Alzheimer’s Disease - Physiological Psychology
Diana Beharry
PSY350: Physiological Psychology
Alzheimer’s Disease
Professor Candice Ward
March 20, 2011
Introduction In 1901, a fifty one year old woman named Frau Auguste D. was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. She had an unusual bunch of symptoms. While she had no history of prior psychiatric illness, her husband had noticed that Frau D. was becoming increasing paranoid, hallucinatory, agitated, disoriented, and having increasing difficulties with language functions and memory. In the hospital, Auguste D. was a patient of Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist who had a particular interest in the microscopic analysis of brain disorders. He describes the clinical features of Auguste D. condition and after four year of being in the hospital when she died Alzheimer used her brain for neuropathological examination. During 1906 in one of Alzheimer’s lectures he describe the characteristic plagues and tangles in Auduste D. brain that are still considered the considered the central features of the disease that now bears his name. (Cipriani, et al., 2011.)
About ten percent of the world’s elderly population suffers from some type of dementia, in which many people eventually become victim to Alzheimer’s disease. There are several neurological disorders that result in dementia, a deterioration of intellectual abilities resulting from an organic brain disorder. The most common form of dementia is called Alzheimer’s disease.(Carlson,2011) My intentions in this paper are to discuss the physiological basis of Alzheimer’s, the prognosis, treatment and the emotional impact this illness. One out of every two families in the United States has a loved one who suffers with AD. Alzheimer’s disease begins an average age of 30 years before the first symptoms. The accumulation of beta amyloid plaques in between nerve cells; Amyloid are protein fragments that our body produce normally and Beta amyloid are protein fragment
PSY350: Physiological Psychology
Alzheimer’s Disease
Professor Candice Ward
March 20, 2011
Introduction In 1901, a fifty one year old woman named Frau Auguste D. was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Frankfurt, Germany. She had an unusual bunch of symptoms. While she had no history of prior psychiatric illness, her husband had noticed that Frau D. was becoming increasing paranoid, hallucinatory, agitated, disoriented, and having increasing difficulties with language functions and memory. In the hospital, Auguste D. was a patient of Alois Alzheimer, a German neurologist who had a particular interest in the microscopic analysis of brain disorders. He describes the clinical features of Auguste D. condition and after four year of being in the hospital when she died Alzheimer used her brain for neuropathological examination. During 1906 in one of Alzheimer’s lectures he describe the characteristic plagues and tangles in Auduste D. brain that are still considered the considered the central features of the disease that now bears his name. (Cipriani, et al., 2011.)
About ten percent of the world’s elderly population suffers from some type of dementia, in which many people eventually become victim to Alzheimer’s disease. There are several neurological disorders that result in dementia, a deterioration of intellectual abilities resulting from an organic brain disorder. The most common form of dementia is called Alzheimer’s disease.(Carlson,2011) My intentions in this paper are to discuss the physiological basis of Alzheimer’s, the prognosis, treatment and the emotional impact this illness. One out of every two families in the United States has a loved one who suffers with AD. Alzheimer’s disease begins an average age of 30 years before the first symptoms. The accumulation of beta amyloid plaques in between nerve cells; Amyloid are protein fragments that our body produce normally and Beta amyloid are protein fragment
References: Richard Alleyne. (2011, March 4). Scientists turn stem cells into brain neurons in Alzheimer 's breakthrough. The Vancouver Sun,B.1. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2284609701). Carlson, N. R. (2011). Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience. Boston: Pearson. Cipriani, G., Dolciotti, C., Picchi, L., & Bonuccelli, U.. (2011). Alzheimer and his disease: a brief history. Neurological Sciences, 32(2), 275-279. Retrieved March 22, 2011, from ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. (Document ID: 2292316601). Kertev, K., (2002.) Physiological Markers for Alzheimer’s Disease. Retrieved March 19, 2011 from http://web.mit.edu/murj/www/v06/v06-Features/v06-f2.pdf Feinberg, M.D., T., Winnie, Y., What to do when the doctor says it’s Early-Stage Alzheimer’s. Fair Winds Press: Gloucester Shankle, M.S. M.D. W., & Amen, M.D. D.,(2004) Preventing Alzheimer’s.G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York Unknown 1, (2011.) Alzheimer’s Disease Research: Plaques and Tangles. Retrieved March 19, 2011 from http://www.ahaf.org/alzheimers/about/understanding/plaques-and-tangles.html Unknown 2, (2011) Alzheimer’s Disease: Steps to Diagnosis. Retrieved March 20, 2011 from http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_steps_to_diagnosis.asp