Alzheimer’s Foundation of America :
Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving support. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) provides care and...
 provides care and support to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and their caregivers and families. "Pin It"){kind=logo}
Location
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
322 8th Ave., 7th Fl.
New York, New York
10001
United States
Phone:
866-232-8484
Fax:
646-638-1546
40° 44' 49.578" N, 73° 59' 47.904" W
Spoken Language: English, Spanish
Business: Healthcare, Healthcare Associations
The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) mission is ”to provide optimal care and services to individuals confronting dementia, and to their caregivers and families—through member organizations dedicated to improving quality of life.” AFA provides care and support to individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and their caregivers and families. Through education, programs, resources and caregiving support, The Alzheimer's Foundation of America helps improve the quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and families.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes.
These neurons, which produce the brain chemical, or neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die. For example, short-term memory fails when Alzheimer's disease first destroys nerve cells in the hippocampus, and language skills and judgment decline when neurons die in the cerebral cortex.
Two types of abnormal lesions clog the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease:
- Beta-amyloid plaques—sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons;
- Neurofibrillary tangles—insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells. Although these structures are hallmarks of the disease, scientists are unclear whether they cause it or a byproduct of it.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, or loss of intellectual function, among people aged 65 and older. Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging.
Origin of the term Alzheimer's disease dates back to 1906 when Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician, presented a case history before a medical meeting of a 51-year-old woman who suffered from a rare brain disorder. A brain autopsy identified the plaques and tangles that today characterize Alzheimer's disease.
By Mr. Jose Hernandez on Aug 25, 2011
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