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Alzheimer: Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Alzheimer’s Association. (2018). 2018 Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 14(3), 367-429.

The article by the Alzheimer’s association primarily offers a public description of the public health effect of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It provides essential information such as the incidence and prevalence, costs of care, morbidity, mortality, and the general effect on society and caregivers. Essentially, the article aimed at examining the benefits of early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, especially in the stage of mild cognitive impairment arising from AD. The disease has become one of the leading causes of death in the United States with a massive projection of 13.8 million people, while as of 2018; an approximation of 5.7 million Americans lived with AD. The statistics and analysis in this article are essential in this research since it gives well-founded information on AD, which remains invaluable when determining the contemporary influence of the disease on society. Subsequently, it helps in understanding whatever it will take the United States and the globe to reduce the impact of the disease through various approaches. With the realization of the benefits of an early diagnosis, research in this topic should only make such progress better to help in suppressing the health and socioeconomic effects of the disease.

Bird, T. D. (2018). Alzheimer’s disease overview. In GeneReviews®[Internet]. University of Washington, Seattle.

The article by Thomas Bird focuses on providing an overview of Alzheimer’s disease to increase clinical awareness concerning Alzheimer’s disease (AD), its causes, and subsequent management. According to Bird, AD usually begins with subtle and poorly recognized memory failure, which develops to become severe and ultimately incapacitating the patient. In some extreme cases, death can arise primarily because of general inanition, pneumonia, and malnutrition. Because of the causes of this disease, clinicians need to develop a precise understanding of the circumstances around the condition, which then helps in embracing the most effective treatment options. Since the disease can also arise from genetic associations, an early and proper diagnosis is vital toward finding a lasting solution to the problem, which, although may fail to eliminate the disease, can reduce its influence. 

Therefore, the article is essential in this research since it contributes to a significant base of knowledge that will help in understanding the basics of the disease. The study will seek to conceptualize the causes and management of the disease, in which the article provides its overview adequately.

Bradburn, S., Murgatroyd, C., & Ray, N. (2019). Neuroinflammation in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: A meta-analysis. Ageing research reviews, 50, 1-8.

Bradburn, Murgatroyd, and Ray provide a detailed meta-analysis to examine neuroinflammation in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, neuroinflammation plays a critical in the progression of dementia, which provides a precise opportunity to examine the existence of spatial or temporal susceptibility to neuroinflammatory processes in the brain and their correspondence to the development of AD. In the quest to research about the AD, this article offers extensive insights since it involved 28 studies with an incredible 755 subjects as well as 37 brain regions. This increases the reliability of the information contained in the article, thereby becoming relevant for the research. Besides, the study found a significant association of increased neuroinflammation in the progression of AD, mild cognitive impairment, which is relative to healthy controls. 

The Research: Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the common neurological disorders dominating the globe with a significant presence in the United States. The disease involves the death of brain cells, which then causes memory loss and cognitive decline. It is also the most common type of dementia and accounts for over 60 percent of dementia cases in the United States alone. At the initial stages, patients tend to show mild symptoms, which further develops severely over time. Therefore, the disease is a progressive disorder that causes degeneration and subsequent cell death. At the early stages, a person with AD can forget recent events and conversations, which later grow into severe memory impairment and further loses the ability to undertake daily tasks. Although very common among the elderly, AD is not a disease for the age despite increasing age being one of the primary underlying factors. According to Bird (2018), several younger Americans live with AD, a group known as early-onset Alzheimer’s. 

Causes and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Although there is room for further research on the exact causes of AD, genetic mutations are likely to be the cause, especially in early-onset Alzheimer’s. According to Bird (2018), individuals with a family history of this condition are likely to experience the condition. Besides, late-onset situations usually involve multiple susceptibility genes. That is, the state, in this case, arises from a complex series of brain changes that occur over a long period. These can be a result of a combination of lifestyle factors, environmental conditions, and genetics. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between sown syndrome and AD since there is clinical evidence showing that individuals with Down syndrome tend to show cognitive decline (Bird, 2018). 

Conversely, individuals suffering from this disorder tend to exhibit difficulty in recalling recent events and newly acquired information in its initial stages. However, with time, the disease develops further and becomes noticeable with a slowed thinking and occasional problems in remembering simple things. With the brain cells further affected, the memory loss becomes more severe, confusion is likely to arise, and the individual may experience significant changes in the mind. Interestingly, people with this condition may find it difficult to recognize they have a problem, such that the changes in mood, behaviors, and the disorientations may only be noticeable by the caregivers (Bradburn et al., 2019). Notwithstanding, people with this condition can also find it difficult to perform everyday duties such as preparing a meal, driving, and settling due bills. They can also ask simple questions that may seem rhetoric to the caregivers when they need a response. As it progresses to advanced stages, the patient may become violent, angry, and worried. 

Treatment and Management Options

Currently, there is no absolute cure for AD. However, clinicians and caregivers help manage the symptoms, which helps prolong life after diagnosis. In most cases, individuals suffering from this disease can last up to four years when they are 80 years and older at the time of diagnosis (Bird, 2018). However, they can also take up to 10 years when diagnosed at an early stage and age. The main challenge with the condition lies in the reality that the death of brain cells is irreversible. 

Despite there being no cure, therapeutic interventions can make it easier for people to live longer with the disease even after diagnosis. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 2018, it is essential to manage every condition that occurs alongside AD. It is also critical to embrace activities and daycare programs as we involve the patients in support groups and services (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018). Moreover, there are drug options to help in managing the symptoms to improve quality of life. The drugs under this category in the United States include Donepezil, Tacrine, and Rivastigmine. 

Effects 

Since the disease has no cure, the consequences can be very devastating for both patient, family, and loved ones. Especially in the long-term, the effects worsen to include suicidal thoughts and behaviors. There is a possibility of developing an inability to communicate the pain and symptoms of the illnesses. The patient can also experience a sense of loss of self, severe injuries arising from falling, inability to swallow properly, and increased vulnerability to pneumonia. Acute stages of this disease lead to the holistic spread of plaques and tangles in the brain (Bird, 2018). This makes the tissues shrink significantly, thereby rendering the patient unstable with no chances of communicating and at the full support of the caregivers. In the event of premature death, the family can experience a significant loss, especially if the patient was the primary provider. 

Conclusion

Despite being the most common type of dementia and one of the leading causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s disease still has no cure. The disease occurs when plaques form in the brain with the spread progressive enough to cause the death of brain cells. Reversal of the dead cells has proven challenging currently, with the clinicians and caregivers only working to manage the symptoms through various methods. Since the disease is progressive, the symptoms often worsen, and it becomes difficult to remember recent conversations, events, newly learned concepts, and even recognize people because of memory loss. However, according to Alzheimer’s Association, early diagnosis of the condition is critical as it helps in providing essential medical, emotional, and social benefits to the patient, family, and society. Furthermore, early diagnosis is useful as it helps save the cost of healthcare and provides better decision-making opportunities when the patient can still reason. It is also critical for individuals to occult their doctors in situations when they feel worrying concerns about memory loss since other conditions also tend to show dementia symptoms without necessarily being Alzheimer’s.