Introduction
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects the daily lives of many elderly males and females. Alzheimer’s disease usually, in most cases, has a greater affect on women than it does in men (Lloret, 2010). It is a disease of the brain that causes an elderly mind to decline in remembering and being able to perform daily tasks. This terrifying disease not only affects them physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Though this disease can still occur in elderly men, it is more likely to occur in elderly women. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurologic disease of the brain. This formidable and terrifying disease leads to the irreversible loss of neurons along with the inevitable loss of intellectual abilities, including memory and reasoning (MNT-What is Alzheimer's disease?, 2009). Alzheimer’s disease becomes severe enough to impede social or occupational functioning. This article also stated that Alzheimer’s disease gets worse over time and continues to progress for the rest of an elderly person's life. The purpose of this literature review is to review the different effects of the Alzheimer’s disease in elderly males and elderly females, and how it affects elderly females in a more severe way than it affects elderly males.
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. It begins slowly, with almost no signs of having Alzheimer's disease and then progressively gets worse over time (NIA-NIH Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet, 2012).
Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
There are around seven different stages of Alzheimer’s disease. It is difficult to place a person in a specific stage because some stages may overlap. In the first stage of Alzheimer’s disease, the person will still act with normal functioning. He/she will not have any memory loss and will not have any signs of this transforming disease. Even a visit with a medical professional will not allow the person to know that they are in the first stage of Alzheimer’s. The doctor wouldn’t be able to notice any difference, though it has already taken its toll on the body.
In the second stage of Alzheimer’s disease, there is a very mild decline in the person memory. There are symptoms such as forgetting common words and the location of everyday objects. However, if the person was to have a visit with a medical professional, there would still be no detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Even friends, co-workers, and family would have no idea that this person is about to have a drastic life change that will his/her everyday lifestyle.They may begin to notice in the next couple of stages.
In the third stage of the tragic disease, friends, co-workers, and family will begin to notice the memory loss and a difference in the person’s attitude. He/or she may begin to have difficulties organizing thoughts and ideas. They may also begin to have problems performing tasks in social...
