f life becomes gradually disarrayed (Gray-Davidson, 1996).The American Psychiatric Associations definition of Alzheimers disease contained in the diagnostic manual DSM-IV, is as follows:The essential feature of the presence of Dementia of insidious onset and gradual progressive course for which all other specific causes have been excluded by the history, physical examination, and laboratory tests.The Dementia involves a multifaceted loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory, judgement, abstract thought, and other higher cortical functions, and changes in personality and behavior (Gray-Davidson, 1996).Alzheimers is a disease of the brain that causes a steady decline in memory. This results in dementia, loss of intellectual functions such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning, severe enough to interfere with everyday life (Gwyther, 2000). As with all dementias, the rate of progression in Alzheimers patients varies from case to case. From the onset of symptoms, the life span of an Alzheimers victim can range anywhere from 3 to 20 or more years. The disease eventually leaves its victims unable to care for themselves. While a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimers disease is possible only through the examination of brain tissue, which is usually done at autopsy, it is important for a person suffering from any symptoms of demetia to undergo a thorough clinical examination. In fact, after such an evaluation, approximately 20 percent of suspected Alzheimers cases prove to be a medical condition other than Alzheimers, sometimes treatable (alzsf.org).When German physician Alois Alzheimer first described the disease in 1907, it was considered rare (Gwyther, 2000). During the 1960s researchers also considered Alzheimers a rare disorder. But over the last 30 years, scientists have recognized that its fairly common. In fact, Alzheimers disease is the leading cause of age related dementia (Alzheimers.com). Today, Alzheimers affects ...
