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What is Alzheimer's Disease?
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A slowly progressive form of dementia by #56153 19 year
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive form of dementia, which is a progressive, acquired impairment of intellectual functions. Memory impairment is a necessary feature for the diagnosis.
Change in one of the following areas must also be present for any form of dementia to be diagnosed: language, decision-making ability, judgment, attention, and other related areas of cognitive function and personality.
The rate of progression is different for each person. If AD develops rapidly, it is likely to continue to progress rapidly. If it has been slow to progress, it will likely continue on a slow course.
As many as 4 million Americans have been diagnosed with AD.
About 10 percent of all people over 70 have significant memory problems and about half of those are diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. The number of people with Alzheimer's disease doubles each decade past age 70.
There are two types of AD -- early onset and late onset. In early onset AD, symptoms first appear before age 60. Some early onset disease runs in families and involves autosomal dominant, inherited mutations that may be the cause of the disease. So far, three early onset genes have been identified. Early onset AD is less common, resulting in about 5-10% of cases.
Late onset AD, the most common form of the disease, develops in people 60 and older and is thought to be less likely to occur in families. Late onset AD may run in some families, but the role of genes is less direct and definitive. These genes may not cause the problem itself, but simply increase the likelihood of formation of plaques and tangles or other AD-related pathologies in the brain.
A diagnosis of AD is made based on characteristic symptoms and by excluding other causes of dementia. It can be confirmed by microscopic examination of a sample of brain tissue after death.
Brain tissue shows "neurofibrillary tangles" (twisted fragments of protein within nerve cells that clog up the cell), "neuritic plaques" (abnormal clusters of dead and dying nerve cells, other brain cells, and protein), and "senile plaques" (areas where products of dying nerve cells have accumulated around protein). Although these changes occur to some extent in all brains with age, there are many more of them in the brains of people with AD.
The destruction of nerve cells (neurons) leads to a decrease in neurotransmitters (substances secreted by a neuron to send a message to another neuron). The correct balance of neurotransmitters is critical to the brain. Three neurotransmitters commonly affected by AD are acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine -- with acetylcholine being the most affected.
http://health.allrefer.com/health/alzheimers-disease-info.html
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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive form of dementia, which is a progressive, acquired impairment of intellectual functions. Memory impairment is a necessary feature for the diagnosis.
Change in one of the following areas must also be present for any form of dementia to be diagnosed: language, decision-making ability, judgment, attention, and other related areas of cognitive function and personality.
The rate of progression is different for each person. If AD develops rapidly, it is likely to continue to progress rapidly. If it has been slow to progress, it will likely continue on a slow course.
As many as 4 million Americans have been diagnosed with AD.
About 10 percent of all people over 70 have significant memory problems and about half of those are diagnosed as Alzheimer's disease. The number of people with Alzheimer's disease doubles each decade past age 70.
There are two types of AD -- early onset and late onset. In early onset AD, symptoms first appear before age 60. Some early onset disease runs in families and involves autosomal dominant, inherited mutations that may be the cause of the disease. So far, three early onset genes have been identified. Early onset AD is less common, resulting in about 5-10% of cases.
Late onset AD, the most common form of the disease, develops in people 60 and older and is thought to be less likely to occur in families. Late onset AD may run in some families, but the role of genes is less direct and definitive. These genes may not cause the problem itself, but simply increase the likelihood of formation of plaques and tangles or other AD-related pathologies in the brain.
A diagnosis of AD is made based on characteristic symptoms and by excluding other causes of dementia. It can be confirmed by microscopic examination of a sample of brain tissue after death.
Brain tissue shows "neurofibrillary tangles" (twisted fragments of protein within nerve cells that clog up the cell), "neuritic plaques" (abnormal clusters of dead and dying nerve cells, other brain cells, and protein), and "senile plaques" (areas where products of dying nerve cells have accumulated around protein). Although these changes occur to some extent in all brains with age, there are many more of them in the brains of people with AD.
The destruction of nerve cells (neurons) leads to a decrease in neurotransmitters (substances secreted by a neuron to send a message to another neuron). The correct balance of neurotransmitters is critical to the brain. Three neurotransmitters commonly affected by AD are acetylcholine, serotonin, and norepinephrine -- with acetylcholine being the most affected.
http://health.allrefer.com/health/alzheimers-disease-info.html
Viewed 14283 times
All #56153's Answers