The Forgotten Issue of Alzheimers
By: Will Kappler
Reasons for choosing Alzheimers
The reason I chose the topic Alzheimers was because my grandma has early stages of this disease. I'm really interested to know what this disease can do to you and how it can effect your body as a whole.
What is Alzheimers?
Alzheimers is a progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys your memory, thinking ability and sooner or later the ability to do simple tasks. The first signs of Alzheimers occurs in people in their 60"s a gets progressively worse. There is treatment that can help manage symptoms in some cases but there is currently no cure to this disease.
The Brain and Alzheimers
Damage to the brain usually starts to occur about a decade before the memory loss starts to hit. The initial damage occurs in the Hippocampus which is the brains center for storing memories. Over time more neurons are damaged and more parts of the brain are effected and by the final stage it is widespread and brain tissue is shrunk significantly.
Dr. Alois Alzheimers
In 1906 Dr. Alzheimer found unusual brain tissue of a women who had just died of a random brain illness. Some of her symptoms where memory loss, language issues and unusual behavior. After her death he examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps and a lot of tangled fibers. He soon came to find that the cause of her death was what we all know today as Alzheimers disease.
Interesting Facts about Alzheimers
1. In the US alone 5 million people are currently living with Alzheimers disease.
2. Of people 65 or older 1 out of every 9 has Alzheimers disease.
3. Every 68 seconds somebody in the world is diagnosed with Alzheimers disease.
2. Of people 65 or older 1 out of every 9 has Alzheimers disease.
3. Every 68 seconds somebody in the world is diagnosed with Alzheimers disease.
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's
Work Cited
https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/alzheimers-basics
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