Alzheimer's Diesese: The Forgetting

Alzheimer's disease is a serious brain disease; which has symptoms that relate to memory impairment.  The onset of symptoms is gradual, but its progression is continuous and irreversible. Disruptions of episodic memory are the earliest symptoms of the disease, which greatly worsen over time. Main symptoms of the disease also include problems with focusing attention, altered personality, difficulty speaking and understanding language or impaired movement. Drugs may slow down the process of Alzheimer’s disease, but there is no cure. The disease inevitably leads to death.

Alzheimer’s disease develops in series of stages, and first the medial temporal lobes in your brain are affected, in particular, the hippocampus. The medial temporal lobe holds the main parts of your episodic memory, and it is the first area of the brain to show pathological changes. The hippocampus is involved in the formation of new memories. First stages of the disease,  can seem to be a normal part of aging, but they are not. After working its way through the temporal lobes, the disease stretches out to the parietal lobes, and other brain regions. On scientifical terms, the brain suffers damage and dies off because amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles start to form. The person that is diagnosed with this assured death sentence can see changes in themselves only in the early stages. In the end, it is the family and friends of the patient that have to live with their loved one loosing themselves before their eyes.

In the video: The Forgetting, lives of people living with the disease, and their loved ones, were played out in front of our eyes. This made the disease more then just a health problem that will never effect us. It showed families, that were given this tragic life sentence. In the video, we met a family that had Alzheimer's running in their "genes". The fear that they had to live with, losing themselves and not knowing who they are anymore, makes a memorable impact on anyone. Family members of Alzheimer's patients were given the hardest roles to bear. "I'm not dieing" said one of the patients to her sister, "I'm disappearing before your eyes." Family members recalled that their loved ones could not remember what was spoken to them, they would do the same things over and over again, and often would turn aggressive and be very frustrated that they could not do anything but let this horrible disease take over. patients feel like they do not have any thoughts in their head.The disease literally robs you of who you are, and the little time that remains the family wants to spend cherishing the part of the "old you" that is still left. In the end, this disease provides you with the longest and saddest form of a goodbye.