Alzheimer’s Disease. Gerontology Issues Health, Medicine Essay

Alzheimer’s Disease
4/5/19
Alzheimer’s disease
The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s illness causes memory loss and other mental abilities sufficient enough to disrupt with daily life. A situation of a fifty-seven-year-old male patient happened when the patient visited the dispensary clinic, with complaints of progressive cognitive decrease which had begun three years earlier. Operating as an industrial researcher, he started making severe calculation errors that forced him to resign the job and start operating as a manager in a firm. However, his usual forgetfulness, along with irritation in late memory incapacities obstructed him from accomplishing his roles, forcing him to change jobs repeatedly. Apathy and Apraxia had started two years prior to his visit to the clinic, and confusion to person and time was worsened to an extent which it became difficult to move daily between his home and workplace. At the time of his visit to the clinic, not only was he discharged from his job, but he frequently required a reminder from his family to sustain hygiene. His sleep disruption became notable, occasionally waking in the middle of the night self-talking. From the patient’s case, it is important for researchers to resume researching for ways of treating and preventing Alzheimer’s disease, and also nurses should continue learning how to be more efficient in dementia and Alzheimer’s care. Alzheimer’s disease affects the society and health care in some ways such as care, cost of treatment and support, and also influences the nursing role especially in health care.
Demographics of Alzheimer’s Disease
Statistics show that Alzheimer's disease most commonly affects people over the age of sixty-five years (Sergiev, Dontsova, &Berezkin, 2015). The precise cause of Alzheimer’s disease is not entirely known, but some things are considered to raise the risk to develop the condition. These elements include a family account of the condition, aging, lifestyle conditions and factors related to cardiovascular illnesses. Over five million people living in America are living with Alzheimer's condition, with a sixty-eight percent increase between 2000 and 2010 (Odgers, 2018). Age is the common risk factor of the condition and added together; there will be a significant rise in the number of people living with the condition by 2050.
It is clear from the statistics that Alzheimer's condition affects individuals of age between sixty-five and above, so it is a health concern because as time passes by, more and more people will develop the condition.
Family and Societal Impacts
The effects of Alzheimer’s condition can be overwhelming to the entire family and society especially when a member develops and is diagnosed with the disease. When one is diagnosed with the condition, the diagnosis can set off a span of emotions including fear, sadness, anger, and frustrations (Odgers, 2018). The family needs to make many decisions about care, treatment, finances, living plans, and end of life management. As a result, family disputes are common. According to the caregiver manual, it is crucial to define who will run the decision-making process, how the needs will be complied with, and where the individual will live after the diagnosis. In addition to the overwhelming effects Alzheimer's condition has on the family, the condition creates a massive strain on the American society and its economy, and health care system (Blank, 2018).Thus, nearly everyone is or will be touched by Alzheimer’s condition in their lives and not only the family of the sick but other caregivers around them as well.
The effect Alzheimer's condition has on these caregivers can result in a variety of feelings from anger to guilt, and also have an impact on their financial and physical welfare. These caregivers exhaust their resources when caring for the patients of Alzheimer's disease, and others are not be paid for their caring services (Koca, Taskapilioglu, and Bakar, 2017). Often this situation leaves the caregivers depressed and angry because they spend most of their time caring for these patients. The society is impacted because cases of dementia arise rapidly and not everyone is equipped as they should be. Also, there is an evident lack of knowledge in many countries about the condition, and this lack of awareness can impact everyone in adverse ways. Caring for individuals with Alzheimer's condition will cost every payer- individuals, HMOs, and private insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare- twenty trillion dollars over the next forty years, sufficient enough to end the national debt and still send a ten thousand dollars check to every person in America. So, it is evident that Alzheimer's disease has adverse effects not only on the individual suffering but to the family and society as well. Therefore, it is essential to understand how the condition can be managed to reduce these impacts on society.
Aging Theories
The programmed theories, the damage or error theories are two categories of theories of aging that define the process of aging. The programmed theories state that the human body is intended to age and there is a particular timeline that our bodies track (Sergiev, Dontsova, & Berezkin, 2015). Programmed theories comprise of programmed longevity, Endocrine theory, and immunological theory. Error theories state that environmental damages cause aging to our bodies, which builds up over time (Sergiev, Dontsova, &Berezkin, 2015). Error theories comprise of Free Radicals, Cross-Linking, Wear and Tear, somatic DNA Damage, and Rates of Living. Since aging is a common factor in developing Alzheimer's disease, aging theories are relevant. Aging theories enable researchers to understand the aging process of the brain and see the connections of the neurons which seem to be less efficient or reduced. Aging theories help researchers to understand and see the connection between the aging process and Alzheimer’s disease which research shows to be common among the older adults. Therefore, researchers can develop solutions to prevent the condition from progressing by using these theories. For instance, Error theories comprise of free radicals, so by exercising daily and eating healthy fats that help the brain, I can slow the progression of the condition in a patient. Thus, Aging theories are important for caregivers and researchers because they help to understand and describe the aging process in our bodies and hence work on treatment and care for people with Alzheimer’s disease.
GNEC Essential Skills
GNEC modules are developed for the bachelor’s degrees nurs...