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Alzheimer's Disease
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Common Names:
Image Notes: Histopathogic image of senile plaques seen in the cerebral cortex in a patient with Alzheimer disease of presenile onset. Silver impregnation.
Alzheimer's disease (AD), also known simply as Alzheimer's, is a neurodegenerative disease that, in its most common form, is found in people over age 65. Approximately 24 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s.
Clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease are characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. It is the most common type of dementia. Misfolded proteins called amyloid plaques form in the brain many years before the clinical signs of Alzheimer's are observed. Together, these plaques and neurofibrillary tangles form the pathological hallmarks of the disease. These features can only be discovered at autopsy and serve as a confirmation of the clinical diagnosis. Medications can help reduce the symptoms of the disease, but they cannot change the course of the underlying pathology.
The ultimate cause of Alzheimer's is unknown. Genetic factors are suspected, and dominant mutations in three different genes have been identified that account for a much smaller number of cases of familial, early-onset AD. For the more common form of late onset AD (LOAD), ApoE is the only repeatedly confirmed susceptibility gene.
Clinical features
The first readily identified symptom of Alzheimer's disease is short-term memory loss. This initial symptom progresses from seemingly simple and often fluctuating forgetfulness (with which the disease should not be confused) to a more pervasive loss of short-term memory, then loss of familiar and well-known skills or objects or persons. Since family members are often the first to notice changes that might indicate the onset of Alzheimer's they should learn the early warning signs. Aphasia, disorientation and disinhibition often accompany the loss of memory. Alzheimer's disease may also include behavioral changes, such as outbursts of violence or excessive passivity in people who have no previous history of such behavior.
In the later stages of the disease, deterioration of musculature and mobility, leading to bedfastness, inability to feed oneself, and incontinence, will be seen if death from some external cause (e.g. heart attack or pneumonia) does not intervene. Once identified, the average lifespan of patients living with Alzheimer's disease is approximately 7–10 years, although cases are known where reaching the final stage occurs within 4–5 years or up to 21 years.
Stages and symptoms
* Mild — At the early stage of the disease, patients have a tendency to become less energetic or spontaneous, though changes in their behavior often go unnoticed even by the patients' immediate family. This stage of the disease has also been termed Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), although this term remains controversial.
* Moderate — As the disease progresses to the middle stage, patients might still be able to perform tasks independently, but may need assistance with more complicated activities.
* Severe — As the disease progresses from the middle to the late stage, patients will not be able to perform even simple tasks independently and will require constant supervision. They become incontinent of bladder and then incontinent of bowel. They will eventually lose the ability to walk and eat without assistance. Language becomes severely disorganized, and then is lost altogether. They may eventually lose the ability to swallow food and fluid, and this can ultimately lead to death.
Text and images are licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Material is used from the Wikipedia article "Alzheimer's disease
".
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