Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimers DiseaseImagine waking up wizard morning and you cannot re member where you are or your own childs name. This could be a direct sign that you or a family member has Alzheimers unhealthiness. Alzheimers disorder is a form of dementia, which means that it affects certain(prenominal) functions of the brain such as remembering, logic, and everyday bodily functions. This disease was scratch described by a doctor named Alois Alzheimer in 1906. He observed unusual growths of fibers in the brains of woman that had died from an unusual mental illness (National imbed, 1995). numerous people do not realize how severe this disease very is. These people also do not realize how much of a risk there is of developing the disease. Four million people in the United States today are afflicted with Alzheimers disease. It is estimated that just about 22 million people around the world currently have this disease (St.George-Hyslop, 2000). Another very interesting fact about Alzheimer s is that the changes in the brain take place 20 to 40 years ahead the pa quarternt shows any symptoms. About ten percent of Americans have this disease by the age of 65, and about 50 percent of Americans have the disease by the age of 85. People can live well into their 90s, and they however retain most of their memories and control of their bodies (Kahn, 1998). This disease is a disease that everyone in the United States should be concerned about. Scientists believe that they know what causes this disease to occur. It is caused by proteins in the brain that go terribly wrong. These proteins form clusters inside the brain, and they go a toxin that affects nerve cells. These nerve cells are then lost, and this affects certain part of the brain that control certain functions. This directly affects two parts of the brain, the genus Hippocampus and the cerebral cortex. These two parts of the brain control memory, reasoning, language, and other bodily functions (St. George-Hyslop, 2 000). Alzheimers disease has a major effect on not only the patients life, further on the lives of the patients family as well.This disease takes a very slow path in its development. It may start as just some short-term memory loss. This means that a somebody with Alzheimers may forget diminished things, like what he or she ate for dinner last iniquity or why they went to the refrigerator. These symptoms can be all overlooked as j... ...In Kahns story (1998) a daughter of a patient was very prosperous with Aricept, the reversal of her condition was remarkable. For over a year, I kind of got my mamma back (p,18). This disease is obviously a horrible one. It can parentage a family apart, and there is nothing that can be done about it. Hopefully, one day a cure will be found, but in the mean time, Alzheimers disease has total control over a person who is afflicted with it. It also has control over the family of the person afflicted with it. Almost everyone in this country has some sort of tie to this disease, and this is why more research should be done in hopes of decision a cure.ReferencesKahn, C. (2007, November, 8). New drugs and hope for Alzheimers patients. Parade Magazine, 16-19.National Institute on Aging. (1995). Alzheimers Disease Fact Sheet.Retrieved October 22, 2008, from the World Wide sack up http//www.alzheimers.org/pubs/adfact.html Shenk, D. (2001, November-December). The War on Alzheimers. My Generation, 15-20.St. George-Hyslop, P.H. (2005). Piecing Together Alzheimers.Retrieved October 22, 2008, from the World Wide Web http//www.sciam.com/2000/1200issue/1200stgeorge.html