Alheimers

The typical visible symptom is progresive and chronic memory loss, and the average duration is ten years. The previous definition

just described Alzhiemers disease. A disease that is considered to be a major public health challenge

since the average age of the industilized world is increasing.

ALheimers disease is destroying the brains and lives of our mations older adults, and robbing the of their memory, the ablity to reason and affecting their emotions and behavior.

Alheimers disease is a degenarative disorder of the brian and the longer we live the greater we are at risk. It has one specific cause and

not a hundred percent accurate diagnosis and as of yet no cure.

This disease has become widely know by many people. In the 1900 the average American was fortyy-nine years old, so very few people weere diagnosised with it. Few lived long enough to develop symptoms. As people grow older today the risk for developing alheimers is greater.

Many illnesses and diseases are named after the doctor or scientist that discovered them. Alheimers is no exception. It's disccovery in 1907 is credited to a German neuropathologist and clinician, Dr.A. Alheimer. He was the first to describe

the gradual mental decline of a forty nine year old women when he did an autopsy of her brain to find the causes of her confusion and memory loss. Dr. Alheimer felt that this women's brain had aged before her body; seeing the increase in confusion and dementia.

During the autopsy Dr alheimer found abnormal deposits of protein both inside and outside of the brain's nerve cells. He called these abnormalities plaques, they were twisted and deformed through out the brain.

The brain is a super computer and many times taken for granted until until

one looses grasp on it.

Before looking at an alzheimer brain understanding the basics of a normal brain is important.

The brain has special nerve cells called neurons to help it communicate with the rest of the body and keep it functioning properly. These cells need nutrients, support and protection to function and that

is gien to them by neurogial cells. The brain hads chemical messangers called neurotransmitters and they can either speed up or slow down the brain activity. The coordination