Nursing Commons^™

Alzheimer's Disease Today & Tomorrow, Sherry L. Shaffer

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) has impacted me on a personal level and professional level. I witnessed my grandfather slowly slip away at the hands of AD over the course of a decade. As a psychiatric nurse, I have provided care for geriatric patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and stuck in a cycle of acute psychiatric distress and chronic neurodegeneration.

• Over 100 years ago, Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described AD. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016)

• In 1994, former President Ronald Reagan put AD in the spotlight when he publicly shared his diagnosis. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016)

• In 2013, the CDC estimates as many as 5 …

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Early Onset Alzheimer’S Disease In Individuals With Down Syndrome: Explored Theories Of Pathophysiology, Amanda Pack

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

This presentation is a focus on some of the theories of the pathophysiology of early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS). Down Syndrome, a genetic condition where an individual has a partial or full extra chromosome 21, is the most common chromosomal condition in the United States (National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), 2012). Average life expectancy for individuals with DS has vastly increased in the last thirty years from age 25 to age 60 (NDSS, 2012). The extra chromosome genetically makes individuals with DS predisposed to certain conditions, including early onset dementia and AD, therefore as their …

Early-Onset Familial Alzheimer Disease, Laura J. Murphy

Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is an overwhelming and devastating diagnosis for both patients and families. Now imagine if this diagnosis was made at age 55. Instead of looking forward to retirement and grandchildren, these people are preparing for a debilitating disease that will rob them of their memory, cognitive and functional abilities. Early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (EOFAD) affects people before the age of 65. Although extremely rare, some exhibit symptoms as early as in their 30s. One of the things most frustrating about this disease is so little is known about its cause. That and the fact there is no cure. …