Understanding the effects of Alzheimer's Disease changes in the brain is made easy for everyday people who don't have medical backgrounds by the Brain Tour at the Alzheimer's Association. A series of illustrations that a layperson can understand show the difference between looking at a healthy brain and a brain with Alzheimer's. Illustration #8 shows a brain without nerve cell loss or tissue loss next to the brain with changes from Alzheimer's. A picture of healthy brain cells under a microscope is shown in illustration #10, compared with a picture of damaged, Alzheimer's brain cells.
The abnormal clusters that build up between the cells are easy to see in the Alzheimer's brain. The tangled strands in the photo of the Alzheimer's brain are also easy for a layperson to see, especially compared with the healthy brain in the microscopic picture.
Pictures of early, mild to moderate, and advanced Alzheimer's are illustrated showing the progression through different parts of the brain. The first section of photos shows brain basics, and after understanding the parts of the brain it's easy to understand which parts are affected as Alzheimer's progresses.
In the early stages "learning, memory, thinking and planning" are affected.
The Brain Tour explains that in the mild to moderate stages "speaking and understanding speech, and your sense of where your body is in relationship to objects around you," is affected.
In the mild to moderate stage alzheimer's may cause people to fail to recognize others and to have different behaviors and a changed personality.
The illustration of severe Alzheimer's shows the shrunken brain with much cell damage. At this stage the people with Alzheimer's cannot recognize others, communicate or care for themselves.
You can sign up for a free email newsletter from the Alzheimer's Association at the end of the Brain Tour.
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