The Need For More Researches Of Alzheimer’s Disease

The brain is a very powerful organ, but as we age the most important functions that the brain controls start to lose touch and slowly deteriorates as a result. Why is this relevant? In 2019, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that 5. 8 million people are currently living with Alzheimer’s in this country alone. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the biggest causes of memory loss for the elderly, however in contrast Alzheimer’s is an often underlooked disease that is not researched enough. Alzheimer’s should be not only be addressed, it should be researched far more thoroughly in order to locate the cause or it will only become worse further into the future.

Alzheimer’s is a significant issue for individuals in the Silent Generation and the Baby Boomer generation who are reaching ages 60 and over, and it will affect younger generations once they’re gone if nothing is done to either prevent or diminish the disease’s effects. As stated by the Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s is defined by the Alzheimer’s Association as “a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks”. Alzheimer’s mainly affects the temporal lobe in the brain, so as one gets older, that part of their brainer slowly gets smaller and smaller, causing simple tasks to become harder and harder to do due to the brains decreasing size. Alzheimer’s was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, when he discovered it in 1906, after he attempted to treat a woman with severe mental illness. She had symptoms of memory loss, trouble with speech, and erratic behavior. He was the first individual to document these symptoms relating to a specific physiological issue, and as a result Dr. Alois Alzheimer was the first to document a case of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's Association reports high death tolls compared to other deadly diseases, the association states “Between 2000 and 2017, the number of deaths from Alzheimer’s disease as recorded on death certificates has more than doubled, increasing 145 percent, while the number of deaths from the number one cause of death (heart disease) decreased 9 percent”.

At this time, there is no discovered cure for Alzheimer’s and the only current medication and methods of delaying the issues associated with this disease simply slow down it’s progression. Alzheimer’s affects the body in multiple ways, altering a person’s thinking, cause depression, speech displacement, and varying mood swings. Alzheimer’s affects someone’s mindset cognitively, often-times resulting in significant changes to the individual’s overall behavior. The University of Massachusetts Medical School elaborates on how Alzhermier’s can break down the brain from the inside. Jim Fessenden’s states in his article “Study shows inflammation may lead to the spread of Alzheimer’s plaques” published in University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2017 that “A key physiological component of Alzheimer’s disease is the presence of extracellular plaques, primarily composed of beta-amyloid peptides, which aggregate in the brain. These plaques are believed to be toxic and the chief cause of nearby neuron death and cortical material loss. The hippocampus, which plays an important role in short-term memory, is one of the first regions of the brain to suffer damage from Alzheimer’s ” (para. 4). Alzheimer’s targets the portion of the brain that we use the most, making daily task harder and harder to complete because of distraction and forgetfulness due to the disease. It causes the individual to forget their tasks and later resulting in the individual simply not knowing what the task is itself was, showing us that Alzheimer’s takes away a person’s independence along with the individual’s memories. Someone with Alzheimer’s lose their ability to do things that at one time was easy for them to do, simple tasks like doing laundry essentially become more difficult as the disease progresses. An individual struggles to grasp concepts that they once came easy to them, and as a result, their family has to pick up the weight that their family member is now unable to do.

Alzheimer’s does not only affect the patient, but also the whole family. It’s not just one person being affected by the disease, the whole family must adjust to their family member’s deteriorating memory. Caregivers are the ones who have to deal with the changes when their family has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which is highlighted by people who share their stories like The Bright Focus Foundation. The Bright Focus Foundation tells the stories of those who take care of loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and in Kathleen Allen’s article “Three Experienced Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers Share Their Stories and Lessons,” the three caregivers give their take on what’s it like to live with someone with Alzheimer’s and dementia. One caregiver describes the pain and guilt that they have for not being able to help their loved one through ups and downs of Alzheimer’s, for instance Marie and her husband story explains Marie’s difficulty managing her husband who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago. She describes how hard it is to deal with her husband in this state, focusing on how she feels guilty about the whole situation.

Allen describes the pain that Marie is dealing with her husband, expounding “Through tears, Marie expressed her overwhelming feelings of guilt - guilt for being angry with him for having this disease, guilt for being angry that his behavior makes their life more difficult, and guilt when she wishes things were the way they used to be. She has taken classes to better understand the disease and says she sometimes reads online caregiver comments, identifying with the guilty feelings people express” (para. 5-6). Her perspective shows the amount of pain and struggle that goes along with dealing with someone who has Alzheimer’s. Marie’s story is an example of the struggles one must deal with for those who have to take care of individuals with Alzheimer’s. A whole family must change their lifestyles since one family member can no longer function as they used to do. Maria’s story shows the struggle of pain, sacrifice, and adjustments that have to be made when someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect one person, it affects the whole family. There is not enough research being done to see what causes Alzheimer’s. The medications that are known are only small fixes to only a larger problem at hand. The population of those who will suffer with this disease in the next thirty years will only increase as time goes on. It is very costly and timely to take care of someone with Alzheimer’s, and insurance will only cover so much. The Alzheimer’s Association reports “Homecare: A paid non-medical home health aide is $22 per hour and $132 per day. Adult day services: $72 per day. Assisted living facilities: $4,000 per month or $48,000 per year. Private room in a nursing home is $275 per day or $100,375 per year. Semi-private room in a nursing home: $245 per day or $89,297 per year”. Care is very expensive and not every family is fortunate enough to afford decent health care. Healthcare is not affordable, and depending on the family circumstances, the care could fall potentially on a whole family.

Alzheimer’s is being forgotten. The more we forget about the disease the worse it will become. Alzheimer’s is being forgotten in the fight to cure multiple cancers and diseases, and it should not be overlooked because Alzheimer’s also affects generations in the long run. The disease needs to be researched more so families won’t have to go through what Maria had to deal with in her life. The two major medications that are out now aren’t cures, but small fixes to a large problem. More work needs to be done so families won’t feel the weight of the world taking care of their loved ones.