Alzheimers Essay, Research Paper

Most people dream of living a regular, normal everyday life and watching their children

grow up and have families of their own, but for some people these dreams and all their

memories from their past can be erased and lost in an ageless disease that affects more

then four million Americans today. Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive disease that varies

from person to person and robs its victims of their past and future. Alzheimer’s Disease is

known as the “Great Eraser” and turns everyday normal people into helpless and lifeless

individuals who are left being cared for by a caregiver such as family or friends because

they are unable to take care of themselves. Not only does this disease affect the person

who has the disease but also takes a great toll on the family members who have to live

with the victims. Alzheimer’s leaves family members feeling helpless, sad, confused and

angry because they feel that there is more that they could do or that they could have done

with them in the past when they were more healthier and were able to do more things.

Today more then 100,000 Americans die each year from Alzheimer’s Disease. The number

of deaths keep rising and this is leaving families of the victims looking for answers to

questions that not even scientists or doctors can figure out about the disease, like why this

disease is caused and how this disease can be cured.

Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder that destroys

mental and physical functioning in human beings and eventually leads to death, not

because of the disease itself but because the disease eventually causes the body to

shutdown the parts a body needs to keep a person alive. Alzheimer’s Disease is the fourth

leading cause of deaths in adults. Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurological disease that takes

away a person’s memory of their past and future. Alzheimer’s Disease eventually causes a

person to not be able to take care of themselves anymore. The people who develop

Alzheimer’s Disease often experience a wide variety and mixture of emotions, they are

usually confused, frustrated, angry, scared and feel depression. The victims feel this way

because they lose their social and interest abilities that interfere with everyday functions.

(Alzheimer’s Association)

Alzheimer’s Disease worsens with the advancing of age, although there is no

evidence that it is caused by the aging process. The average life expectancy of a person

who has Alzheimer’s Disease is anywhere from five to ten years, but some patients today

can live up to fifteen years due to the improvements of modern technology and

medications. The cause of Alzheimer’s Disease is still today not known and has not yet

been discovered by scientist or doctors. Alzheimer’s Disease also can not be absolutely

confirmed in the human body until an autopsy has been done and the brain cells have been

examined thoroughly and completely. Although there is no cure or no way to prevent

Alzheimer’s Disease, researchers have made great progress in the last five years or so.