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Home Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet – A Broad Overview

Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet – A Broad Overview

October 29, 2019Aging, Alzheimer's, Dementiamjefferson
head silhouette with empty brainNovember is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. This fact sheet, within an article from The National Institute On Aging, provides a broad overview of the disease that is the most common cause of dementia among older adults.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear in their mid-60s. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that more than 5.5 million Americans, most of them age 65 or older, may have dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s disease is currently ranked as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but recent estimates indicate that the disorder may rank third, just behind heart disease and cancer, as a cause of death for older people.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living.

The causes of dementia can vary, depending on the types of brain changes that may be taking place. Other dementias include Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal disorders, and vascular dementia. It is common for people to have mixed dementia—a combination of two or more types of dementia. For example, some people have both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. After she died, he examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibers (now called neurofibrillary, or tau, tangles). LEARN MORE.

Tags: aging, Alzheimer's, dementia
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assisting hands in Montgomery County, MD

Assisting Hands Home Care provides elder care services and senior in home care services for families across the country.
Maryland License # R3925
Licensed as a Residential Service Agency by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Office of Health Care Quality. Serving Montgomery County, MD: Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, North Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Gaithersburg, Olney, Germantown, and beyond

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Assisting Hands Home Care provides elder care services and senior in home care services for families across the country.
Virginia License # HCO-1837
Licensed as a Home Care Organization by the Virginia Department of Health. Serving Northern Fairfax County, VA: Annandale, Dulles, Dunn Loring, Fairfax, Falls Church, Herndon, McLean, Oakton, Oak Hill, Reston, Tysons Corner, Vienna and beyond

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