Mental and Behavioral Case Studies.docx - 1 Mental\/Behavioral Case Studies Jer Vue HCS\/245 Tynan Mara 2 The case study that I chose was Mr Speed from

1 Mental/Behavioral Case Studies Jer Vue HCS/245 July 27, 2017 Tynan Mara

2 The case study that I chose was Mr. Speed; from Chapter 15; who is suffering from early stage Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disease and considered the most common case of senile dementia. Dementia is characterized as a total loss of the mental capacity caused by the reduction of neurons or brain cells. For this specific type of dementia, it is recognized by the loss of neurons, which are replaced with microscopic plague. People who are affected by the disease tend to be 70 years of age or older. Although as the age increases so does the amount of cases, resulting in an estimated 50% affected of the total population aged 85 and older. The symptoms begin with a slight loss of mental capacity, followed by the loss of the short-term memory, failure to focus clearly, and the personality can begin to shift. During the progression of the disease the ability to communicate is compromised, as is the use of a comprehensive vocabulary. Failure to focus increases, which lead to a heightened emotional state. Over the next 5 to 10 years the mental and physical abilities are all but completely gone,