Physical effect of alzheimers disease Health, Medicine Research Paper

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Physical Effects of Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease has both a physical and mental impact on the affected. The disease typically affects the nervous system, which leads to memory loss. However, this is not the only effective as it later affects normal body functions such as walking and moving arms or hands. In some cases, the physical symptoms occur before memory loss. The disease occurs gradually and over time, destroys an individual's capacity to perform simple physical tasks. Disease progression varies across different individuals. It commonly affects people who are over 60 years and is a major cause of death for people within this age group (National Institute on Aging). Alzheimer's disease has a detrimental effect on physical health, and caregivers should give attention to adopting a proper physical care to those afflicted.
The physical decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease arises when dangerous proteins accumulate in the brain. These harmful proteins first affect the brain section involved in memory formation. They later spread to brain areas involved in coordinating muscles in the body. When these healthy cells in the neurons are affected, they slowly affect the functioning of body muscles. This situation leads to a decline in the physical ability of an individual. As the disease progress, this steady accumulation of harmful proteins limits a person’s ability to do simple physical tasks such as bathing, walking, talking, and eating (The Alzheimer’s Association 392). Soon, these tasks become harder, and the person may need the daily assistance of a caregiver.
Some of the common physical effects for people who have Alzheimer's disease include difficulty in bladder or bowel movement, fatigue, losing balance, weakening, or stiffening of muscles. When the disease gets worse, communicating becomes a serious problem making it hard for the affected to speak. Further, chewing and swallowing food becomes a real challenge which increases the likelihood of choking. Alzheimer’s disease progression can be divided into three stages, as described below.
In the earliest stage of Alzheimer's disease, the body functions normally, although those affected suffer some mild symptoms. They may experience minor, unnoticeable difficulties when carrying out fine motor tasks like drawing and writing. The impaired memory may also lead one to forget simple motion tasks such as eating with a spoon. Those affected don't have challenges walking or moving. They can do physical things like driving without assistance (The Alzheimer's Association 391). During this stage, it's difficult for someone to notice that a person has early dementia.
In the second stage, physical ability starts to deteriorate. The affected may nee...