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Alzheimer's
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Alzheimer's disease involves a
devastating deterioration of the
brain’s cognitive functions.
Essentially what happens with
Alzheimer's is that the brain’s
ability to think and process
information, as well as its
capability to store memory, is
eroded away. Memories and thoughts
become increasingly more difficult
to hold within one's mind as
Alzheimer’s disease progresses in
the afflicted individual. As the
disease progresses, more and more of
the brain’s capabilities are lost
and
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Alzheimer's disease eventually
interferes with daily life.
However, the onset of
Alzheimer's is not a rapid
thing; instead damage to the brain
can be seen for some time before the
illness fully impairs the
individual's functionality. The main
issues that are found are clumps and
tangles in the fiber of the brain.
The tangles are called
neurofibrillary tangles and they are
indications of
Alzheimer's disease in a person.
When these tangles occur important
information cannot be transmitted
from one section to the next,
resulting in a loss of information
or memory.
However, when it comes to
Alzheimer’s, there has not yet been
a discovery of one specific
causation. Instead
Alzheimer's is still a medical
anomaly that occurs in the brain.
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Those who are often inflicted with
Alzheimer's disease are in the
age bracket of 60 years of age or
older. This is when signs of
Alzheimer's might become
prevalent.
Alzheimer's is a disease that
continues in progressive stages.
Within the first couple stages the
signs or symptoms are not completely
apparently. Instead these are
moderate changes in mental status.
However, in the later stages of
Alzheimer's the damage is more
apparent and the patient will lose
the ability to recall information
that should be easily brought to
mind. Furthermore, they will also
start to lose the ability to do the
simplest of tasks. |
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The diagnosis of
Alzheimer's
can be done through an array of tests
administered by a health care professional.
Identification of
Alzheimer's
disease or deterioration of the brain can be
made through observations using an MRI. Other
examinations based around cognitive functioning
can be done in order to observe the status of
functionality in the brain. The further
Alzheimer's
has progressed, the more damage will be evident
in the physical make up of the brain and in the
functions the brain commands. |
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Unfortunately,
Alzheimer's
disease does not have a cure; because of this
the patients inflicted with have Alzheimer’s
disease will have their mental status and
cognitive functions slowly wear away. Those who
have
Alzheimer's can live on their own for a
short amount of time, if the damage is not at a
later state, however, they often need full time
care givers to help them get through the
day.However, there are various medications that
are used in helping to slow down the
deterioration process in the case of
Alzheimer's
disease. Much research is being done
simultaneous surrounding the causation of
Alzheimer's
and the trials and testing of new medications
that could possibly cure the disease.
Alzheimer's
slowly destroys the brain and breakdown each
cognitive process. |
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Alzheimer's Stages:
Alzheimer's
is a progressive deterioration of the brain
leading to a loss of control over cognitive
functioning. What this means is that
Alzheimer's
takes away the brain’s ability to think,
remember, and do various command. This
particular disease has not yet been cured; the
treatments that are given by doctors can only
help to slow down the deterioration of the
brain. When it comes to the progression of
Alzheimer's,
doctors have identified
Alzheimer's
in terms of different
Alzheimer's
stages.
Alzheimer's stages start off describing
states of
Alzheimer's which do not involve any visible
symptoms, and as the stages progress, the
effects become more apparent. |
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In the various
Alzheimer's Stages, the
first few will typically not
indicate any large scale
detrimental effects. The
very first stage does not
have any symptoms associated
with it. The brain and all
of the functioning will
appear normal when it comes
to testing, motor skills,
and conversation. The
second stage of
Alzheimer's is when
small changes in mental
status occur. This can be a
sort of feeling of
forgetting something or the
inability to remember common
words or people’s names.
These signs are typically
only noticed by the person
who is affected by them. The
third stage is where the
outside world like friends
and family begin to notice
changes in someone’s mental
status. Typically a person
will exhibit the inability
to remember names or have a
hard time remembering things
they just read.
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In the progressive
Alzheimer's
stages, around the fourth stage there is now
serious issues in mental status. Those suffering
from
Alzheimer's will find it hard to do complex
tasks and now displays issues regarding personal
memories. At this point, the demeanor of the
patient that could take a turn towards hopeless
or withdrawn. In the fifth stage, the patient
can no longer recall important personal
information like their phone number, address, or
other such things. At the sixth state the
degeneration is evident when they forget the
names of those around them, their sleep becomes
disrupted, and they need help with even the
simplest of tasks.
In the last of the
Alzheimer's
stages the patient will lose the ability to do
simple tasks altogether. A full time care giver
is necessary from around the fifth stage onward.
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Furthermore, their speech
patterns will also become unrecognizable and
communication severely decreases. Assistance is
imperative in order for the
Alzheimer's patients to do the necessary
tasks of eating, drinking, walking, and passing
waste. Sometimes those who have family members
suffering from late
Alzheimer's
stages put them into nursing homes or other full
time care providers because they cannot take
care of them alone. The
various stages of
Alzheimer's
coincide with the degeneration that occurs on
the physical level of the brain. As each part
gets damaged or warn away, the respective
aspects that are controlled by it are damaged
and unable to work. Overall, watching the
progression of
Alzheimer's
can be a devastating occurrence. It is important
to make sure that there is plenty support and
medical assistance around |