The Impact of Alzheimer's Disease on the Brain

Comments (16)

1. 
   Patricia Roberts June 14, 2023
   So let me get this straight-we spend billions trying to cure a disease that basically turns people into confused ghosts who forget their own birthdays, and the best we can do is tell them to do crossword puzzles? 🙃
   
   Meanwhile, my cat remembers where I hide the treats. Coincidence? I think not.
2. 
   Adrian Clark June 15, 2023
   I swear, if I get Alzheimer’s, I’m going to die dramatically. Like, mid-sentence while yelling at a squirrel for stealing my garden gnomes. ‘YOU DIDN’T EVEN SAY GOODBYE, MR. FLUFFY!’
   
   And then my ashes will be scattered in the cereal aisle at Walmart. Because if I’m gonna be forgotten, at least I’ll be remembered… by the guy who bought the Frosted Flakes.
3. 
   Rob Giuffria June 16, 2023
   We’re all just walking sacks of neurons waiting to be hijacked by protein clumps that think they’re Picasso. We call it a disease, but really-it’s just the universe’s way of saying, ‘You had your turn. Now go sit in the rocking chair and forget your own name.’
   
   And yet, we keep feeding our brains kale smoothies and yoga like that’ll stop the inevitable. The only thing that stops Alzheimer’s? Death. And even then, your relatives will still forget to turn off the stove.
4. 
   Barnabas Lautenschlage June 17, 2023
   The progression of Alzheimer’s is not merely a medical phenomenon-it’s a sociocultural unraveling of identity, memory, and relational continuity. The amyloid plaques and tau tangles are not just biological anomalies; they are metaphysical erasers, systematically deleting the narrative self. The emotional and behavioral changes observed in patients are not ‘symptoms’ in isolation, but manifestations of a brain attempting to reconcile its own dissolution. Caregivers, often overlooked in this discourse, are not merely service providers-they are archivists of a fading consciousness. The tragedy lies not in the loss of memory, but in the loss of the shared context that gave memory meaning. This is why early diagnosis matters: not just for pharmacological intervention, but for preserving the dignity of connection before the silence takes over.
5. 
   Ryan Argante June 17, 2023
   Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about brain chemistry. It’s about the quiet heroism of people who show up every day to someone who doesn’t recognize them anymore. That’s not caregiving. That’s love with no return on investment.
   
   And yet-we still do it. Because what else is there?
6. 
   Jeanette Case June 18, 2023
   I CRIED WATCHING MY GRANDMA FORGET MY NAME 😭💔
   
   She kept calling me ‘sweetheart’ and smiling like I was her first grandkid even though I was 37 and had a beard. I held her hand and whispered, ‘It’s me, Grandma.’ She patted my cheek and said, ‘You’re such a good boy.’
   
   That’s the real horror. Not the plaques. Not the tangles. It’s being loved… by someone who doesn’t know who you are.
7. 
   Leonard Buttons June 18, 2023
   i heard some new drug trial thingy might help slow it down but like… the trials are like 5 years long and the people in them are already in wheelchairs. also i think they used to call it ‘senility’ and everyone just shrugged. now we got fancy words and fancy prices.
   
   still gonna forget where i put my keys.
8. 
   Alice Minium June 20, 2023
   Did you know that people with Alzheimer’s often remember music from their youth better than their own kids’ names? My aunt used to sing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ every Sunday, even when she didn’t know who I was. Then one day she looked at me and said, ‘You’re the one who plays the piano.’
   
   That’s when I realized-she remembered me through the music. Not the face. Not the name. The song.
9. 
   Stephen Maweu June 20, 2023
   alzheimers is wild because it doesn’t just take memories-it takes the person who used to have them. the guy who loved jazz and fixed cars and told bad jokes? gone. and in his place? someone who stares at the wall and smiles at shadows.
   
   but here’s the thing-those smiles? they’re real. even if they don’t know why they’re smiling.
   
   so we keep smiling back. because love isn’t about being remembered. it’s about remembering them.
10. 
    anil kharat June 22, 2023
    In the grand cosmic dance of entropy, Alzheimer’s is not a disease-it is the soul’s quiet rebellion against the tyranny of time. We cling to identity, to names, to faces, as if the self were a fixed star. But the brain is a river, not a statue. When the river dries, the stones remain-but the water, the memory, the laughter-has already flowed into the sea of oblivion. And yet… in that oblivion, there is peace. Perhaps, the truest cure is not in drugs, but in surrender.
11. 
    Keith Terrazas June 22, 2023
    I find it fascinating how society treats Alzheimer’s like a tragedy to be ‘fixed’ rather than a natural, if devastating, phase of human aging. We medicalize grief. We pharmaceuticalize loss. We treat forgetting as a failure of biology rather than an inevitable consequence of living too long.
    
    Maybe the real problem isn’t the plaques. Maybe it’s that we refuse to accept that love doesn’t require recognition to be real.
12. 
    Matt Gonzales June 24, 2023
    my grandma used to make the best apple pie 🥧
    
    she forgot how to turn on the oven… but she still smelled the cinnamon and smiled.
    
    so we kept baking. even when she didn’t know why we were doing it.
    
    love doesn’t need memory. it just needs presence. ❤️
13. 
    Richard Poineau June 25, 2023
    I’ve got news for you: Alzheimer’s isn’t tragic. It’s a mercy. Imagine living with the weight of every mistake, every regret, every cruel thing you ever said. Now imagine it all fading. That’s not a disease. That’s divine intervention wrapped in atrophy.
    
    Stop romanticizing memory. Sometimes, forgetting is the only gift left.
14. 
    Angie Romera June 27, 2023
    i saw my uncle yell at his wife for 2 hours because he thought she was a stranger who stole his socks. then he cried and asked her to hold his hand. she did. for 3 hours.
    
    they been married 54 years.
    
    no one talks about how the people who stay? they’re the real heroes. and they’re tired.
15. 
    Jay Williams June 28, 2023
    The emotional toll on caregivers is grossly underreported. The psychological burden of prolonged exposure to cognitive decline, coupled with the societal expectation to maintain composure, often results in what is termed ‘caregiver burnout syndrome.’ This is not mere fatigue-it is a systemic erosion of mental health. Institutional support, including subsidized respite care and mandatory counseling, must be integrated into public health policy. We cannot ask individuals to carry the weight of a failing healthcare infrastructure alone.
16. 
    Sarah CaniCore June 29, 2023
    This post is so long I forgot what it was about by paragraph three. Honestly, if you’re going to write about Alzheimer’s, maybe don’t write a 2000-word essay that requires a functioning hippocampus to read.