Alzheimer’s Disease is the Most Common form of Dementia

Alzheimer’s Disease â€Å"What is Alzheimer’s disease (AD)?† Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia that affects an individual’s memory, cognition, and behavior disturbances that ultimately diminishes their quality of life.1-2 Dementia is not a specific disease it is a general term for a variety of symptoms that affect memory and intellectual thinking that causes difficulty in our tasks of daily living.(5) The confusion between these two terms is extraordinary. It’s helpful to think of dementia as the symptom and to think of AD as the cause of that symptom. Although, there are many causes of dementia for the purpose of this paper, Alzheimer’s will be the only one discussed. A German physician, Alois Alzheimer, first described AD in 1907 after working with a woman in her 50s, Auguste D, in 1902.4 Of course at that time no research had been conducted on this devastating disease. When Mr. Alzheimer first started working with her, Auguste D experienced restlessness, anxiousness, and confusion.4 Each day Auguste D would present with a negative attitude and it became difficult and even impossible to examine her.4 Because of Auguste D’s behavioral disturbances she often spent the day in a warm bath in an attempt to calm the symptoms of agitation.4 During the night, Auguste D was often isolated because she would wander and would wake other patients because she failed to go to sleep.4 Mr. Alzheimer developed a plan of care which focused on outdoor activity,Show MoreRelatedAlzheimer s Disease : A Common Neurodegenerative Disease1110 Words   |  5 PagesAlzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease. It is the most common form of dement ia which is a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life (Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia). 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