Alzheimer s Disease Is The Most Common Form Of Dementia

Do you know what alzheimer’s disease is? Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, and the fifth leading cause of death in ages 65 and older. â€Å"2010 Alzheimer s Disease Facts and Figures. Rep. Vol. 6. Chicago: Alzheimer s Association, 2010. Print. Alzheimer s and Dementia.† This disease is the deterioration of the brain that can, and probably will lead to brain loss that cannot be reversed. It is a very slow decline that can last years. Alzheimer’s usually targets short-term memory first, and can eventually impair thinking and reasoning later on, which will eventually cause problems with communication and daily living. Alzheimer’s and Dementia are commonly†¦show more content†¦(Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014) As you reach above the age of 65 the chances of the brain producing more of these fibers is increased. You can also tell the difference betw een Alzheimer’s and dementia because with Alzheimer’s the cerebral cortex shrinks, and there is nerve cell loss. Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered by Doctor Alois Alzheimer in 1905. He was a German neurologist and psychiatrist. He observed Auguste D. who was 51 at the time he met her. Her family was concerned because she was having memory problems, changes in personality and difficulty speaking. Doctor Alzheimer originally diagnosed her with a form of aggressive dementia, but there was symptoms not commonly found in Dementia patients. Like difficulty in speech and aggression. When she died he performed an autopsy which he found that Auguste’s cerebral cortex shrank, and there was fatty tissues in the blood vessels of her brain. He discovered large amounts of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques (proteins in the brain), which are now the biggest indicator of Alzheimer’s. (alzheimers.org) These fibers increase with age, and when you have Alzheimer’s your body produces them faster then what it should. Alzheimer’s was not officially named in medicine until 1907, and was named after Doctor Alzheimer in 1910. In order to understand Alzheimer’s you should know about the three stages. All three stages have different symptoms and detection signs. There is the Early-Stage,