Alzheimer Agitation - Prevention Research Paper

Alzheimer Agitation - Prevention - Research Paper Example Method of Search: The paper has been written after extensive research on literature available on Alzheimer disease and the agitation associated with it. As no treatment is available to fully cure the disease, therefore, following preventive measures is the only effective way to prevent the onset and reduce the severity of agitation. Some of the common up to date preventive measures followed in nursing homes are listed in this paper and have been taken from different books written on Alzheimer disease. Introduction and Significance: The Dementing disease was first discovered by a German neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer and the disease is named after him. Among individuals of age 65 and older, the most common type of Dementia is Alzheimer’s disease which is known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease. As the age progresses, half of the elderly individuals experience a loss of memory, judgment, and language to an extent that it starts to mediate a huge impact on their daily lives. In the United States, AD is a major health problem because of its huge impact on various departments of the health care system, the lives of the patients and their families. In accordance with the recent statistical data, there are a staggering number of AD cases in the United Sates alone amounting to 4 million individuals. The percentage of individuals with AD doubles for every five year age group beyond the age of 65. Moreover, the highest risk of AD is amongst the individuals over the age of 85. In industrialized countries, the improvement and widespread provision of health care facilities have increased life expectancy which has inevitably led to an increase in the number of cases being reported over the past few years. (National Institutes of Health 2002). Scientists estimate that if curative measures are not discovered then the number of cases in US in 2050 would be around 14 million. Over the years the cost of care of patients with AD has steadily shown an increase. I n United States of America, the annual national cost of caring for individuals with AD amounts to approximately around $1 billion. (National Institutes of Health 2002). Alzheimer disease is a progressive brain disease which is irreversible and gradually reduces the thinking skills and memory to such an extent that the person becomes incapable of carrying out normal daily activities. However, the causes and the subsequent progression of the disease has not yet been fully exposed which has significantly slowed the progress in devising ways to prevent the disease. The treatments that are currently available only aim at reducing the severity of the disease symptoms. (National Institutes of Health 2002). Alzheimer agitation refers to the behavioral patterns exhibited by a typical Alzheimer patient. The typical behavioral patterns include screaming, complaining, wandering, cursing, fidgeting, pacing, moaning and shouting. Progression of the disease is characterized by memory loss and degr adation of thinking skills in addition to an increase in the severity of Alzheimer agitation. It is worth mentioning that every abnormal behavior is not classified as agitation. If the abnormal behavior poses a risk to the individual with AD or the people around him then it is considered to be agitation. Agitation associated with AD can be due to a single medical problem or a cumulative effect of a variety of different contributing factors such as