.: Alzheimer's Disease
By:John Brown
Category:Home / Health / Diseases and Conditions
The popular press does not seem to know how to deal with Alzheimer's disease. They alternately make light of it by using jokes about "senior moments" and make it out to be a dark, terrible secret that traumatizes everyone who comes in contact with a sufferer.
The term Alzheimer's disease refers to a condition discovered by Lois Alzheimer, a doctor who practiced in the early 1900s. In 1907 he wrote in medical textbooks about a 51 year old woman who had died of dementia. He examined her brain under the microscope.
His examination revealed changes he had never seen before. In certain parts of the brain, fibres were tangled together, and in other areas he saw clumping of brain matter. As time went on, he discovered more "younger" people who had died of dementia had the same abnormalities in their brains. This condition came to be known as Alzheimer's disease.
Subsequently, researchers noted that the same type of dementia (with the same symptoms) occurred more frequently in older people. When their brains were examined under a microscope, they demonstrated the same abnormalities.
At that time, only younger people were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease as this was what Dr. Lois Alzheimer had concentrated on. Older people were generally diagnosed with pre-senile dementia or senile dementia of the Alzheimer type.
This differentiation made things unnecessarily complicated, however, and because dementia in younger people is rare, it is now common to refer to the whole group as Alzheimer's disease.
The term "Alzheimer's disease" does not clearly convey the complicated set of symptoms that make up this condition. A definition from the Royal College of Physicians describes Alzheimer's disease as:
"Dementia is the global impairment of higher functions, including memory, the capacity to solve the problems of day to day living, the performance of learned perceptual-motor skills, the correct use of social skills, and the control of emotional reactions in the absence of clouding of consciousness."
In the vernacular, a common description is "a living death." A more medical terminology describes it as "the slow onset of memory loss with a gradual progression to a loss of judgement and changes in behaviour and temperament." And it is the combination of factors that makes it so hard on family members. Any one symptom alone might be easy to handle, but the combination of memory loss with behavioral changes makes it tough. Some Alzheimer's disease sufferers get angry or belligerent towards family members, and may not recognize even their spouse of 50 years. The complicated nature of the symptoms speaks to the complicated nature of the disease itself, and thousands of researchers around the world are hoping that new research will shed more light on this disabling condition.
Article Source: http://www.articles32.com
John Brown enjoys writing for several web sites, on wellness and health topics.
.: New Diseases and Conditions Articles
1). Migraine Symptoms, Cause And Cures
Almost everyone has had a headache at one point in his or her life. Headaches are of different types, one of them is migraine.
2). Which Prostate Treatments Are Most Effective?
Prostate treatments, traditional or alternative, may complement each other in fighting prostate disorders. It is up to the patient to identify the combination that works best.
3). Obese People, How To Tackle This Number One Problem?
Obese people have become part of an epidemic in the United States. Are you one of the 300,000 Americans who die each year of diseases related to obesity? Did you know that approximately $177 billion is spent on illnesses related to this epidemic?
4). Anxiety And Depression Sufferer Ends It All - Are You Taking Your Anxiety Seriously?
Anxiety and depression are familiar conditions to us, but are also among the most serious illnesses in the world. Thankfully both these conditions can be treated and sufferers can live anxiety free for life.
5). Amazing Anxiety Disorder Phobia Relief Reveals The Truth - Live Free From Anxiety
Anxiety disorder is capable of destroying your life if not treated immediately. Luckily it is possible to live free from anxiety for the remainder of your life.
6). Warning: Watch Out For These Anxiety Panic Attack Symptoms
Anxiety panic attack symptoms can help you determine if you have anxiety to be able to make preventive measures. Every time we feel worried about certain things or fear about the possibilities of what might happen if, a lot of ifs- these are what we call anxiety.
7). What Commonly Prescribed Anti-Anxiety Medications Is Right For You?
Anxiety medications are prescribed to anxiety sufferers to relieve anxiety and depression. There are several commonly prescribed anti-anxiety medications that help sufferers control their anxiety.
.: Top Diseases and Conditions Articles
1). Acid Reflux: What You Really Need To Know.
The formation of gases and acidic substances in the stomach and its backing up into the esophagus causes severe pain or burning sensation in the stomach and chest area that is clinically known as Acid Reflux or Gastroespohageal Reflux Disease.
2). Sciatica: How Can You Get Rid of Your Pain in the Butt?
Living with pain in the buttock and leg is not an option. These 10 tips to getting rid of leg pain forever are invaluable to anyone who is or knows someone suffering from the debilitating condition known as sciatica.
3). Gall Bladder - A Place For Gallstones
It is a pouch-shaped organ which is an important part of our body and lies next to the liver. It accepts the bile from the liver which is being stored to help digestion.
4). HPV Virus
Human Papilloma Ciruses (HPV) is a virus that infects humans. Some of the effects of the virus are associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STD's).
Over one hundred strains of the virus have been identified by Scientists. Most of these strains are harmless. Some of these strains can produce common skin warts which appear on the hands and feet.
5). Bad Circulation Is A Growing Health Problem
Although the internet is the number 1 place for information today most people still get their information from viewing television. Unlike the internet, by watching TV you do not really have choice on what type of info you get. What the TV stations feed you is what you get.
6). Teach Your Kids How To Avoid Catching Cold Sores
Teaching your kids about cold sores will help them practice prevention.
7). tiniitus online support
Tinnitus: A persistant high pitched screaming only you can hear. You can hear it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Sometimes the noise is enough to make you feel you are loosing your sanity. In fact, on a lighter note one could call it "a big fat pain in the ear !"
It may be of little comfort to Tinnitus victims, but experts estimate that approximately 17 % of the world´s population are currantly suffering from Tinnitus.