Interview with and Research on an Alzheimer’s Disease Patient

I chose to interview my father’s aunt, who is 85 years old and suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. The reason I chose to interview her is because she is at Stage 6 of the disease, which means she is at the mid to severe level. At this stage, she is manifesting almost all the symptoms of the disease but is still verbally active. Alzheimer’s Disease is a progressive, disabling degenerative disease which has no cure. There are however, drugs such as tacrine and donepezil that can slow certain symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

However, our patient has not received any treatment for the disease as she does not believe in drugs and does not realize that she is suffering from anything other then old age. Alzheimer’s Disease 4 Interview with and Research on an Alzheimer’s Disease Patient The Interview Our patient is an 85 year old Caucasian female, residing in Ontario, Canada. She currently lives with her daughter. Her husband passed away about 10 years ago. She has a college education and was once an elementary school teacher. She suffers from stage 6 Alzheimer’s Disease, which means she has lost almost all her cognitive abilities, but still is somewhat verbal.

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She shuffled into the room with the assistance of my aunt, whom she resides with. As she entered the room, I caught her eye and she gave me a friendly smile, but showed no sign of recognition. After she comfortable seated herself across from me, I started asking her questions. When asked about her name, she smiled excitedly, almost like a little girl, and answered “Agnes”. Agnes is her correct name, so she does remember certain things about herself. I went to ask her about her age. She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face and said, “Do I know you?”.

I told her who I was, but she still did not seem to show any sign of recognition. I enquired about her age again. She ignored my question completely and said, “My dad must be getting very worried about me, I should get home. ” I informed her that she was home, with her daughter. Her face took on a distressed expression and she starting insisting on calling her “dad”, who passed away about twenty years ago. I attempted to change the subject and asked her about her gender, to find out if she remembered that piece of information about herself.

She giggled in a childlike manner and stated, “I’m a girl, silly! ”. When asked about what she does, she said she goes to high school, and wants to become a teacher some day. The patient seemed to have lost almost all her short term memory and had regressed to her teenage days, a symptom commonly associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Surprisingly enough, Agnes remembered her birthday, and that her favorite person in the world was her Alzheimer’s Disease 5 mother. She could not recognize the very commonplace items in my hand, however, a paper and pen. She then went about asking me for a brownie.

When I answered that I hadn’t any, she accused me of lying to her. I informed her once more that I hadn’t any brownies, but I would be more than happy to get her some, if she so desired. At this point, the patient’s face went completely blank and she began staring into space and stopped answering any questions. . Judging from this short interview, it is evident that the patient’s cognitive abilities are severely impaired and she needs constant care and supervision. Due to the fact that Alzheimer’s is a progressively degenerative disease, her condition is only bound to worsen.

There are plans for hiring an in-home caretaker for the patient in the near future. Definition of Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain, with unknown causes and cure. It is characterized and associated with clumps of neorofibrils and microscopic brain lesions, disorientation, confusion, memory loss, speech disturbances and eventual loss of all mental capacity. Patient suffers from loss of mental function. Origin: The disease was first discovered by accident in the year 1906 by a German physician called Dr. Alois Alzheimer.

When she passed away, an autopsy it was discovered that there were dense deposits called neuritic plaques around her nerve cells and neurofibrillary tangles inside the cells. Theories Regarding Alzheimer’s Disease: There is more than one theory attempting to explain the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, although the exact cause is still undecided. Among the existing theories are age, family history and genetics, head injuries and heart disease. Alzheimer’s Disease 6 Pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease: Clearly visible in AD brains are amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

The disease comes from severe atrophy of certain regions in the brain, including the temporal lobe and parietal lobe. Levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are reduced, along with the levels of seratonin, somatostatin and norepinephrine. There is a loss of neurons and interfrence with neuronal processes in the cerebrl cortex and other regions within the brain. Signs and symptoms of Alzheimers Disease As observed during the interview and research process, our patient suffers from advanced stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, which may manifest themselves as early as in an individual’s 40s or 50s, include but are not limited to the following: Forgetfulness to the extent of interference with normal everyday functions. Impaired speech. Difficulty reading and writing. Anxiety and agression. Recollection of very old events, and forgetting recent ones. Loss of control over urinary and bowel moevements. Eventually, complete loss of cognitive abilities and verbal speech. A return to an earlier stage in life. Complications

The patient often opens the front door and walks out, stating that she is going home to her father, which puts her at great risk for an injury or becoming lost outdoors. On certain days, she becomes aggressive and refuses to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. This causes hygeinic complications because she is not in control of her bowel Alzheimer’s Disease 7 movements. Patient wears adult diapers and often suffers from diaper rash. Patient does not recognise family or caretakers, including the daughter she lives with and often becomes aggressive with them.

Prognosis Eventually, patient will lose all congnitive and verbal ability. In-home care will be needed in the near future as it is becoming more difficult for her family to provide her with proper care. The patient is having more and more trouble moving around. Evetually she will become completely bedridden and may in the future suffer from related complications like bedsores, etc. Loss of cognitive abilities will also cause the patient to suffer from malnutrition, for she is slowly forgetting how to chew, suck, etc.

Therefore, she will probably need to be fed through a nasogastric tube. ADLS Patient cannot function through every day life without extensive assistance. She attempts to but cannot groom herself. She has lost all control over her urinary and bowel movement, and neglects her hygeine. The patient needs to be bathed by another person every day. Her skin is thin and translucent, but that is commonly associated with old age. She has trouble feeding herself and needs to be fed by another person; she often forgets how to chew or swallow.

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