Question

Which of the following main ideas is implied during the passage?


A. It is not likely that doctors will find a cure for Alzheimer's disease because it is so difficult to diagnose.
B. Sufferers of Alzheimer's disease will experience ten symptoms as the disease progresses through different stages.
C. Most sufferers of Alzheimer's disease cannot communicate with doctors because of the loss of language abilities.
D. Alzheimer's disease will greatly affect the abilities of sufferers to lead normal lives.

Answer 1

Imagine the following scenario: Having gone through your regular morning routine—shower, clothes, hair—you enter the kitchen ready to start your day. Looking around, however, you cannot seem to remember what it is you've come here for, despite the fact that you've entered this same kitchen for over forty-five years. Yesterday, you would have gone to the cabinet, reached for a mug, and filled it with coffee and cream. Today, however, you stand in the doorway, smell the freshly brewed coffee, and have no idea what that brown liquid is called, much less how to get on with your morning. Stumped, you wait for some sort of idea on how to proceed, but you begin to fear that you'll be standing in the same spot for the rest of the day.

The above scenario probably seems far-fetched for most people reading this article. For millions of sufferers of Alzheimer's disease, however, it is a fact of life. Pronounced alts'- hi - merz, Alzheimer's is a degenerative brain disease that can cause memory loss, disorientation, and changes in personality. It typically affects people over sixty-five, gradually progressing through early, middle, and late stages, although it is difficult to predict how the disease will affect a given individual.

If the disease typically affects the elderly, then why would a person under the age of twenty want to have any information about it? First, Alzheimer's affects one in ten people over sixty-five, and one half of people over eighty-five. So, even if you never suffer yourself, you will probably feel the effects of this disease—it might be a parent, a friend, a spouse, or a relative, but you have a good chance of seeing someone slowly slip away from the life he or she has known. Secondly, the drugs available for sufferers of Alzheimer's only relieve symptoms—there is no cure or medical treatment currently available that stops the progression of this disease. Although pharmaceutical companies, the federal government, and other organizations fund research on the disease, progress is slow, and more money and time are needed to develop a cure.

With no cure available, it becomes more important to recognize symptoms of Alzheimer's and understand how the disease can affect an individual person. Scientifically speaking, Alzheimer's disease causes plaques and tangles to form in a person's brain. Plaques and tangles are small, abnormal growths that, over time, reduce nerve cell connections. Usually, the plaques and tangles form first in areas of the brain that control short-term memory, which makes memory loss one of the first symptoms of the disease. Later, the disease will work its way into other areas of the brain.

As mentioned above, a person in the early stages of Alzheimer's will probably suffer from memory loss. However, random forgetfulness typically associated with aging should not be equated to the memory loss of Alzheimer's. The loss of cognitive function, called dementia, that Alzheimer's patients suffer affects everyday skills. According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are ten symptoms you can look for that indicate Alzheimer's disease. As in the scenario at the beginning of the article, Alzheimer's patients will have difficulty performing familiar tasks. Further, job skills, language abilities, abstract thinking, and judgment can also be affected. Finally, a person suffering from Alzheimer's may misplace common items, have mood swings, experience a loss of initiative, become disoriented, and/or have a change in personality. Unfortunately, individuals might experience one, many, or all of these symptoms, which makes Alzheimer's particularly difficult to diagnose. It is important to note that Dementia can also be caused by a variety of other illnesses. Anyone suffering from the symptoms of dementia should receive a thorough medical examination for a clear diagnosis.

Because the range of symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's vary from one person to the next, doctors do not diagnose the disease in the same way they would cancer or heart disease. A diagnosis of Alzheimer's falls into one of three categories: possible Alzheimer's, probable Alzheimer's, and definite Alzheimer's. A diagnosis of definite Alzheimer's cannot be made until after a person's death, when an autopsy is performed, and the brain tissue is examined.

For people with Alzheimer's, the gradual onslaught of symptoms can be unnerving, and the eventual control it takes over the body causes problems not only for the sufferer, but also for friends and loved ones. Despite the frightening aspects of the disease, doctors and researchers have come a long way in discovering what causes Alzheimer's. With further research and funding, they are on the way to stopping the progression of the disease and eventually finding a cure.