Alzheimer's Evaluation

I have chosen to discuss Alzheimer’s after I had read team D’s presentation on the matter. Alzheimer’s is a type of dementia that causes problems with our memory, the way we think, and finally our behaviors. It changes all of it and it can happen slowly or fast. It is said that there is a seven to ten year chance of survival after diagnosis. So once you’re diagnosed, there isn’t much time left unless you get lucky and live longer than the expectancy. All that really happens with Alzheimer’s is that it gets worse over time so once you’re diagnosed; you can really expect the worse.
There are seven actual stages of Alzheimer’s disease and they are as follows; no impairment, very mild decline, mild decline, moderate decline, moderate severe decline, severe decline, and very severe decline. Then we can take a look at what happens to the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient. Indeed there are three major changes that take place in the brain. They are as follows; amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles (NFT’s) which are found inside neurons, and lastly a loss of connections between neurons that are responsible for memory and learning purposes. As damage spreads, cells lose their ability to do their jobs and, eventually the cells will die, causing irreversible changes and damage to the brain (APA, 2012).
There are also several changes that a person with Alzheimer’s goes through. The changes in the cognitive activities would be the following; memory, concentration, and orientation. Physical changes that occur would be the following; stiffness, loss of ability to walk, and loss of ability to smile. A person will not be able to perform the simple of tasks (Alzheimer’s association, 2012).   Functional abilities that change would be the following; shopping, preparing meals, getting dressed, and taking care of oneself in general. Other changes that follow all of these would be things like our mood and behavior. Both of these are likely to change because once you have Alzheimer’s...