Alzheimer's Disease Essay

Alzheimer's Disease Essay

Alzheimer's Disease, progressive brain disorder that causes a gradual and irreversible decline in memory, language skills, perception of time and space, and, eventually, the ability to care for oneself. First described by German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer in 1906, Alzheimer's disease was initially thought to be a rare condition affecting only young people, and was referred to as presenile dementia. Today late–onset Alzheimer's disease is recognised as the most common cause of the loss of mental function in those aged 65 and over. Alzheimer's in people in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, called early–onset Alzheimer's disease, occurs much less frequently, accounting for less than 10 percent of the estimated 4 million Alzheimer's cases in the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Alzheimer's patients may live many years with the disease, usually dying from other disorders that may develop, such as pneumonia. Typically the time from initial diagnosis until death is seven to ten years, but this is quite variable and can range from three to twenty years, depending on the age of onset, other medical conditions present, and the care patients receive.



The brains of patients with Alzheimer's have distinctive formations–abnormally shaped proteins called tangles and plaques–that are recognised as the hallmark of the disease. Not all brain regions show these characteristic formations. The areas most prominently affected are those related to memory.



Tangles are long, slender tendrils found inside nerve cells, or neurons. Scientists have learned that when a protein called tau becomes altered, it may cause the characteristic tangles in the brain of an Alzheimer's patient. In healthy brains, tau provides structural support for neurons, but in Alzheimer's patients this structural support collapses.



Plaques, or clumps of fibres, form outside the neurons in the adjacent brain tissue. Scientists found that a type of protein, called amyloid precursor protein, forms toxic plaques when it is cut in two places. Researchers have isolated the enzyme beta–secretase, which is believed to make one of the cuts in the amyloid precursor protein. Researchers also identified another enzyme, called gamma secretase that makes the second cut

... Get more on HelpWriting.net ...