Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease: Diagnosis, Effects, and the Journey Forward

Abstract

The disease I will be talking about is Alzheimer’s. This disease affects humans every day, and it is very sad. It affects not only human beings physically but also emotionally. This is especially a drastic change for family members and close friends. Seeing a person change completely and not remember things can have a huge effect on a person. The concepts I will be talking about are ways to know you are developing this, different types of tests to determine this, what it affects, the pathology, epidemiology, and the long-term effects. This will give you a deeper understanding of what this disease is and the huge effects it has on human beings.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Having someone you have had all these shared memories with suddenly start to forget is something that can be emotionally hard. They start not to remember you, how to do things, what day it is, and even more. It can cause a person’s personality or mood to change and become depressed, suspicious, and even anxious. The disease I’m talking about is Alzheimer’s; these are not the only things that can happen. This disease affects human beings a lot.

Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s

There are ways to know if someone is developing this disease. The steps required stated by the article Alzheimer’s Disease is a doctor taking different tests and evaluating you by asking you a few questions and asking you to do different tasks. Other tests they take are called metal status testing and Neurophysiological tests (para. 3). They do these tests to look at your brain, but they can also take an MRI, CT, or PET scan.

Doing these different types of tests can help a doctor diagnose if Alzheimer’s is the disease you may have. Although a doctor tells you the final answer to know if you have this condition, there are symptoms that may show you signs of this. As article 10, early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s states some of these symptoms are not being able to remember things, misplacing things, mood changes, and having trouble concentrating (para. 13). Alzheimer’s is a disease that you can certainly see or notice early signs of.

Alzheimer’s affects the brain part of your body. As Stanley J. Swierzewski states, “The frontal lobe which is responsible for the voluntary movements, emotion, writing, and speech. The parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes are also involved. “The parietal interprets sensation, temporal is involved with understanding sounds and speaking words as well as emotions and memory, while the occipital is about understanding visual images” (Swierzewski, para 2). This is how Alzheimer’s affects each of these body parts. They affect each body part in dissimilar ways because of their different functions, yet each of them is affected greatly.

Pathology of Alzheimer’s

There have been three main things determined as the cause of this disease. The pathology, as stated in the “Cure Alzheimer’s Fund” article, is Abeta peptide accumulation, nerve cell death, and inflammation (para 1.). As one thing happens, more things continue to happen, which becomes a cycle and causes more death of cells. According to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, it was also stated that the cell amyloid is what builds outside the nerve cell, causing it to tangle and then strangle the nerve cell (para 1.). This becomes so dangerous that memory loss is developed.

Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s

The epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease is mostly found in people who are 65 years old and older. As Chengxuan Qui and Laura Fratiglioni state in the article “Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s Disease,” “North America has the highest percentage with it being 6.4%. Africa has the lowest, which is 1.6%. At the same time, China has 4% and Latin America has 4.6%. Western Europe is close to North America with a 5.6%. It may be hard to believe, but one-third of people may develop Alzheimer’s” (Qui et al., ch 3.). This is very sad because this disease is something that is very hard to deal with. It takes a toll on the person dealing with Alzheimer’s life, but also on the people close to them because it changes them completely.

Treatments of Alzheimer’s

Though Alzheimer’s is very hard to deal with, there are treatments to help. Sadly, there is no cure for this disease, but two types of drugs called Cholinesterase inhibitors and Memantine can help deal with this. Cholinesterase inhibitors, according to an Alzheimer’s disease article, help with “cell to cell communication and can help with depression as Memantine helps as another brain cell communication” (Alzheimer’s disease, para.17). Both these medicines can help greatly with depression.

Though these medicines may help, there are side effects that can be experienced. As stated in the article Alzheimer’s disease with Cholinesterase, you can experience “diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite and sleep. While with Memantine, you may feel “constipated, headaches and dizziness” (para. 18). It’s up to the person if they are willing to deal with possibly having these side effects. Some experience it, while others don’t. This is a great route to take because you are slowing down this disease. It is so important to do anything you can so you can help the person dealing with this disease live a longer life.

Other ways to help with Alzheimer’s are by exercising, being supportive, and creating a nice environment for people who may be suffering from this disease. Making sure they eat and have healthy foods and a lot of vitamins is always good and necessary. Even keeping pictures and things that mean something around to look at is a way to help. It’s all about being as supportive as you can. Although through all this, it can be very hard not only on the person who has this disease but the one who is there to support because of everything that is happening. Always remember that support is one of the best things you can do because although they may not remember things most of the time, there may be moments when they do, and it will be such a warm feeling.

Long-term effects of Alzheimer’s

The long-term effect of Alzheimer’s, coming from a clear standpoint, is memory loss. You won’t be able to remember people, names, moments, even who you are. You will not want to eat or have an appetite. Not only will you forget things that happened a while ago, but you will start forgetting things that happened a day ago, too.

Although you can do things to cope with it and lengthen the life expectancy, theThe article “Life Expectancy and Long-Term Outlook for Alzheimer’s Disease” by Kimberly Holland states that life expectancy can be long or, sadly for some people, short. Holland stated, “After the diagnosis, it can be eight to ten years or as long as twenty years, although in some cases it can be only three years” (Holland, para. 5). Since this has no cure, all you can do is help out with the treatments to make the progression slow down which is why it is so important to take it seriously and make sure they are getting the right treatments.

A lot of people suffer from this disease; I have had a close family member with Alzheimer’s and seen how much it changes people drastically. My uncle was a fun, loving, jokester and always trying to make people happy. I grew up with him since I was a little girl and saw him as a young woman and a different person. He became depressed and did not remember us anymore. It was the hardest thing for our family. It didn’t stop us from trying to be as supportive as we could by showing him pictures and speaking to him about our memories. Sometimes, we heard him say our name and remember us for a few seconds; it brought the biggest smiles to our faces and hearts. Sadly, after his battle, he passed away about a year ago.

Conclusion

Alzheimer’s comes and disrupts your everyday life, taking a toll on your brain and body. When you have someone who goes through this disease, there are a lot of ways to cope with this. I am using the treatments that I stated and the medications to slow down this disease as much as possible. Be as strong as possible for them, and make sure they are still reminded they are loved and cared for. I saw how badly Alzheimer’s affects a human being. This disease is so hard to deal with, and nobody deserves to go through this.

References

1. 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s. (n.d.). Retrieved October 8, 2018, from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs
2. Alzheimer’s disease. (2017, December 30). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20350453
3. Holland, K. (n.d.). Life Expectancy and Long Term Outlook for Alzheimer’s Disease. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.healthline.com/health/alzheimers-disease/life-expectancy
4. Pathology – Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2018, from
   https://curealz.org/the-disease/pathology/
5. Qui, C., & Fratiglioni, L. (n.d.). Oxford Scholarship Online. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from http://m.oxfordmedicine.com/mobile/view/10.1093/med/9780199569854.001.0001/med-9780199569854-chapter-3
6. Swierzewski, S. J. (n.d.). Alzheimer’s Disease Overview, Brain Anatomy. Retrieved September 20, 2018, from https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/frontal-lobe#1