Question

Why might Alzheimer's Disease be undiagnosed in an elderly patient? Certainly lack of access to healthcare or lack of literacy can contribute (ie, “oh, Grandma’s just getting old” or “Uncle Henry is getting more crotchety”).  For this answer, (1) consider one biological factor that can contribute to this problem. Create a thread, provide a descriptive title, and explain your answer in 3-5 sentences using details from the course material (and references).  (2) Once submitted, provide a response to one peer. Again, support your response with details (and references if necessary).  (2-3 sentences)  

Answer 1

Alzheimer's disease

Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. It can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities. Alzheimer's disease is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behaviour. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. Worldwide estimates of prevalence vary, with estimates of 24 to 35 million people affected Combined with an aging population, prevalence is expected to increase to 1 in 85 people by 2050 (Ridge et al 2013,A Alzheimer’s Disease: Analysing the Missing Heritability)

Alzheimer’s is a heterogeneous disease caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. The most important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is age. Environmental risk factors include hypertension, oestrogen supplements, smoking, stroke, heart disease, depression, arthritis, and diabetes. In addition, certain lifestyle choices appear to decrease the risk of AD: exercise, intellectual stimulation, and maintaining a Mediterranean diet including fish (Ridge et al 2013, Alzheimer’s disease: Analysing the Missing Heritability)

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive condition, which means the symptoms develop gradually over many years and eventually become more severe. It affects multiple brain functions. The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is usually minor memory problems. For example, this could be forgetting about recent conversations or events, and forgetting the names of places and objects. As the condition develops, memory problems become more severe and further symptoms can develop, such as:

• confusion, disorientation and getting lost in familiar places
• difficulty planning or making decisions
• problems with speech and language
• problems moving around without assistance or performing self-care tasks
• personality changes, such as becoming aggressive, demanding and suspicious of others
• hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there) and delusions (believing things that are untrue)
• low mood or anxiety

The exact cause of Alzheimer's disease is not yet fully understood, although a number of things are thought to increase your risk of developing the condition on of the main biological factor which leads to this condition is Age. Initial phase of this disease is noticed by the age of 65(NHS United kingdom, 2010). The misconception that slight loss of memory is the part of ageing process is the biggest           hindrance for early diagnosis of this disease.