Alzheimer’s Disease: How To Define? (1)

Hard to define, Alzheimer’s disease afflicts somewhere between 5 and 15% of people over the age of 65. A progressive disease, grouped as a variety of dementia, it starts out as a few forgotten things here and there and, in time, eventually saps a person of all their memories and skills. A person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will, quite regularly, forget close friends and family, locations, and even the most basic tasks of life. Sadly, it is the most common of all dementias; it is believed that as many as 4-5 million Americans may suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are generally the same; a progressive lack of memory that eventually comes to interfere with everyday life. An Alzheimer’s patient, in their beginning stages, will commonly exhibit what appear to be normal age-related mistakes - a forgotten name, face, and location. Quite often, they find problems spelling some words or doing math questions. As the condition continues and worsens, the forgetfulness begins to interfere with daily, day-to-day routines and, in some cases, may drive the patient to become anxious or aggressive. Ultimately, there is almost always a need for total care as the victim not only loses memories of who s/he was, but also deteriorates until not even knowing the body’s simplest of functions.

The term ‘disease’ may not be the best to describe Alzheimer’s. Thus far, scientists still do not know what causes this condition. Lumped in with a variety of various dementias, it is considered to be a brain disorder that noticeably affects a person’s ability to carry out daily routines or activities.

Based on behavior and mannerisms, Alzheimer’s cannot be determined by EEG, brain scan or other laboratory instruments and tests. In fact, the only way to give a definite diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is for the brain to be examined for amyloid plaques (abnormal clumps) and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain tissues. Unluckily, this can only be performed post-mortem (after the patient has died). It was the presence of these very same brain abnormalities that Germany’s Dr. Alois Alzheimer noticed, upon examining the brain tissue of a woman who had passed away, following an unusual mental illness in 1906, hence the name of the condition.