Essay On Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer 's Disease:

Alzheimer 's disease was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, the man credited for discovering this disease in 1906. Dr. Alzheimer described the two characteristics of this disease: plaques and tangles. Plaques are a buildup of proteins in the brain that are toxic to brain cells at high concentrations [1]. Another protein called "tangles" interrupt the processes in the brain and eventually lead to the nerve cells losing connection to one another, and they eventually die [5]. Due to this cell death, the brain undergoes significant shrinkage. The absence of certain chemicals that transmit signals (neurotransmitters) in the brain, such as choline, can also cause this disease [3]. Because of this buildup, this disease gets

This comic is for people who have a friend or relative with Alzheimer 's disease, because it mirrors what those people feel; the loss of their friend or loved one to this terrible disease. This comic could be directed at a people, and also younger children who are wondering why their relative does not remember them, or why their relative is acting differently than the child had remembered. This portrays a neutral message as it merely states one of the most common traits of Alzheimer 's disease, which is personality change. We don 't know enough about this disease to know what the victims are really thinking or feeling. Though every person is different, Alzheimer 's disease makes people act and think in ways that they normally wouldn 't. They often act out of character, feel angry, lose interest in hobbies, or act withdrawn from the world [1]. This is an important issue in society today because there is no cure for Alzheimer 's disease, and as of today it cannot be prevented or slowed, and by 2025, an estimated 7.1 million people who are 65 and older will be diagnosed with Alzheimer 's disease. In Canada, there were 747,000 people affected by this disease, and it is estimated that this costs the healthcare system approximately $33 billion dollars per year in both direct and indirect costs (from medical bills and lost earnings)[2]. Worldwide,