Alzheimer's disease

Do you want a quick lesson on Alzheimer’s disease?  Just understand this, Alzheimer’s is characterized by loss of neurons in the cerebral cortex and certain subcortical regions, resulting in gross atrophy of the brain.  A part of your brain, called the hippocampus is involved in memory.  Specifically, the left hippocampus is involved in forming stories of your life from bits and pieces of your experiences.  It will form the neuronal impulses describing how you view yourself.  Basically, it forms the internal autobiography of who you are.  Alzheimer’s takes this away.

Combination of two brain diagrams in one for comparison. In the left normal brain, in the right brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:COMPARISONSLICE_HIGH.JPG

Unlike other neurological disorders like schizophrenia or hallucinations where your interactions should be focused on bringing the patient into reality, when treating an Alzheimer’s patient, you have to enter “their world” and interact with them “there.”