The Modern View on Alzheimer’s Disease

Many elderly people do not struggle with cognitive disorders or diseases. But unfortunately, more and more people over 60 have cognitive impairments. For example, in the United States during last 15 years the cases of dementia and other diseases which are related to it grew significantly (more than 50,000 Americans die each year from Alzheimer's disease), and now it is one of the sixth leading causes of human death. Scientists believe that it is due to changes in diet, medical care, environment, daily activity, etc. The first evidences about the Alzheimer's disease were in the ancient Greece and Rome, when the philosophers and physicians mentioned that there was a tendency of developing of dementia with getting older [7]. In 1901 German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer described the case of his patient with Alzheimer's disease. It was a fifty-year-old woman whose name was Auguste D. After her death in 1906 he first reported about her history publicly. During the next several years new similar cases were reported using the term Alzheimer's disease. However, the first description of it like a distinctive disease was made by Emil Kraepelin. In his work there were two types of features: clinical (delusion and hallucinations) and pathological (arteriosclerotic changes). During the 20th century, Alzheimer's disease was connected with the age between 45 and 65, and it was like a part of dementia (it was not a single diagnose), but everything changed after conference in 1977 when it was concluded that Alzheimer's disease is independent from dementia, and also they proposed that these diagnoses have different causes. And finally the term Alzheimer's disease was included in medical and psychological nomenclature as an independent diagnosis, because it has got some specific disease cause, common symptoms, neuropathology, and so on. The aim of this article was to review modern articles, researches and studies connected with Alzheimer's disease. All these studies and other materials are dedicated to show all possible answers what is the main cause of this disease, how we can diagnose it easily and fast, and suggest alternative ways of treatment, which are well-known nowadays. The material of research was in 10 native and foreign resources which are connected with the topic of article. Results and discussion. The basic symptom of Alzheimer's disease is the loss of memory. For example, a patient can leave the task unfinished and forget about it, or even start to forget things or names and surnames. As we can see, with the progress of disease patients have more problems with cognitive functions, like language, thinking, planning and problem solving, disorientation, and so on. They become irritated, anxious, and aggressive. Their behavior and judgments are inadequate. One of the common causes of Alzheimer's disease is beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed using PET scan (for evidence of beta-amyloid plaques and tangles) and puncture from cerebrospinal fluid (evidence of tangles). Unfortunately, scientists can only suggest treatment which is focused on elimination of symptoms. And the biggest advice from them is to stay active (physically and intellectually), follow healthy lifestyle. We should never forget about the support of our relatives and friends, because social activity is important as well