Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Essay examples

The beginning and symptoms of Alzheimer's are usually very slow and gradual. Alzheimer’s hardly ever occurs before the age of 65. It occurs (according to the AHAF) in the following seven stages: In stage 1 There are no impairment- Unimpaired individuals experience no memory problems and none are evident to a health care professional during a medical interview. Stage 2 Is a very mild decline- Individuals at this stage feel as if they have memory lapses, especially in forgetting familiar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses, or other everyday objects. But these problems are not evident during a

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include memory loss, change in behavior, and overall cognitive decline.

get it, but most cases are the only ones in a family. Some patients who develop

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s are hardly ever the same for any one patient. Although the side effects of Alzheimer’s can result in the similar symptoms, such as memory loss, cognitive impairment, difficulty focusing, and taking care of ones self can be an outcome for most patients. Many will have a different personality, loss of sight, sense of smell, as well as no longer being able to taste (Medicine).

The biggest difference between dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is that Alzheimer’s is degenerative and irreversible at this time. According to the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's disease accounts for 50-70 percent of cases of dementia (Sahyouni et al, 2017). However, there are other disorders that cause dementia such as Vascular dementia, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, dementia with Lewy Bodies and Frontotemporal dementia. In the early stages of many of these disease there are obvious differences in symptoms however, as the disease progresses the differences become more subtle, which can often lead to misdiagnoses. Dementia is caused by damage to brain cells. Each region of the brain is responsible for different function. Thus, when brain cells get damaged in certain areas of the brain the cells can not carry out their functions. This in turn causes cognitive and behavioral problems to occur. There is no specific test that can determine if one has dementia or Alzheimer’s. A diagnoses comes from a doctor's careful assessment of the patient’s medical history, a physical and cognitive functioning examination, and laboratory tests (Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer’s).

With Alzheimer’s there are 3 stages in which a person will go through. First, there is the early stage. You may observe mild memory loss, and as the disease worsens so do the symptoms. In the moderate stage you may notice a difficulty of managing personal finances, household tasks, personal care, sleep routine and many more. As you progress to the severe stage you may experience forgetfulness of family members, communication, lack of control over bladder or bowel, and the need for help of activities of daily living. Symptoms of dementia can vary greatly. In order to be diagnosed with dementia at least two things will need to be present within the following: memory, communication, the ability to focus, reasoning, and vision perception. The symptoms of dementia start off slowly then gradually increase, this is known as a progressive

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that eventually destroys memory and other other very important functions. First it starts with mild confusion and the patient has a hard time remembering. Soon after that they may get much worse

In short, memory loss is one of the scariest parts of aging. Not every occurrence of forgetfulness is something to be alarmed about, though. And, even if the memory loss seems to be more than the occasional senior moment, there are many factors other than dementia that could be at play. Regardless of the cause

When it comes to Alzheimer's vs. dementia, it is clear to see the differences. Dementia is comprised of many different illnesses, and it is used to describe memory loss. If a person has Alzheimer's, then he or she has a form of dementia. However, if someone is diagnosed with dementia, it does not mean that they have Alzheimer's disease.

In the mild stage of Alzheimer’s the symptoms could include: difficulty coming up with the right name, problems remembering names when meeting new people, difficulty performing tasks, forgetting material you’ve just read, losing and misplacing objects, and trouble planning and organizing things. The second stage is moderate Alzheimer’s disease which is the middle stage. It is known to be the longest stage and can carry over for many years. As the disease continues, the person affected with the Alzheimer 's disease will require more care. Symptoms include: forgetting about their own history, feeling moody, not being able to remember phone numbers or their name, confusion on what day it is, problems controlling their bladder, changes in their sleep patterns, and becoming lost. The last stage is severe Alzheimer’s. People lose the ability to respond to their environment, to hold a conversation and, to control movement. Symptoms include: require assistance full time daily, having difficulty communicating, become vulnerable to infections like pneumonia, and changes in physical abilities like walking, talking, and swallowing. There is no cure for Alzheimer 's but drug and non-drug medicines may help with all the symptoms.

Dementia is a term that refers to the breakdown of cognitive activity which usually includes an impairment and/or loss of memory. While we do not yet know what causes dementia, there are signs and symptoms that indicate the onset. Additionally, there are certain conditions that frequently lead to dementia such as Alzheimer 's disease and strokes. There are also different degrees of dementia. Some people may have an impaired short-term memory while their long-term memory is still excellent. Others may lose the ability to talk but can play instruments and write. Others may have all mental faculties one moment and have no recollection of who their loved ones are the next.

A major symptom of Alzheimer 's Disease includes the loss of abstract thinking. In conclusion, the person will lose the ability to solve problems and draw conclusions. Disorientation is also a major symptom which includes when one can become lost on a familiar street nut do not know how to get back home because he or she forgot where they lived. The lack of initiative takes place where person may become unmotivated or passive. Not pursuing their usual activities is a sign from this. Language problems occur where the person often forgets simple everyday vocabulary. Other symptoms include when one misplaces their items such as wallets and phones and at times puts them in odd places. Another one is mood swings where person can have rapid mood swings for no

In my early 20s I was given an opportunity to work with Clara, an elderly woman who had dementia. Everyday I would arrive at promptly at 7:30am, I would prepare breakfast, and wait until 8:30am when she would wake up. Some days I was greeted by a cheerful Clara ready to take on the day, other days, I would have to reintroduce myself, calm her down and remind her of where she was, who I was, and explain to her daily routine. It was very difficult for me at times, I never got angry, but sad. It was truly heartbreaking to see this woman that I was caring for completely be taken over by dementia. Watching the videos, featuring Teepa Snow, brought back a lot of memories and experiences I had with Clara. The portrayals of dementia people were so

Although some kinds of memory loss are very normal in the aging process, the changes that are caused by aging are not that extreme enough to conflict with it. A number of certain diseases and conditions can cause dementia. These conditions and diseases consist of Parkinson’s disease, strokes, brain tumors, blood clots and Multiple Sclerosis, but the most common disease to cause this is Alzheimer’s disease (Crystal, 2009).

Symptom of Alzheimer is a slow chemical and structural changes in the brain that can destroy the abilities to remember, learn, reason and relate to others, it can impair thoughts/speech, it affect short term memory, cannot focus and pay attention, reason and judgment are damage, and she/he starts to misplace