Alzheimer

Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's disease (AD), a brain disease, is the most common cause of dementia. AD has four distinct stages, there are different ways to diagnosis AD, and there are different treatments that can be used. Alzheimer's was first described and named after a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist by the name of Alois Alzheimer in 1906. It is usually diagnosed in people that are 65 years old or older. In 2006, there were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide and it is predicted to affect 1 in 85 globally by 2050 (Wikipedia). Alzheimer's has four distinct stages. The first stage of AD is called the early stage and in this stage AD is often mistaken for age-related concerns or stress. In this stage the most common symptom is not remembering recent events but, the sufferer can still remember things from years ago. In stage two the sufferer has more trouble processing and remembering new information. They are confused, irritable and aggressive, and they also have mood swings. During the third stage the symptoms becomes more pronounced and the disease becomes fully evident to family and friends (Nekola 2). The sufferer may go for a walk outside without a coat even though it is cold outside or they may put the remote in the freezer. They may not recognize family or friends or they may confuse them with someone else, for example: they may think there son is there brother. In the fourth and final stage the sufferer no longer recognize themselves and they don't recognize their family members or friends. They are unable to express pain or feelings. They forget to chew their food so they have to have it blended up for them and sometimes they may have to have a feeding tube, and they also lose their bodily functions. As the disease progresses the sufferer becomes bedridden and sometimes they revert to the fetal position. Their brain slowly shuts down and eventually they pass away. The length of time a person can live with AD can be as long as twenty years, but the median is eight years. In general, the younger the person is at the onset of the disease the more quickly it progresses (Nekola 2). There are different ways that doctors use to diagnosis someone who thinks they may have AD. The doctor may ask questions about their overall health, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality. The doctor may conduct tests of memory and have them fill out a questionnaire called, are you experiencing cognitive decline' Some of the questions that may be on the questionnaire are: from time to time, do you forget what day of the week it is, when you are looking for something do you forget what it is you’re looking for, does your friends and family seem to think you're more forgetful now than you used to be, do you rarely feel energetic, and do you frequently repeat yourself. The doctor may also do problem solving, attention, counting, and language skills tests. They may also do tests on their blood, urine, and spinal fluid. They may perform brain scans such as: a computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test. These tests are often repeated to give the doctors more information about how their health and memory is changing over a period of time. If the doctor thinks someone has AD they may refer them to a specialist who can provide a detailed diagnosis. Some type of specialists they may send someone who they think may have AD is to a geriatrician who manages health care in older adults, a geriatric psychiatrist who specializes in the mental and emotional problems of older adults and can assess memory and thinking problems. A neurologist who specializes in abnormalities of the brain and central nervous system and can conduct and review brain scans, or a neuropsychologist who can conduct tests of memory and thinking. Although a definitive diagnosis of AD can only be made through an autopsy after the person passes away these tests can help the sufferer plan for the future, make living arrangements, take care of financial and legal matters and develop support networks. Also, an early diagnosis can provide a greater opportunity for people who may have AD to get involved in clinical trials. Different treatments can be used for AD even though there is no cure. The treatments that are available are pharmaceutical, psychosocial and care-giving. Four medications are currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat the cognitive manifestations of AD: three are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and the other is memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist (Wikipedia). Psychosocial interventions are used with pharmaceutical treatment and can be classified within behavior, emotion, cognition, or stimulation-oriented approaches (Wikipedia). Although there is no cure for AD and it usually makes the sufferer incapable of taking care of themselves they need a caregiver to help them throughout the course of the disease. A small recent study in the US concluded that people whose caregivers had a realistic understanding of the prognosis and clinical complications of late dementia were less likely to receive aggressive treatment near the end of life (Wikipedia). The most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) has four distinct stages. There are different ways to diagnosis AD, and there are different treatments that can be used. Alzheimer's is like trying to describe air. You know it is there but you cannot feel it or see it until the storm comes and the wind blows the tired, dead leaves to the ground to rot (DeBaggio 200).