not recognize their spouse or children or be able to read with comprehension. Eventually, individuals will become bedridden as brain functions disintegrate Ramanathan Understanding the different types of dementia-related illnesses is important when trying to diagnose a patient with these kinds of symptoms. Doctors separate the dementia illnesses into three groups: primary undifferentiated dementia, primary differentiated dementia and secondary dementia.
They resemble each other quite closely and often cannot be distinguished from one another through ordinary diagnostic means. The primary differentiated dementia diseases often include losses of muscular control and thus they can be separated from the previous group.
Most of these diseases are rare. The secondary dementia diseases are not due to a permanent impairment of the brain and can often be cured, alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper accurate diagnosis is critical. Therefore, one can see how the three types can cause diagnosis problems for people in the medical field Heston and White This is a disease of the brain center and the individual often shows signs of severe overeating, hypersexuality and euphoric disposition, alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper.
If this disease can be properly diagnosed, it can be treated and, in most cases, the symptoms are relieved or greatly improved. It is caused by an overabundance of cerebral fluid on the brain, which must be relieved surgically. Patients who have this disease exhibit involuntary writhing movements that are distinctive to this disorder. One answer is to look at the article written by Douglas Gelb for the Statistics in Medicine Journal.
These are: cognitive testing, global assessment, functional assessment, and behavioral rating scales. Cognitive testing, while not directly related to everyday tasks, can be helpful in rating the change in a patient over time. His main point about this kind of testing is the rate of change seen between tests.
specific symptoms are not focused on, but the effect of all the symptoms together are studied. Gelb puts form that there are at least two ways in which global measures could conceivably be useful in diagnosis of dementia. First, global testing can help identify which treatment strategies are working for specific groups of dementias. Second, the global testing of a wide patient pool could offer evidence of a scale with which to rate the progress of the disease. Functional testing is perhaps the most practical of all the testing as it studies the motor and brain skills required to function on a day to day basis.
Self-care tasks are studied to asses whether a patient is able to care for themselves. Repeated tests can also show if a patient is responding in a positive way to a treatment regime. Like the global testing, this kind of testing could also be used to create a rating scale. Finally, Dr. Gelb states the need for more behavioral testing. In the past, alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper area has alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper ignored since most of the tests come at the request of the caregiver.
These tests, too, could be studied across a vast group of patient in order to create a rating scale. Likewise, response to treatment can be assessed Gelb, According to one group of researchers, patients with dementia and major depression also showed a low level of a particular enzyme in the brain. Furthermore, there was a higher neuron count in a portion of the brain. Thus, they conclude, this enzyme may be related to neuron function, which is, in turn, related to the depression Harwood et all, This correlation may lead to research that can help alleviate the depression symptoms in patients with dementia.
These kinds of studies are useful in diagnosing the particular dementia, as there seem to be slight differences in the amount of dysfunction and its progress in different dementias. In fact, there are so many that it is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss them all. However, some of these are worth mentioning. This understanding eventually may lead to the development of treatments to slow the effects of the disease process. Ultimately, the prevention of the plaque deposits and tangles is the goal of this research.
This has led to preliminary indications of the beneficial use of anti-inflammatories, such as ibuprofen, and antioxidants, such as vitamin E, in treating or slowing progression of the disease.
However, research is continually being conducted. This research covers a wide range of areas, from better diagnostic tools to genetic testing. One such diagnostic tool recently received a patent. According to the inventor of the tPST, H. Paul Voorheis, M. In addition, Dr. This disease produces a full-blown dementia in its patients and affects millions of people and their families.
These people and their families have special needs. Consequently, programs, environments, and care approaches must reflect this uniqueness. Ramanathan, Vai. Alzheimer Discourse: Some Sociolinguistic Dimensions. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoc.
Heston, alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper, Leonard and June White. New York: W. Freeman and Co. Gelb, Douglas. Statistics In Medicine, 19, Bassiony, Medhat, Martin Steinberg, Andrew Warren, Adam Rosenblatt, Alva Baker and Constantine Lyketsos.
International Journal Geriatric Psychiatry, 15, Harwood, Dylan, Warren Barker, Raymond Ownby and Ranjian Duara. Waite, Louise, G. Anthony Broe, alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper, David Grayson, and Helen Creasey.
Motor function and disability in the dementias. International Journal Geriatric Psychiatry, 4, Derouesne, Christian, Stephanie Thibault, Samba Lagha-Pierucci, Aronique Baudouin-Madec, Daniel Ancri and Lucette Lacomblez.
Decreased awareness of cognitive deficits in patients with mild alzheimer39s disease not just loss of memory research paper of the Alzheimer type. International Journal Geriatric Psychiatry, 14, ABS Issued U. Electronic Format. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content Essaywriters Case Study. History Around the turn of the century, two kinds of dementia were defined by Emil Kraepin: senile and presenile.
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Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory This is a 8 page, 10 resource paper discussing Alzheimer’s disease, discussing the history, symptoms, diagnosis and hopes for a cure of the disease. Alzheimer’s Disease: Not Just Loss of Memory Introduction Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia Alzheimer’s disease is one of such being a type of irreversible progressing dementia that affects the mental capacity of human brains. Brain process dysfunctions eventually leads to the loss of memory and dementia that reduce the life expectancy of whoever develops the disorder Sep 26, · Dementia is a general term for loss of memory and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. It is caused by physical changes in the brain which causes problems with memory, reasoning, behavior and motor skills. It is also called “Alzheimer’s Disease”
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