Why is Alzheimer's the Most Dangerous Factor Leading to Memory Impairment - Essay Sample

Introduction

According to the disease facts and statistics report published in 2014 by the Alzheimer Association within the United States, most elderly Americans die of Alzheimer's disease. Then report indicates that over 5 million Americans are at significant risk of such strange diseases (Vos et al., 2015). The condition has been published among the six primary killer disease in the United States. Recent reports from scholars and Healthcare professionals estimate close to 500 thousand residents who have Alzheimer's.

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The mortality rate for older adults report indicates that one in three adults die of dementia or Alzheimer's. The total cost spent on Alzheimer's treatment is over two hundred billion dollars. Close to 150 billion dollars is spent on Medicaid and Medicare (Vos et al., 2015). According to the 2013 health report, 60% of caregivers for people with Alzheimer's suffer from stress and pay close to 9.3 billion dollars to maintain their situation (Vos et al., 2015). Also, the impact caused by the disease is evident across a large number of individuals. Many caregivers spend most of their time attending to the patients while sacrificing their alternative duties.

From a health viewpoint, issues as survival rates and mortality rates are very crucial when dealing with public health issues. The predictions obtained from the life expectancy of a particular group of people are essential for identifying the various negative consequences associated with a specific disease over a specified period.

The data obtained has a wide area of application in planning and allocating health resources such as health personnel, medicine, and other health resources. Alzheimer's is one of the leading dementia diseases reported to increase the number of people dying over the last 30 years.

From 1990 to 2013, the condition has registered the highest mortality rate among the patients (Vos et al., 2015). The most prevalent areas affected by such killer disease are parts of Asia and the Pacific and developed regions such as North America. Determining the likelihood of survival or death from patients with dementia is of great importance (Vos, 2015). Taking into consideration the Patient's Fate is essential for families, patients, and doctors. It is necessary because factors such as resource allocation period can only be predicted by providing accurate estimates.

Most researchers argue that Alzheimer's disease lacks a specific cause. Several factors within a Human life may result in developing Alzheimer's disease. Several factors, such as living environment, people's lifestyle, and genetics, have been reported to be significant accelerators. Scientists have specified certain known risks that cause Alzheimer's disease. Most factors, such as age, hereditary genes, and family history, remain a challenge to most people.

However, other factors are influenced by human behaviors, such as lifestyle. Alzheimer's disease is believed to develop from the build-up of Protenous substances within the brain cells. Specific proteins are referred to as amyloid form plaque around the brain cells through deposits. Tangles can also be formed by other forms of proteins such as tau. The exact cause of protein to appear is not yet established (NIH MedlinePlus Magazine, 2018). However, most scientists argue that it begins many years before the emergence of symptoms.

The disease affects the brain leading to neurotransmitters (chemical messengers), which help inactive signals and message sending between brain cells. People experiencing Alzheimer's issues have low acetylcholine and neurotransmitters in their brains.

This results in different brain areas collapsing, especially the area responsible for memories. The condition may grow worse, affecting most brain parts. The most common symptoms portrayed by people with Alzheimer's disease are language and poor vision as opposed to memory.

The most known factor causing Alzheimer's is an increase in aging. Most Scholars argue that an increase in age is not directly attached to the disease. Most individuals affected by the disease are aged 65 years and above (Vos et al., 2015). The risk of getting the disease doubles as the person continues to grow older. When a person reaches over 85 years, the expected potential risk is almost a third.

Causes of Alzheimer disease

Family history – it is believed that if one individual suffers from the disease, other people within the family are also at considerable risk of getting the disease. The risk may become intense if there exist several members suffering from the disease (Alzheimer's, 2015). The disease runs through genetic lines throughout the family. Other issues, such as environmental factors, may also play a significant role in increasing disease risks.

Genetics (heredity) – scientists have suggested how genes get involved in Alzheimer's diseases. Most scholars suggest that two forms of genes determine whether an individual gets the infection. The two primary genes are categorized as deterministic genes and risk genes. Both categories show Alzheimer's genes (Alzheimer's, 2015). Deterministic genes constitute less than 1 percent of the total causes.

Other factors, apart from family-related causes, have also been identified, which may lead to Alzheimer's include people's lifestyle and general wellness. How people live determines their health issues too. Cases such as head injury have been linked to likely causes of dementia. People are advised to ensure their homes are fall-proof and also emphasize maintaining other safety measures such as the use of helmets.

Heart-head relationship- There exists a strong interrelation between the brain and the heart. Scholars try to prove the relationship between the head and spirit through various theories; the heart pumps nourished blood to the brain via a network of blood vessels. The existence of such a great relationship explains why patients with brain issues are likely to suffer heart failures causing sudden death.

Incidences of increased risks of dementia condition or Alzheimer Vascular conditions result in potential damage to heart muscles leading to heart failure (Expired Results, 2019). Some heart-related conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes are sometimes a result of brain problems. Plaques and tangles are the major causes of Alzheimer's as per the studies provided by donating brain tissue."

When specific accelerators such as damage to the blood vessels and stroke are present within an individual, getting Alzheimer's becomes more prevalent over time.

Some scholars suggest that Alzheimer's dementia is prevalent in a particular group of people than others. For example, African-Americans and Latinos are at a higher risk of getting affected by Alzheimer's disease. Different researches show that old Latinos are more likely to get Alzheimer's disease by one and half times faster than the older whites.

Also, African American rates of understanding other dementias are almost twice compared to their respective whites. However, research does not clearly state the reason for the difference. Most researchers suggest that it's due to the increased vascular disease rate across these groups, which increases their potential risk (Alzheimer's disease, 2019).

Some scholars recommend various ways to fight Alzheimer's disease. Some argue that developing a strategic overall healthy aging can help increase chances for living longer. Multiple ways to ensure Overall healthy aging provided by scholars include; exercising both the body and mind and eating a healthy diet. Other scholars suggest avoiding excessive use of alcohol and smoking, as well as staying socially active, can help reduce risks associated with Alzheimer's.

For a long period, the primary cause of Alzheimer's disease, which is a deteriorating disease that starts with unnoticeable hand tremor; however, with time interrupts the movement, balance, and muscle control. According to the scientists' perceptions, Lack of dopamine causes Alzheimer's s disease, and the deficiency is thought to come from a syndrome of the nerve cells in the part of the brain that yields the chemical (Vos et al., 2015). Furthermore, dopamine is not the only neurotransmitter that is affected by Alzheimer's s disease. The illness affects several chemical systems in the brain, with dopamine being the most acknowledged and the most significant cause.

Alzheimer's disease is a movement illness that disturbs the nervous system with symptoms worsening as the condition persists in the body of the altered victim. Its symptoms develop since they begin with a barely noticeable tremble in one hand with a stiffness feeling in the body (Zhao, et al., 2016). After some time, other symptoms will start forming as some people will develop dementia. However, most of the symptoms are a result of the drop in the levels of dopamine in the brain.

The study that was carried out in France in 2015 depicted that men are the most affected as they are at high risk of getting the disease with the probability of 50% likely to develop the disorder than their counterparts (women). However, women's risk of being affected by Alzheimer's increases with the increase in age (O'Regan et al., 2015).

Symptoms are thought to show up at the age of 60 in most of the people who are concerned with Alzheimer's disease. However, there are rare cases that range from as low as 5-10% of the evidence that tends to show up earlier than expected. In cases like this, where the disorder emerges before a person reaches 50 years, the condition is known as "early-onset Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's, 2015)."

Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease include A tremor in the hands; There is a decreased logic of transmission and balance, which can make an individual fail to grasp items as they may be likely to fall. A person's posture may change, as most of the affected victims will tend to lean slightly forward, and in some cases, they may advance a shuffling gait (Kivipelto et al., 2017). Voice will be affected as there will be tremors, and the affected person may tend to speak softly than before, and people with Alzheimer's s at an early stage will lose their sense of smell. Also, some of the apparent symptoms of the disease include Despair and change of moods, Urination problems, Lack of sleep, and Skin problems.

However, it is essential to recognize early symptoms of the disease since most people take advantage of the early signs and assume them to be reasonable and thus sow no need for seeking medical attention (Zhao, et al., 2016). However, when identifying the disease, the first treatment is more likely to be efficient if the affected person seeks medical advice in the early developmental stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Hence one should get an initial diagnosis as early as possible. Since if the symptoms express themselves fully, the diagnosis may not as effective as expected. Hence, in this case, there will be several other conditions with similar symptoms that will make it difficult for the doctor to diagnose the disease. These include head trauma, stroke, drug-induced, corticobasal degeneration, Lewy dementia, advanced supranuclear palsy, and multiple system atrophy.

The principal purpose of Alzheimer's disease is yet to be discovered, but the disease emerges when the nerve cells in the brain. Some of the known causes are Low levels of dopamine: the drop in the level of dopamine in the mind has been linked to the root of Alzheimer's disease as this happens due to the death of cells that secrete dopamine in the brain since dopamine is responsible for the coordination and movement of an individual.