What is Alzheimer’s?
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in older people. A dementia is a medical condition that disrupts the way the brain works.
AD affects the parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language. Although the risk of getting the disease increases with age, it is not a normal part of aging. At present the cause of the disease is unknown and there is no cure.
AD is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer described changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. He found abnormal deposits (now called senile or neuritic plaques) and tangled bundles of nerve fibers (now called neurofibrillary tangles). These plaques and tangles in the brain have come to be characteristic brain changes due to AD.
What are the symptoms of Alzheimer's?
initial
mild forgetfulness
confusion
with names and simple
mathematical
problems
confusion
about time and place
forgetfulness
to do simple everyday
tasks,
i.e., brushing teeth; self-neglect
problems
speaking, understanding,
reading,
and writing
behavioral
and personality changes;
aggressive,
anxious, or aimless behavior
lack
of concentration
sometimes
saying or doing outrageous things
mood
can be depressed, anxious or agitated
reasoning
can be come slow and muddled
some
people may experience hallucinations
or
delusions.
"Hope is necessary in every condition."
Samuel Johnson
1709-1784
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