Answer To: nical updates are concise articles designed for educational purposes on clinical issues that relate...
David answered on Nov 29 2019
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ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
Clinical Update Semester 2 2017:
Alzheimer’s Disease
ABSTRACT
The study focuses on all the dimensions of Alzheimer’s disease like causes, risk factors, problems associated with the disease, diagnosis, treatment and awareness. The statistical survey of population in Australia , US and worldwide accepts Alzheimer’s disease as one of the main cause of deaths every year.
The study focuses on anatomy, and physiology of dementia, its various levels and stages, elaborating how it affects our brain, in addition to essential measures, that should be adopted to prevent it.
At last the study focuses on possible measures to prevent the disease.
Keywords: Dementia, Statistical, Alzheimer
INTRODUCTION:
According to a recent survey conducted in February 2017 in Australia, more than 400 thousand people are living with Dementia or Memory loss. Among them about 55% are females and 45% are males. The number of new people joining the population of Alzheimer’s patients is continuously increasing with the rate of 244 people a day. In Australia, Dementia has become second most prominent cause of death and highest cause of disability in old people above 65 years of age.
A recent survey done by Alzheimer’s Association in 2017 stated that in USA about 5.5 million people are suffering from Alzheimer’s in 2017, the disease being 6th largest cause of deaths in US.
World Alzheimer’s Report 2016 said there were 46.5 million people living with Alzheimer’s worldwide in 2015, and the number may increase upto 60 million in 2017.
The disease is found most prominently in older adults causing loss in Cognitive capacities like thinking, remembering, focusing, recalling, identifying and reasoning. The patient feels inability to perform day to day activities and to regulate his/her normal behavioral responses. Alzheimer’s disease can be defined as Irreparable, gradually developing disorder of brain cells that slowly suspends memory capabilities altering behavioral abilities as well.
Objective of this paper is to identify different levels of this disorder by understanding various available theories of patho-physiology of the disease, to properly conduct diagnosis and provide appropriate clinical support with treatment. The paper also envisages safety interventions and care to be given to potential sufferers.
AETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS:
Causes and Risk factors: The causes of Alzheimer’s Disease can be many as the changes occurring in brain take place at different levels causing mental illness of varying degrees. In patients who exhibit the symptoms at an early age, the causes of disease are genetic or hereditary. The patients, who suffer from the disease in later years of age, develop it due to continuous and gradual changes in their brain over many years of time.
The possible contributing factors can be genetic, environmental or a lifestyle that involves lot of over-thinking and worrying which causes extra stress on the neurons and interconnections between them. People spending sedentary lifestyle with no physical exercise/activity (obese or diabetic) and no social interactions (depressed) can be...