Alzheimer's Disease Introduction - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Conditions & Diseases: Brain & Nervous System

Alzheimer's Disease

Introduction & Overview

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of presenile dementia leading to irreversible progressive deterioration of brain cells in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. This cell deterioration causes a loss of cognitive functions such as memory, movement coordination, pattern recognition, judgment and reasoning (1).

Death of nerve cells in vital areas of the brain results in a shortfall of neurotransmitters that are also chemical messengers of the brain.

It is important to note that Alzheimer’s disease is a dementing disorder that is not inevitable and is not a natural consequence of aging.

Statistics show that 10% of the people above 65 years of age and 50% people above 85 years suffer from this disease (2).

More than 5 million Americans suffer from the disease with one in eight above 65 years of age, “...including half of those over 85 years.” About 200,000 to 500,000 people of less than 65 years age are also presently suffering from Alzheimer's.

According to projections available, 7.7 million older Americans are expected to suffer from the disease by the year 2030; this figure is expected to rise to 16 million in 2050. One person is estimated to be affected every 72 seconds and by mid century, a person may be affected every 33 seconds (3).

It is essential to note that the disease progresses at “...widely different rates.” The duration of the disease varies from three to 20 years, but on an average people live four to six years after diagnosis of the disease (4).

“Alzheimer’s disease is the ninth leading cause of death among those aged 65 and older” (5).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com