Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)
Academic Term
2016
Document Type
Project
Course Number
N5330
Course Name
Advanced Pathophysiology
Professor’s Name
Dr. John Chovan
Keywords
Alzheimer's Disease, Pathophysiology, Nursing
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing
Abstract
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.
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Over 100 years ago, Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described AD. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016)
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In 1994, former President Ronald Reagan put AD in the spotlight when he publicly shared his diagnosis. (Alzheimer’s Association, 2016)
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In 2013, the CDC estimates as many as 5 million Americans suffered from AD.
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By 2050 a nearly three-fold increase in AD cases will impact 14 million Americans (CDC, 2015).
The progress and impact of AD research can be as slow as the pathophysiologic changes in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient. So where are we today and where will we be tomorrow, in relation to Alzheimer’s Disease?
Recommended Citation
Shaffer, Sherry L., "Alzheimer's Disease Today & Tomorrow" (2016). Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN). 169.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_msn/169