Alzheimer's
disease
DONE BY:
MOSTAFA
GRADE: 10B
BIO TEACHER:
MR. KAMEL
What is Alzheimer's disease?
Alzheimer's disease is something we
hear about continuously. Whether in the
news, or on news, or on shows, or even
people joking about having Alzheimer's when
they constantly forget doing tasks. It's almost
common among aging people or the elderly,
but that does Alzheimer's disease actually
mean? What does it do? What are its
symptoms, and how can we not fall preys for
this disease?
AD is "a chronic neurodegenerative"
disease that usually starts slowly and gets
worse over time." So what basically in a
neurodegenerative disease? According to
JPND research a neurodegenerative disease
is a term used for diseases that primarily
affect the neurons in the human brain. Better
to say Alzheimer's is a disease that affects
the brain, resulting in loss of memory or
dementia. Dementia is "a chronic or
persistent disorder of the mental processes
caused by brain diseas Ne or injury and
marked by memory disorders" neurons, who
are the basic unit cell in the brain, work like
messengers between each other to send
signals from body parts to brain and vice
versa. The AD targets these neurons causing
them to die, hence ending up in having
difficulty remembering, and is a fatal disease
that usually terminates the life of the people
diagnosed with it.
For reasons that are not clear, there are
about twice as many women as men over 65
with AD. This difference is not fully explained
by the fact that women on average live
longer than me. It may be that Alzheimer's in
women is linked to a lack of the hormone
estrogen after the menopause
*Symptoms for Alzheimer's
disease*
Memory Loss
You may seem to show that you are more
careless than normal. Disremembering
meaningful dates and events will happen. If
questions are repeated and a lot of reminders
are needed, you should see your doctor.
Problem in Planning and Solving
Problems
AD may become more obvious if you have
trouble evolving and following a plan of
action. Working with numbers may also
become hard.
Difficulty Completing Familiar Tasks
Some people may experience a greater
problem with focusing. Routine day-to-day
duties involving critical thought may take
longer as the disease increases. If you get
missed up while driving a frequently traveled
way, this may be a symptom of AD.
Difficulty Determining time or place
Forgetting path of dates and mixing-up the
passage of time as it occurs are also two
common symptoms. As symptoms progress,
people with AD can become increasingly
forgetful about where they are, how they got
there, or why theyre there.
Vision loss
Eyesight problems can also develop. This
may be as simple as an increased difficulty in
reading. You may also begin to have trouble
deciding distance and determining
comparison or color when driving.
Difficulty Finding the Right Words
Starting or joining in conversations may
appear hard. Discussions may randomly be
interrupted in the middle, as you may forget
how to finish a sentence. Because of this,
repeated conversations will happen. You may
have struggle finding the suitable word for
certain items.
Misplacing Items Often
You may begin putting things in different
places. It may become harder to recall the
steps to find any lost items. This may let you
to think that others are stealing.
Withdrawing from Work and Social
Events
As symptoms increase, you may notice that
you become more withdrawn from familiar
social events, work projects, or hobbies that
were a while ago important. Avoidance can
increase as the symptom grows.
Experiencing Personality and Mood
Changes
Severe change in mood and personality may
occur. An obvious shift in mood may include:
1)
(uncertainty)
2)
(sadness)
3)
(tension)
4)
s (fright)
Confusion
Depression
Anxiety
Fearfulnes
You may notice that you are more disturbed
when something out of a natural routine
takes place.
*Stages of Alzheimer's disease*
Every person with Alzheimer's
experiences the disease differently, but
patients tend to experience a similar
trajectory from the beginning of the illness to
its merciful end. Alzheimer's gets worse over
time, but the speed of change varies from
person to person. On average, a person with
AD lives four to eight years after diagnosis,
but can live as long as 20 years, depending
on other factors such as age, heredity, and
diabetes. Changes in the brain related to
Alzheimer's begin year before any signs of
the disease. This time period, which can last
for years, is referred to as preclinical AD. AD
stages can be summarized into three simple
stages or breakdown into seven to
understand the progression of the illness
easily. These seven stages include:
Stage1: No Impairment (Preclinical
Alzheimer's)
During this stage, Alzheimer's disease is
not detectable and no memory problems or
other symptoms or dementia are evident.
Stage 2: Very Mild Decline
The person may notice minor memory
problem or lose thins around the house,
although not to the point where the memory
loss can easily be distinguished from normal
age related memory loss. The person will still
do well on memory tests and the disease is
unlikely to be detected by physicians or
relatives.
Stage 3: Mild decline
At this age, the patient may still drive,
work and be part of social activities despite
this the person may feel as if he or she is
having memory lapses, such as forgetting
familiar words or the location of everyday
objects. Friends and family members may
begin to notice memory and cognitive tests
are affected and physicians will be able to
detect the disease.
Patients in stage 3 will have difficulty in many
areas including:
Finding the right word during
conversations
Trouble remembering names when
introduced to new people
Planning and organizing
Losing or misplacing a valuable object
Stage4: Moderate Decline
Moderate Alzheimer's is typically the
longest sage and can last for many years.
As the disease progresses, the person
with Alzheimer's will require a greater
level of care. Patients with stage four
Alzheimer's disease.
Stage 5: Moderately Severe Decline
During the fifth stage of Alzheimer's,
patients begin to need help with many
day to day activities. People in stage five
the disease may experience:
Significant confusion
Inability to recall simple details and
themselves such as their own phone
number
Difficulty dressing appropriately
On the other hand, in stage five maintain
a modicum of functionally. They typically
can still bathe and toilet independently.
They also usually still know their family
members and some detail about their
personal histories, especially their
childhood and youth.
Stage 6: Severe Decline
Patients with the sixth stage of
Alzheimer's need constant supervision
and frequently require professional care.
Symptoms include:
Confusion or unawareness of environment
and surroundings
Major personality changes and potential
behavior problems
The need for assistance with activities of
daily living such as toileting and bathing
Inability to remember most details of
personal history
Loss of bowel and bladder control
Wandering
Stage 7: Very Severe Decline
Stage seven is the final stage of
Alzheimer's disease. Because AD is
terminal illness, patients in stage seven
are nearing death. In stage seven
patients lose ability to respond to their
environment, to carry on a conversation
and, eventually, to control movement.
They may still be able to say words and
phrases, but communication becomes
very difficult. They need assistance with
all activities of daily living. In the final
stages of the illness patients may lose
their ability to walk, sit and, eventually,
swallow.
*Alzheimer's causes*
Alzheimer disease is caused by brain
cell death and parts of the brain shrinking.
This affects the structure and the function of
particular brain areas. It's not known exactly
what causes this process to begin. However,
in the brains of the people with AD, scientists
have found amyloid plaques (abnormal
deposits of proteins), neurofibrillary tangles
containing tau) and imbalances in a chemical
called acetylcholine. These reduce the
effectiveness of healthy neurons (nerve cells
that carry messages to and from the brain),
.gradually destroying them
It's also common to have a degree of
.vascular damage in the brain
Over time, this damage spreads to several
areas of the brain. The first areas affected
.are responsible for memories
Although it's still unknown what
triggers Alzheimer's disease, several factors
are known to increase your risk of having the
.disease
Age
Age is the most significant factor in
having the Alzheimer's disease. The
likelihood of developing the condition double
every five years after you reach 65 years of
.age
However, it's not just older people who
are at of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Around 1 in 20 people with the condition are
under 65. This is called early onset
Alzheimer's disease and it can affect people
.from around the age 40
Family Genes
The genes you inherit from your parents or
from your family in general may develop in
:your body. Other causes are simple, like
Smoking
Obesity
Diabetes
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
*Cure of Alzheimer's*
Today, there is no cure for Alzheimer's.
Researchers are still trying to fully
understand how the disease leads to memory
loss and other problems with thinking and
behavior. They hope to one day reverse those
.changes to prevent or stop the disease
But if you or a loved one has Alzheimers,
there are treatments that can make a
difference. Some therapies ease the
symptoms and help people do better for
longer. Because the diseases effects change
over time, people often need to have their
treatments adjusted by the doctor, or they
need to start new ones as different problems
.emerge
*Care of Alzheimer's disease*
At some point, your loved one with
Alzheimers disease will need help caring for
herself and may not be able to live
unaccompanied. Long-term care facilities can
help you make sure shes safe and receiving
the attention she needs. There are many
possibilities, and its important to find the
.one thats right for both of you
Care services for people with Alzheimers
:usually fall into three groups
Respite care
Residential care
Hospice
Residential Care
Retirement housing
Retirement housing may be appropriate for
individuals with early-stage Alzheimer's who
are still able to care for themselves
independently. A person may be able to live
alone safely, but has difficulty managing an
entire house. Generally, this type of senior
housing provides limited supervision and may
offer opportunities for social activities,
.transportation and other amenities
Assisted living (also called board and care,
adult living, supported care)
Assisted living bridges the gap between living
independently and living in a nursing home.
Assisted living typically offers a combination
of housing, meals, supportive services and
health care. Assisted living residences
generally provide 24-hour staff, recreational
activities, housekeeping, laundry and
transportation. Residents may choose which
services they receive from the facility such as
help with bathing, dressing, and eating or
medication reminders. Costs vary depending
on the facilities provided. The federal
government does not regulate assisted living
and definitions of assisted living vary from
state to state. Assisted living facilities may or
may not offer services specifically designed
for people with dementia, so it is important to
.ask
Nursing homes (also called skilled nursing
facility, long-term care facility, and custodial
care)
Nursing homes provide round-the-clock care
and long-term medical treatment. Most
nursing homes have services and staff to
address issues such as nutrition, care
planning, recreation, spirituality and medical
care. Different nursing homes have different
staff-to-resident relationships. Also, the staff
at one nursing home may have more
experience or training with dementia than
the staff at another. Nursing homes are
usually authorized by the state and regulated
.by the federal government
Alzheimer special care units [(SCUs) also
called memory care units]
SCUs are designed to meet the specific needs
of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and
other dementias. SCUs can take many forms
and exist within various types of residential
care. Such units most often are cluster
settings in which persons with dementia are
grouped together on a floor or a unit within a
larger residential care facility. Some states
have legislation requiring nursing homes and
assisted living residences to tell exactly what
specialized services their SCU provides,
including a trained staff, specialized
activities, ability of staff to care for residents
with behavioral needs and fees. When you
visit a facility, ask for their Special Care Unit
.Disclosure form
Continuing care retirement communities
(CCRC)
CCRCs provide different levels of care
(independent, assisted living and nursing
home) based on individual needs. A resident
is able to move throughout the different
levels of care within the community if his or
her needs change. Payment for these types
of facilities can include an initial entry fee
with subsequent monthly fees or payment
.may be based solely on monthly fees
Respite Care
This kind of service gives caregivers a few
hours of relief from the day-to-day demands
of looking after a person with Alzheimers.
You can always ask a family member or
friend to help out for a few hours, but there
:are two main types of professional services
.
In- home services
Your loved one can get help with
housekeeping and personal care, like
bathing, dressing, and exercising. Some
organizations offer help with medication and
medical care. Although there are government
programs that provide these services, you
may need to hire someone privately or
.through an agency
Adult day services
This is the best way to ensure that your loved
one keeps interacting with others. You can
often find these programs in community
centers. Staff led different activities
throughout the day, such as support groups,
dance programs, musical activities, and
games. They usually provide transportation
and meals, too
Hospice Care
Hospice gives comfort and care when a
person is in the late stages of Alzheimers,
without a focus on drastic lifesaving
treatments. You should be able to find local
hospice organizations. Home care agencies,
hospitals, and nursing homes may offer the
service, too. The cost for each type of care
differs by service and community. You might
be able to get financial assistance through
state or federal programs like Medicare,
.Medicaid, or organizations like the VA
