Health/Alzheimers Disease Paper

Alzheimer’s Disease

Christina Stelmach

HCA/270

Pukar Ratti

May 26, 2014

I am writing this essay on Alzheimer’s Disease and I will discuss briefly what it is, some signs and symptoms of the mental illness, I will then identify the neurotransmitters associated with the illness and discuss how they are related to the signs and symptoms. I will then move on to how this illness is diagnosed and include the tests and professionals that are involved. Next, I will describe treatment and how the patient’s environment can help or harm the success of treatment. Finally, I will talk about how the treatment has changed from the past.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a very progressive and degenerative disorder. “ Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia or loss of intellectual function among people aged 65 and older”. (www.alzfdn.org)

Patient’s who have Alzheimer’s disease, generally show signs of memory loss, agitation, confusion, behavioral problems, depression, trouble sleeping, speech impairments, and even delusions. As the disease gets worse, the symptoms get worse. In the beginning it could be occasional memory loss, or slight confusion, but then it gets to wandering, trouble sleeping, agitation, aggressiveness, combative behavior, trouble speaking or making any clear sentences, and this is when the patient no longer can care for themselves in a safe environment.

The neurotransmitters called acetylcholine break the connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die. Killing off the nerve cells that cause a person to have long or short term memory, or even speech skills.

How is Alzheimer’s diagnosed? While there is not a single test that can say for sure if a person has Alzheimer’s or not, there are some tests that can rule out other causes of dementia like symptoms. By taking an MRI, The neurologist can see if the person does have the specifics that go along with Alzheimer’s, like the degenerative brain cell activity. Diagnosing...