Alzheimer’s is a condition that affects the brain. It leads to damage of brain cells. This condition progresses, and it leads to memory impairment. Scientists believe that this condition results because of an accumulation of beta amyloid protein. This protein leads to death of the nerve cells. The condition mostly affects people above the age of 65. This condition is not a normal part of ageing.
Causes of Alzheimer’s disease
Age is the largest contributing factor to developing Alzheimer’s condition. As the age of the person increases, the chances of a person developing the condition increase. Other risks factors of Alzheimer’s disease include hypertension, diabetes, high blood cholesterol and coronary heart disease. Patients that have downs syndrome are a high risk of developing the condition. Other risk factors indicate being female puts you at a risk. Research shows that women are the largest populations that have the Alzheimer’s condition (Waldemar, pg. 108). The normal functioning of the brain has trouble in using the mental functions properly.
Sign and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
In the beginning, Alzheimer’s disease starts gradually and slowly progresses. One may not know the changes that come with the disease. It starts when the memory of a person starts facing interference. It affects the level of the functioning of the brain. People may think it is a normal ageing process. It leads to difficulties to a person in the performance of one task at a given time. People with the disease have difficulty in concentrating in one activity.
During the early stages of the disease, it makes the person to have difficulties in arriving at and making rational decisions that a person could have made if that situation presented itself. It makes the individuals forget their appointments. These people forget recent events that happened or the conversations that occurred. They take a long time to do simple tasks. The jobs include preparation of budgets and balancing of checkbooks (McGuigan, pg. 59). The individuals cannot learn new activities because their memory. The people with the condition have language barriers. They find trouble expressing themselves to the doctors and other people. Their memory is bad that they easily forget routes they use.
Their interest in doing tasks fluctuates; they do this now and after a few minutes, they want another one. They are fond of losing and misplacing items. They lose social skills that make them not to have friendship with their colleagues. Their sleep pattern changes and they often wake up in the middle of the night. They experience agitation, depression and fear (Kelly et al., pg. 47). The people with the condition have problems in reading and writing. Sometimes the patient fluctuates; poor judgments are one of the most important parts of the brain and losing it means the loss of direction. They like isolations and like to stay alone.
The patients like violent behavior, and they like arguments with their doctors and helpers. The disease makes the patients have problems with swallowing. Dressing is a challenge to the people that have the condition. The patients seem to think at all times and are moody. The people have a poor understanding of safety procedures. Managing their finances is a challenge because they do not want to increase the knowledge. This leads to poor decision making by the patients. The personality of the patient changes and they develop an obsessive and compulsive behavior. The patients lose their empathy because of the disease that distorts their brain capacity.
Works CitedTop of Form
Kelly, Evelyn B. Alzheimer's Disease. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008. Internet resource.
McGuigan, Jim. Alzheimer's disease. Chicago Ill: Heinemann Library, 2004. Print.
Waldemar, Gunhild, and Alistair Burns. Alzheimer's disease. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2009. Print.
