Alzheimer's disease
Definition:
·
Alzheimer's
disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized
by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning,
language, and perception.
·
The
likelihood of having Alzheimer's disease increases substantially after the age
of 70 and may affect around 50% of persons over the age of 85.
·
The
main risk factor for Alzheimer's disease is increased age. There are also
genetic risk factors and others.
·
There
are 10 classic warning signs of Alzheimer's disease: memory loss, difficulty
performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation to time and
place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing
things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, and loss of
initiative.
·
The
cause(s) of Alzheimer's disease is (are) not known. Although, accumulation of
the protein amyloid in the brain is suspected to play a role.
·
Alzheimer's
disease is diagnosed when: 1) a person has sufficient cognitive decline to meet
criteria for dementia; 2) the clinical course is consistent with that of
Alzheimer's disease; 3) no other brain diseases or other processes are better
explanations for the dementia. Many other causes of dementia are screened for
prior to diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.
Dementia
is a syndrome characterized by:
1. impairment in memory,
2. impairment in another
area of thinking such as the ability to organize thoughts and reason, the
ability to use language, or the ability to see accurately the visual world (not
because of eye disease), and
3. these impairments are
severe enough to cause a decline in the patient's usual level of functioning.
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