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What exactly is Alzheimer’s disease and why do I hear so much about it in the news? Is it the most common illness in the elderly?
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slowly worsening brain disease that is marked by changes in behavior and personality and by a decline in thinking abilities that cannot be reversed (National Institute of Aging Report). The risk for AD increases with age. After age 65, the percentage of people who have the disease doubles with every decade of life. As noted earlier, AD is not a part of normal aging, but a specific disease. Without disease, the human brain continues to function well, often into the tenth decade of life.
Picture 3 shows the differences between a normal aging brain and a brain of someone with AD. When the brain of someone with AD is autopsied, scientists find two abnormal structures: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (Figure 4/5). Located outside and around neurons, plaques are dense deposits of an amyloid protein and other associated proteins. Neurofibrillary tangles are twisted fibers inside neurons.
AD is a devastating disease to the individual, their family and the community. As scientists continue to unravel its causes and explore potential treatments, there is a great deal of interest on the part of families and the health care community.
Although it is estimated that about 4,000,000 people in the United States have AD, it is not the most common disease or cause of death (see table 6) . However, AD is one of the most costly in terms of health care and family suffering. Family caregivers of AD patients play an important role in keeping their loved one at home and well attended, but they often due so at great cost to their own physical and emotional health.
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Cause of Death
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65+
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65 to 74
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75 to 84
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85+
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Diseases of the Heart
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2066
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984
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2543
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7098
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Malignant Neoplasm
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1068
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843
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1313
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1639
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Cerebrovascular Disease
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431
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155
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554
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1707
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Picture 3 (top right): PET Scan of a Normal Brain (left) and Alzheimer's Brain (right)
Figure 4/5 (left): Plaques and Tangles
Table 6 (bottom right): Death Rates (per 100,000 population) for Three Leading Causes of Death (Source: National Center for Health Statistics)
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