Alzheimer Disease

1.       In chapter 24, Alzheimer disease is brought up. Alzheimer disease is the most common and feared type of dementia. If a person has dementia, they would slowly lose memory and personality. The disease is caused by a formation of plaques and tangles in the brain. These abnormalities disable the communications between neurons, by destroying the communication ability. Working in a nursing home as a nurse aide, I often came across senior citizens with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. These diseases were something I found to be very common in the elderly and I frquently heard that it was mainly due to genetics. Currently, many people are aware of the disease and are searching for a cure for the unfortunate disease. Although the disease is more commonly found in senior adults, the disease can occur and start in someone at an even earlier age. Many researchers have found that the age in which Alzheimer’s disease occurs is around seventy five years old. However, the disease can start ten to twenty years before the actual diagnosis! While health is definitely correlated to having a healthy brain, I have seen articles where researchers are trying to find if there are precautionary and preventative measures people can take.