Alzheimer’s Disease Essay - 2338 Words

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, meaning it attacks the neurons within the brain. Neurons are the areas of the brain that allow for chemical messages, or neurotransmitters, to be transmitted. These neurons are necessary for connections with other nerve cells, and without them, the neuronS ultimately die. Alzheimer’s is a form of, and the most common cause of, dementia, or loss of intellectual capacity and personality. (Dementia.) Alzheimer’s disease, or AD, is not a normal part of aging, although risk of developing the illness increases with age. The onset behavior of the disease normally doesn’t appear until age sixty and older. Though symptoms that appear before age sixty have occurred, it is less common and tends†¦show more content†¦Although these formations are the hallmarks of this disease, it is still unclear to scientist whether these are the cause or effect (byproduct) of AD. (â€Å"Alzheimer’s Disease†) To reiterate, symptoms of AD were always present, but were never recognized or coined until 1907. Before Alzheimer’s big break through, the majority of the community correlated dementia and age as a â€Å"natural.† The connotation of the term senile implied old age or progression of age. It wasn’t until the late 1970s where neurological studies boomed and credited Alzheimer’s as an accepted disease. Later as a result, the Alzheimer’s Association was created in 1985. (Reger 2) This gradually perpetuated further understanding of this disorder that is still being continued today. Although research has not shown any definitive causes of AD, there are significant risk factors. The most highly prominent known risk factor for AD is in fact age. Age plays a crucial role in determining the severity of ones AD and is distinguished by two types: early onset (Familial Alzheimer’s disease or FAD) and late onset (Sporadic AD). FAD rarely appears and follows an obvious inheritance pattern. Statistically less than ten percent are classified as FAD. Early onset usually makes itself known between the ages of thirty to sixty years of age. This may also presentShow MoreRelatedAlzheimers Disease945 Words   |  4 PagesAlzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive neurological disease; it often attacks the brain tissues causing memory loss of one’s identity and regular behaviors. Statistics indicates that the rate of predicted people to get Alzheimer’s will increase briskly as time goes on. There are currently no cures for such disastrous disease, but there are currently approved treatments available that can help people within the early stages of Alzheimer’s. 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