FREE ESSAY ON LOST MINDS: A STUDY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

LOST MINDS: A STUDY OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Lost Minds:
A Study of Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is one of the most common diseases among elderly people today.
Alzheimer's creates emotional and financial catastrophe for many American families every
year. It affects nearly 4 million people in the United States. Alzheimer's Disease is the
fourth leading cause of adult death in the United States, and nearly 90 billion dollars
go towards Alzheimer's research each year, most of this money is funded largely by
Medicare and Medicaid, but the government funds some (Medical...). Many elderly people
are thought to be crazy, people think the strain of their lives has been too much for
their minds, when in fact the real problem may be a serious condition called
Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative brain disease. It is caused by a slow break down of
the brain cells. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, first discovered Alzheimer's
Disease in 1906. The first recorded case of Alzheimer's Disease was a 55-year-old woman.
She was admitted to the mental asylum where Alzheimer worked when she was 51 and slowly
deteriorated over her 4 years there. After her death, Alzheimer performed an autopsy in
which he found a small, shrunken brain. This was the start of Alzheimer's research. Since
it's discovery, Alzheimer's Disease hasn't evolved much. It's much more common now and
the symptoms are slightly enhanced, but the disease is relatively the same. The number of
people with Alzheimer's Disease is expected to increase dramatically as the baby boomers
age (Davis). 
Some scientists believe that Alzheimer's Disease may be caused by a mutation of a gene on
chromosome 14, this mutation is related to about 8% of all Alzheimer's cases
(Alzheimer's). Alzheimer's patients also have an excess of aluminum in their brain
tissues, which is linked to the disease and they lack hootropic agents, the chemicals
that protect the brain cells. 
The early stages of the disease are often viewed as the consequences of aging, so
Alzheimer's often goes unrecognized. There are several stages to Alzheimer's Disease. In
the early stages people forget recent events, but they clearly remember things that
happened many years ago. In the later stages of the disease, people can no longer
remember past events and often do not recognize their family members. Some victims do not
even recognize themselves. Alzheimer's victims often suffer from impaired judgement. They
may touch a hot stove burner not remembering that it can burn them. There have been cases
where people with Alzheimer's Disease nearly starve because they forget to eat for days.
When my Great Grandma, who had Alzheimer's, was left alone, she would drive from her home
in Meade to Hugoton or Satanta trying to find Liberal. The disease can also cause people
to be very tired. Patients may also have trouble with place and time. They may not
recognize their own home of many years, and they may confuse morning with afternoon. Some
patients with Alzheimer's Disease will revert back to an almost child-like state. Some of
the victims are very angry and aggressive while others are very calm and quiet. How fast
the disease advances varies from person to person. Eventually, most people with
Alzheimer's disease become unable to care for themselves. Alzheimer's Disease is not the
direct cause of the victim's deaths. The disease renders the patients bedridden and in
their weakened condition they catch viruses such as pneumonia. 
Alzheimer's attacks few people after age 60, but occurs in 20% of people who live to age
85 (Gillick). Alzheimer's does not occur more in men or woman, but the disease is more
prone to Caucasian people. Out of all the cases of Alzheimer's in the United States,
about three-fourths or three million of them are white people. Scientists do not know why
this is, because black people's brain cells are the same as those of white people
(Gillick). 
Some scientists say that Alzheimer's Disease is genetic, and it may be. Scientists say
that if the disease is genetic, then it only occurs in every 4th or 5th generation, but
that the disease must be "turned on" by some outside factor. Doctors can't seem to figure
out what the outside factor is. Some scientists even believe that Alzheimer's may be
caused by an excess of estrogen in the brain (Gillick).
Alzheimer's Disease is considered non-reversible. Many of the symptoms can be treated,
but not the actual disease. To date, no chronic degenerative disease, Alzheimer's or
others, can be cured. Most therapies currently being used are experimental (Medical). The
drugs Tacrine and Donepezil are the only two drugs proven effective in slowing the
progress of Alzheimer's Disease, and even they don't have a vast effect. Selegilin, the
drug used to treat Parkinson's Disease, has been shown to delay symptoms of Alzheimer's
by about seven months in test cases, but doctors are not sure if it is safe for people
yet (Davis). Some doctors suggest for people to take one ibuprofen a day, to help lower
the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease. Daily supplements of vitamin E can help too.
Thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, Alzheimer's patients can live
longer then ever.
There are no screening tests for Alzheimer's Disease. In fact, brain tumors, blood clots,
hypothyroidism and vitamin deficiencies have all been mistaken for Alzheimer's. The
reason for these mix-ups is that a head scan can not show Alzheimer's Disease until well
in to the disease. If the tumors or clots are small enough they might not be seen either
and can produce nearly the same results (Alzheimer's).
Alzheimer's disease is a serious and growing medical, social and economic problem. It
affects millions of people in the United States and millions more around the world. When
we look at elderly people and cast them off as crazy or senile we should stop and
consider the root of their problems. We know more about the disease now then at any other
time in history. Doctors are closer to a cure then ever, but until there is a cure for
Alzheimer's Disease, we are all at risk.
Bibliography
"Alzheimer's Disease." World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 ed.
Davis, Patti. "Long Good-Bye." Ladies Home Journal. Nov. 1997: 170-175.
Gillick, Muriel R. "Tangled Minds." New York: Penguin Books, 1998.
"Medical Self-Care." Retrieved 4/13/99.
http://www.healthy.net/library/articles/ahper/alzheim2.htm.