ALZHEIMER'S
by Danny Suh
What is Alzheimer's disease? - Ivan Seah Yu Jun
General
"In 1906, Alois Alzheimer described the pathological correlates of presenile dementia. Once considered rare, Alzheimer’s disease is now recognized as the most common form of dementia, composing 60 to 80 percent of all dementias across different age groups. In the United States, according to the Alzheimer's Association, 5.3 million people had the disease by the summer of 2015. Of those afflicted with the disease, around 5.1 million were sixty-five and older while about two hundred thousand were under the age of sixty-five. The cognitive impairments include agnosia, the loss of perceptual ability regarding the interpretation of sensory perceptions; apraxia, the inability to understand the meaning or appropriate use of things; and dysphasia, the failure to arrange words in a meaningful manner. It is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads ultimately to death. While neurological and psychiatric examination provide an assessment of impairment, definitive diagnosis is arrived at only through autopsy. On the level of observable behavior, in persons affected by Alzheimer’s dementia the symptoms often develop gradually, usually after the age of sixty-five. However, the disease has also been known to develop in younger individuals and to have a more rapid onset. As such, when symptoms such as those noted develop at any age, they deserve immediate medical attention"(Martone)
Alzheimer's is not normal ageing — and we can cure it | Samuel Cohen TED Talk 2015
work cited
Martone R, Piotrowski N. Alzheimer's disease. Magill’S Medical Guide (Online Edition) [serial online]. January 2015;Available from: Research Starters, Ipswich, MA. Accessed October 8, 2015.