Summary
Summary btec level 3 health and social care unit 14 example
- Module
- Unit 14 - disorders
- Institution
- AQA
coursework completed to merit standard, covers p1,2,3,4,5,6 and m 1,2,3,4
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By: mawale14 • 2 year ago
By: lesleybuxton • 2 year ago
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Alzheimer’sP1; explain the causes, signs, and symptoms of different types of physiological disorder on
service users.
In this report I will be explaining what Alzheimer's is, the effects it has, and how to treat it.
This will include causes of the disease, signs, symptoms, changes it will cause to the patient
and different types of treatments.
Alzheimer's disease effects the brain and the nervous system and happens when the nerve
cells die. The disease typically destroys the body’s neurons (nerve cells) and their connection
to memory in the brain, for example the entorhinal cortex which is an area of the brain
which assists with the function of memory. Alzheimer’s then later slowly destroys the
cerebral cortex, which is the area of the brain in control of language and social behaviour,
when this is affected, the person will start to struggle to efficiently communicate. The image
shows how much Alzheimer's disease effects cognitive ability.
Alzheimer's is a disease which affects the body’s nervous system that causes the brain cells
to degenerate and die which results in the loss of memory. It is the most common cause of
dementia, which is a continuous decline of thinking, behavioural and social skills that
disrupts a person's ability to be independent. Alzheimer's causes changes in behaviour,
memory, sleep etc.
There are many symptoms of Alzheimer's disease which increase slowly over extended
period. One example of a sign of Alzheimer's is memory loss. This is an early symptom for
example forgetting recent events, repeating questions, or conversations, forget names etc.
Increased anxiety is also another early symptom of Alzheimer's; however, many early ones
go unnoticed as they're mistaken for ‘old age symptoms. Middle stage symptoms are early
stage but worsened e.g., forgetting more/ confusion increasing. Other symptoms that may
,occur are speech problems, being repetitive, increased disorientation (getting lost), sleep
and mood changes. These symptoms all effect daily life, which may mean the patient needs
support with tasks such as washing, dressing etc. Later symptoms of Alzheimer's are where
the signs become more severe and exceedingly difficult to live with. Symptoms that develop
in late stages are difficulty moving, struggles with eating, gradual loss of speech, and severe
problems with both long- and short-term memory. At this stage most if not all people
suffering with Alzheimer’s require full time care. The disease also has many physical effects
such as loss of balance, stiff muscles which leads to difficulty moving without assistance,
trouble controlling bladder or bowels, seizures etc. Furthermore, there are also many
neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as anxiety, psychosis, depression, apathy etc are
recognized as core features of Alzheimer’s.
Although the disease cannot be cured, there are different treatments for various aspects of
Alzheimer's, for example, certain medication can be prescribed for memory, drugs such as
Memantine, Galantamine and many more. The effects these drugs have on the body consist
of; nausea (which means driving is not encouraged when taking the medication as it can
make you sleepy), loss of appetite (which leads to weight loss and tiredness), vomiting (can
also lead to weight loss), hallucinations (where you see/ hear things that are not happening)
and headaches (these can be mild to very severe). Counselling/ therapy is available to help
control behavioural changes. Aggression is a substantial change in behaviour you can notice
within someone that has Alzheimer’s disease, and therapy consists of different activities and
methods to help contain the violence. Another type of therapy used can be speech and
language therapy. This is because loss of speech is a common symptom of Alzheimer's, so a
speech and language therapist can help any patients with this symptom and aim to improve
it. There is a mixture of drug and non-drug approaches to assist with sleep troubles.
Oxazepam is a type of drug used to help with sleep changes that Alzheimer’s causes,
however there is also nondrug methods to support those struggling with sleep changes.
These consist of going to sleep at the same time daily, eating enough, exercising to make you
more tired etc. Another non-drug approach to treating Alzheimer's is memory training which
helps decrease memory loss severity.
, Alzheimer’s is caused by progressive brain cell death that occurs over time however there
are also several other factors known to increase risk. One example of this is age, as the
likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles every 5 years after reaching age 65, but 1 in 20
people under 65 suffer from it. Most people who suffer from Alzheimer's are over the age of
65, however people under that age can also develop it. This is caused early-onset
Alzheimer’s disease. The disease can also be caused by inheriting one copy of APOE-e4 from
either their mother or father, and those that inherit two copies have an increased risk.
Another factor is some lifestyle choices can increase risk such as smoking, unbalanced diet
and inactivity lead to obesity and many more. There are more suspected factors which cause
Alzheimer's like head injuries and hearing loss but are not yet proven to specifically lead to
Alzheimer’s.
Links
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alzheimers-disease/
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/alzheimers-disease-sympt
oms
https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types-dementia/who-gets-alzheimers-disea
se#:~:text=Most%20people%20with%20Alzheimer's%20disease,type%20of%20young%2Don
set%20dementia.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/alzheimers-disease/causes/
M1: analyse the changes in body systems and functions resulting from different types of
physiological disorder on service users.
Alzheimer's effects the brain because when neurons are injured and die in the brain, the
connections between other neurons may break down, causing some brain regions to begin
to shrink. This process is called brain atrophy. As Alzheimer's progresses, this process causes
significant loss of brain volume.
Within initial stages of Alzheimer's, the disease may begin to affect physical movement, such
as walking. This is because the brain sends signals to muscles that control movement, and
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