Welcome to Tigrai Online,      Daily News that matters


What is Alzheimer’s disease

By Melissa Lahti, Jan. 03 2009

Several times in my line of work I have had the opportunity to work with people who have Alzheimer’s disease. I find this to be a very interesting disease as it affects each person so differently. Some of them walk around endlessly and refuse to sit still while others sit on the couch and refuse to move. As a caregiver I can be talking with someone who seems to be perfectly normal and within a matter of minutes they suddenly don’t know who they are or where they are. They don’t even remember talking to me and will ask my name several times in a short conversation. I chose to research this disease because I realized even though I have spent many hours with Alzheimer’s patients, I really don’t know anything about the disease itself. I am genuinely looking forward to learning more about it.

After browsing through the website for the Alzheimer’s Association www.alz.org I learned a lot. Alzheimer’s was named after the German doctor Alois Alzheimer who first described the disease in 1906. One thing I never realized was that Alzheimer’s can affect people as young as thirty years of age. It typically affects people over the age of sixty-five but, out of the estimated 5.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s today about 500,000 are under the age of 65. Every 71 seconds another person develops this disease. As it directly affects the brain it greatly diminishes the quality of life and always leads to fatality. It literally shrinks the brain to a point where it can no longer function.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. At this point in time there is no cure for this horrible disease but researchers and doctors have developed a few drugs to help people with the symptoms. Typically a person with Alzheimer’s lives an average of eight years but can live up to twenty years. How long a person lives with the disease depends on the age they were when they were diagnosed and the condition of their health before the disease.

Alzheimer’s may begin to develop in the brain as early as twenty years before diagnosis. At which time a person would have no idea what was coming ahead. That is why alz.org recommends these ten important warning signs of early detection.

  1. Memory Loss – not being able to remember things right after they happened
  2. Performing Familiar Tasks – such as dialing a telephone
  3. Forgetting Simple Words
  4. Disorientation – forgetting what day it is or where you are
  5. Poor Judgment – such as dressing inappropriately for the weather
  6. Problems with Abstract Thinking – forgetting what numbers are and how to use them
  7. Misplacing Things – putting them in unusual places
  8. Rapid Mood Swings
  9. Dramatic Personality Changes
  10. No Initiative
If at any time you are worried you might be showing signs of this it is always a good idea to check with your doctor and get peace of mind.

Sponsored Links

Melissa Lahti Tigrai Online contributer
Melissa Lahti is a blogger and an author of many articles. She is a regular contributor to Tigrai Online. Melissa writes about family, children’s health, relationships, and Movies and Entertainment. Many of her articles can be found right here on Tigrai Online.

Please e-mail me if you have any comments, questions or suggestions at the following e-mail address; admin@needgreatinfo.com

More Articles

Teething babies and infants and how to deal with them

Nosebleed, what cause it and how to stop nosebleeding

Ear Infection or Teething what is hurting my baby?

How to remove a broken spark plug embedded deep down in the engine block

Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin outgoing CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) won the Yara Prize 2012.

Addis Ababa becoming the New York of Africa

Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi and an Italian firm to build the largest steel factory in Ethiopia

Ethiopian Airlines Takes Delivery of 1st Customized Q-400

TDA-UK Members and Supporters Buy Bonds Worth Ł46,110

Tragic month transforms Ethiopian Facebook: Will it last?

80 Eritrea-Bound Trucks With Contraband Intercepted By Sudanese Security

International Crisis Group’s Erroneous Assertions on Late Premier

MoFA’s bearings on the Nile is without error

World Bank Approves US$600 million New Funding for Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn : Interview Part one and two

EPRDF back on track, pro toxic campaigners back in the dark

The two Abebes' Partners in crime

Africa’s First, Ethiopian 1st B787 Dreamliner Touches down in Cairo

Sony Professional Solutions has been chosen by Tigrai State Mass Media

Africa’s 1st B777 Freighter Arrives in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia and Kenya get $348 million from the African Development Fund

Allana Potash doubles its Ethiopia land holdings

Observations in post Meles Ethiopia

What is your free advice to Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn

Meles political torch Passes to a young vibrant generations

EPRDF Council elects Ato Hailemariam Desalegn as its Chairman

Egypt’s Shallow Military Threat

Anna Gomez - Stop Meddling in the Internal Political affairs of Ethiopia

Wikileaks reports say Egypt was planning to bomb the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam

Ethiopia says goodbye to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in a spectacular state funeral

Ethiopian Graduates 197 Professionals

The Ethiopian Patriarch His Holiness Abune Paulos passes away at 76

Ethiopians in the DC Celebrate Send Off of the First Boeing 787 Dream Liner to Ethiopia

17 August 2012: Ethiopian to Receive 3rd Boeing 787 Ever Manufactured

Ethiopian First Dreamliner Clad in Ethiopian Livery

Ethiopian Airlines Targets August for 787 Dreamliner Delivery

Sponsored Links