Objective 11-2 (II) “..Discuss changes in sensory abilities and health (including frequency of dementia) in older adults

Health the body's disease-fighting immune system weakens (which means elders are more susceptible to life-threatening ailments). Older people less often suffer short-term ailments, like the common flu and cold viruses. This is because they have collected a lifetime’s accumulation of antibodies. Good news Bad News

Quickie Facts About Aging Aging slows our neural process Older people take a longer time to react, to solve perceptual puzzles, and even to remember names. When a task is more complicated it takes longer for elders to complete it. Fatal accident rates per mile increase sharply after age 75. By 85, they exceed the 16-year-old level. But elders only account for less than 10 percent of crashes, because they drive less. As people become older, their memory begins to go away. From the time your a young adult, a small gradual net loss of brain cells begins. Loss of brain cells continues to the age of 80; the brain loses about 5 percent of its original mass. Women's brains shrink more slowly than men's, and they live four years longer. If a person is to remain active, their brain will feed off of it. Exercise helps compensate for the cell loss. Elders that are more active tend to be more mentally quick. We are more likely to rust from disuse than to wear out from overuse. use it or lose it.

“This is madness!” Dementia – mental erosion Caused by a substantial loss of brain cells First memory, then reasoning… Finally, mental vacancy – “living death” “THIS DEMENTIA!” IS

Alzheimer’s Disease A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by the gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and finally, physical functioning. NOT the same as normal aging About 3% of the world’s population will be afflicted by this disease by the time they’re 75 Causes: loss of brain cells and deterioration of neurons that produce acetylcholine Physically active, nonobese people are less at risk for the disease