Alzheimer’s Disease is one that is often heard about, but how many know the diagnosis in and out? This particularly common disease is a neurodegenerative disorder. It affects the human body’s nervous system entirely, but more specifically, the cortex. The nervous system is like a generator for humans. It is what controls the human body’s function, language, memory, and perception. All of which are extremely important to participate in the average everyday life.
Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the man who founded Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Alzheimer gained an interest in researching the disease after a woman whom was a patient of his suffered fatality from a mysterious mental illness. After doing an autopsy of the woman’s body, he noticed the changing of the brain tissue. He was able to make a successful connection between her symptoms and his findings. The woman had trouble with her language, her memory was fading, and last but not least she had unpredictable behavior. Dr. Alzheimer was then able to establish that the patient had suffered from complications with her nervous system.
This neurological disorder is irreversible and the chances of people getting diagnosed only increases with age. Some symptoms to look out for are mild personality changes without cause, memory loss, and trouble with motor functions. While this disease is not yet curable, it is containable. There are many medications that doctors may prescribe to a patient with the symptoms above, all of which help the person maintain their usual life as best as possible. It is important to write down symptoms of you or a loved one as soon as possible, because the disease only gets worse with time. Alzheimer’s is not your average case of the flu but, it is suggested to receive medical attention as soon as possible, just as one would with any other illness.
Most people experience symptoms before the age of sixty-five, though there have been rare cases when people between the ages of forty and fifty start experiencing them. Statistics have shown that most people who are diagnosed are around the age of sixty and only live between three and eleven years after diagnosis. Since it is most commonly subjected to elderly people it makes fighting against the disease even more challenging. Thus, meaning that not only are elderly people not as physically inclined, but they also have a harder time fighting off sickness. In some cases, older people will try to convince themselves and or others that they are perfectly fine. As humans we often unconsciously deny the truth when it might be hard to swallow.
Scientists have researched and done experiments with the hopes of finding the answers we all long for, what is the cause of this horrible disease. From those who did the research found that the possible cause(s) of Alzheimer’s was from a protein mutation in the brain called beta-amyloid. More than half of the people who had been diagnosed had this strange protein mutation. Unfortunately, the scientists were able to rule out that though this was good information, it was not the cause of Alzheimer’s.
It has been estimated that there are approximately 5.6 million Americans who currently have Alzheimer’s Disease, which means about fifty-two percent of America’s population, between the ages of sixty- five to eighty- five are diagnosed with this disease. In conclusion to this information I find it extremely important to work as a united front to try and find a cure to Alzheimer’s and fight with and for those suffering.
