Cultural and Disease
University of Phoenix
Mrs. Ruth Grendell
HCS/245
October 27, 2013

Everyone has heard the saying that a good mind is a terrible thing to waste, one would never have thought that was remotely possible. But in the 1906 when the first ever recording of Alzheimer a form of dementia doctors and researchers found that the human mind can indeed revert to early stages of no memory. Dementia is a term used in describing a vast array of symptoms related to the decline of mental function, starting with memory loss and eventually impeding on the ability to perform everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most familiar form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association website, 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases are Alzheimer’s patients. It is a progressive disease, where symptoms progressively worsen over a period of numerous years. In its premature stages, reminiscence loss is minor. An individual may start to not remember little things, like if they turned the stove-top off or temporarily forget how to fasten their shoes. When a person is affected from late-stage Alzheimer's, he or she loses the ability to partake of a conversation or react to his or her surroundings. Alzheimer's is one of the top leading causes of fatality in the United States and around the world.
Those who are affected by the disease at times lives an typically eight years following that their symptoms have progressed sufficiently until those people around them start to notice. Although anywhere around eight years is the average, it is not infrequent to hear of people living from four to 20 years after discovery. A big fraction of how fast a person is affected by this disease progresses depends their age and additional health conditions. One major thing to remember is that Alzheimer's is not a customary element of aging. However, one of the maximum known risk aspects for this disease is age, which is something that mankind clearly cannot stopped.
Like many other types of dementia, Alzheimer disease is caused by harm to brain cells. This injure to these cells interferes with the capability for cells within the brain to converse with each other. When cells cannot converse with each other on the whole, thoughts, performance and feelings can be affected. The brain is made of several individual regions and within each of these individual regions are specific responsibilities for different functions including movement, memory, and judgment. When the cells in a specific region are damaged, that region can no longer carry out its task in general. In a person that is affected by Alzheimer's disease, the high levels of certain proteins that are located inside and outside their brain cells make it difficult for brain cells activity to remain healthy and to communicate with each other. The brain region called the hippocampus is the center of learning and memory in the brain, and the brain cells in this region are often the first to be damaged. That is why memory loss is usually one of the first symptoms.
Aging is the main feature in the population of Alzheimer’s patients aged 65 years and older. There are many probability of a person developing the disease doubles every five years after 65. Even though there is currently not a definite cause for the disease, there are a few factors that, when implemented within ones life, can help to improve the symptoms like memory loss. Some of these factors are include depression, alcohol abuse, thyroid disease, and vitamin deficiencies. A person who may have dealt with one or more of these conditions could be more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Family history also plays a role. Those individuals who have a father or mother, sibling, or a child with the disease are more likely to inherit the illness. The risk continues to amplify if more than one family member has the disease.
As of now, there are no proven environmental causes for Alzheimer’s. According to ScienceDaily