Dementia

THE DEVASTATION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE HOW WE’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE

For an individual with Alzheimer’s, the disease eventually affects every part of his or her life. It also will significantly impact the lives of that person’s loved ones. For example, a woman who once lived alone and was stubbornly independent now requires 24-hour supervision just to ensure her basic safety. Or an articulate, highly educated man does not even recognize his children, or becomes overwhelmed when choosing which shirt to wear. And the exhausted, anxious family members and friends struggling to cope with the responsibilities of Alzheimer’s care desperately seek the support of respite services. No doubt, many of you are already well acquainted with Alzheimer’s disease; through your work, you’ve seen its effects on numerous individuals and their families. And you know that Alzheimer’s disease respects no boundaries. From a former President to the average citizen in our hometown, Alzheimer’s can strike anyone, anywhere.

In fact, it’s already ravaged the lives of five million older Americans. Maybe you’ve even grappled with the hopelessness and despair of Alzheimer’s in your own family. Regardless of your prior experience, though, we can all agree on this: those with Alzheimer’s disease always get worse and always end up needing full-time assistance with daily living.

So, what is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s – the most common form of dementia – is a progressive, irreversible and incurable disease that causes the deterioration of brain cells. It does this by creating a buildup in the brain of abnormal substances called amyloid plaques (which are harmful protein deposits) and neurofibrillary tangles – twisted fibers inside of brain neurons that inhibit their normal function.

As a result, people with Alzheimer’s typically exhibit behaviors such as anxiety, depression, short-term memory loss and withdrawal – with these early signs of the disease eventually progressing to more serious symptoms such as hoarding; pacing or wandering; restlessness; disorientation; and personality changes. In fact, the definition of the word “dementia” is instructive here. The term – a Latin word, which, when translated exactly, becomes “loss of mind” – means “an intellectual and social decline in functioning due to structural damage of the brain.”

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