Alzheimer's Disease: What Can We Learn About Memory?

Alzheimer's Disease is an incredibly cruel illness.  It does so much more than simply rob a person of his or her memory.  AD is 100% lethal: there is no escape for those who develop the disease, it will ultimately end your life.  While there is no way to stop AD, there is growing research which has produced various treatments known to delay some of the symptoms. 
While Alzheimer's was discovered over 100 years ago, it has only recently been brought to light how widesread the disease actually is.  While it is most often discovered in people over the age of 65, it's onset can go undiscovered for years until it has finally affected a person's functioning to the point that it becomes unmistakable.  Memory loss is one of the initial symptoms as the disease appears to originate in the medial temporal lobe - the part of the brain most associated with the development of long-term memory.
After class discussion and watching the video, "The Forgetting", please write a response paper which consists of the following: 

• A brief summarization of the disease
• Important information from the video watched in class
• Your own feelings about what you have learned about the disease
• Two pictures that help to illustrate this topic and your information

This writing assignment should be at least 250 words in length.  Due by Thursday, October 6th, 2011.