Alzheimer's+Disease

Jarrett and Kyle

Alzheimer's What is it: Alzheimer's, or AD, is a form of dementia that most commonly occurs in older people. Alzheimer's progressively gets worse the longer you have it and affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer's disease causes the brain of the affected person to gradually deteriorate in certain areas over time. Symptoms: A person with Alzheimer's disease will generally experience troubles with language, decision making skills, good judgment, and their personality. People with the disease will often seem distant, or disconnected from their daily life and their surroundings. It can often become difficult for families who are dealing with a relative with AD to function normally. Cause: Aside from age, a family history of the disease is a big factor when determining if a person is positive for Alzheimer's. Because the disease is genetic, having a close blood relative who has Alzheimer's significantly increases a risk for development. As for age, AD is not a normal factor that comes along with age, however the possibility for developing AD does increase a fair amount with old age. A common misconception of people with AD is that they are either stupid, or slow in the head (for lack of a tasteful word). This isn't entirely the case. People with AD will often forget things both recent, and long-past. They aren't stupid or handicapped, they just have trouble making sense of things that others see as being given. People should learn to be more considerate and understanding of patients with AD. After all, many people will develop symptoms at some point in their later years. It would be nice to have a common understanding of the disease and what it can do to people. ==

**Treatment:** Unfortunately for many people, AD incurable by modern medicine. Hopefully, we can say "at this time, AD is incurable" with high hopes for a medical breakthrough in the near future. For now however, we just aren't sure. There are different drugs that can be used to manage the symptoms and progression of AD, but none of them offer a permanent solution. Therapy is luckily available for patients with AD to help them make the best of an unfortunate diagnosis. Treatment options other than medication consist of: nursing homes, assisted living homes, and routines. AD comes in stages that progressively worsen the condition of the patient. Early on, establishing a routine for the patient can help them remember what is going on. Having a consistency of tasks day-to-day can help the person do things more independently. When the disease is in its higher stages, the family or caretakers of the patient may become overwhelmed. At this point, an assisted living home is a solution. These facilities help the patient in their day to day life and try to offer condolence and support. At some point, AD can reach a stage where this is no longer enough. It is at this point where caregivers usually turn to a nursing home. These facilities offer a new environment for patients to live in with continuous care. The problem is however, that many families are reluctant to admit a loved one to a nursing home. They feel as if they are pushing the person away even though they know it is only to help them live a better life. Luckily scientists are trying to develop a vaccine to prevent the disease from manifesting. No breakthroughs have occurred yet, but many hopeful people believe that the cure will come soon. We can only wait and hope for the best.

**Other Diseases:** Alzheimer's Disease can be linked to two other main diseases. One of these is depression. When a person with Alzheimer's Disease is in the early stages of memory loss, they can be coherent at times to realize they have AD and that it can only get worse from where they are at the time. Patients can lose the willingness to fight against the disease and more or less give up on life. Another related disease is Amnesia. Amnesia is a form of memory loss that is almost like the memory loss associated with AD. Though Amnesia has different causes and is different in severity, memory loss is memory loss.

**Sources:**

Alzheimer's Disease A Forgotten Life -Treatement

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