Chapter Summary Of Ironing It Out By Sharon Moalem

More than 30 million people are affected worldwide, Alzheimer's is the number one cause of dementia. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that destroys memory and essential mental functions. The brain cells and the actual cells deteriorate and die; the main symptoms are confusion and loss of mind. Dementia follows Alzheimer's; you can’t have one without the other. Dementia, on the other hand, it is not its own disease, it is a group of thinking and social symptoms that hinder everyday tasks. Over 100 years ago a German physician by the name Alois Alzheimer’s

In 1901, the German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer studied a 51-year-old woman who experienced short-term memory, as well as a few other behavioral symptoms, until she died in April 1906 (Anderson). Within the past 15 to 20 years there have been dramatic discoveries made to help us understand the pathophysiology and neurogenetics of Alzheimer’s Disease, there are four different genes have been ultimately connected with this terrible disease as well as a few others that may be related (Anderson). According to Gould, in Alzheimer’s disease there is a constant a developing loss of intellectual function that will ultimately interfere with ones work, personal relationships, and their hygiene.

1.) Overall main topic of this book connects between the issue of motherhood and feminism. One major key point I found while reading this book is the author, Amber Kinser explains the growth and progress of the role of mothers in the american society meaning how the roles have changed overtime. A major theme of Kinser’s book is that the public debates may focus on mothering, but the issues affect us all.  Cutting back on health care for women, on education, and on jobs for teachers, social workers and others in the service sector have their greatest impact on mothers, but they affect all of us. Motherhood becomes a symbol for how men and women, single and married, gay and straight, deal with the need for individual options and the need to act for the good of others.

Alzheimer’s Disease is an irreversible, genetically linked illness. This disease was chosen for the topic of this essay under the consideration that in many families the illness can be incredibly tragic, passing down for generations without mercy. It is not rare to encounter families in which each member is afflicted with a form, mild or severe, of Alzheimer’s. The disease is a progressive brain disease which comes in two separate types: Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. These will be discussed in full later on in the paper.

Sharon Moalem discusses is hemochromatosis. Hemochromatosis is a disorder that disrupts iron metabolization, by absorbing excess iron instead of passing it through the body, causing iron to build up in the organs, especially the liver, heart and pancreas. The symptoms are joint pain, fatigue, and weakness. It was first described by Armand Trousseau in 1865, but is thought to have originated with the Vikings and spread throughout Northern and Western Europe. The genetic variant for hemochromatosis is very common among people of Western European descent, but only one in two hundred of those people have the disease with all of the assorted symptoms. Hemochromatosis can be diagnosed through blood and genetic tests, and it can be treated through the ancient practice of phlebotomy, or bloodletting. This lowers the amount of iron in the blood, and in the body, to safe levels. But although it is easily treatable, if left unchecked, hemochromatosis can lead to serious complications. As Dr. Moalem says, “Unchecked, hemochromatosis can lead to liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis, infertility, psychiatric disorders, and even cancer. Unchecked, hemochromatosis will lead to death.” Thus, before the days of genetic and blood testing, hemochromatosis was a very dangerous disease, and often caused death in middle age. It is here that Dr. Moalem raises the question: if hemochromatosis was so deadly, why was it passed down for so many generations? Unless it provided our ancestors with an advantage, such a damaging disease would not have remained in their gene

Alzheimer’s disease affects the world greatly, and the numbers of victims are growing. Alzheimer’s disease affects everyone affiliated with the sufferer. Alzheimer’s disease devastates the brain and its ability to function. The issue is sensitive, complicated, and is negatively impacting the world. Alzheimer’s disease may not always be fatal, but “Alzheimer’s disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk, and find his or her way home” (“What is Alzheimer’s”). This tragic disease impacts over five million people in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease touches all, and it is essential to understand the basics of Alzheimer’s.

     The longest running tradition in medicine, bloodletting, was a widely accepted practice with a three-thousand year-old history from the ancient Egyptians to the late 19th century. At that time, physicians thought that disease was a curse caused by the supernatural. It was a common idea that blood carried the vital force of the body and was the seat of the soul. Anything from body weaknesses to insanity were attributed to a defect in this vital fluid. Bloodletting was a method for balancing other fluids in the body and cleansing it of impurities. Shakespeare takes the same knowledge of blood and applies it to “Macbeth” in which the connotations not only foretell one’s glory but also one’s guilt.

In 1906, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, noticed some changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms were comprised of memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. After her death, Dr. Alzheimer examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps (amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of

In chapter 15 I found the part on Alzheimer’s disease very informative and interesting. Alzheimer’s and dementia are diseases that I find great interest in. My paternal grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease when he was just over the age of 60. He proceeded to be diagnosed with Parkinson’s induced dementia, and then he later passed away from the disease. My maternal grandfather suffered from a severe stroke about 4 years ago, and is now suffering from stroke induced dementia. Seeing anyone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia of some sort is very sad. I work in an assisted living facility and we have a specialized facility of people who are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. Working with these people on a daily basis

A doctorate holder in human physiology, neurogenetics and evolutionary medicine, Dr.Sharon Moalem makes connections between modern day diseases and how they were necessary for the survival of our ancestors. In his book Survival of the Sickest, Moalem makes many claims, but they are all hypotheses. One of Moalem’s firsts claims is that hemochromatosis, a fairly rare disease today unless one is of Western European descent, is a disease that can cause many complications within the human body due to an iron excess. Moalem claims that hemochromatosis is still in the gene pool and is very common to people of European descent because of the bubonic plague. The plague, a very fatal disease that reared its head in Europe during the 14th century is

Alzheimer’s is a disease that is scary for those individuals who have developed this disease, as well as the illness is terrifying to those different love ones also. However, some questions have risen from this disease. Does this disease only affect the elderly? How is Alzheimer’s a disease to get? When will the individual lose his or her memory? Is there a treatment for this illness? The writer will be covering each one of these questions, and other issues about Alzheimer’s in the essay. The essay will also have the symptoms, the diagnoses, and the stage of having Alzheimer’s disease.

To even explain an idea as complex as cancer, Moalem jumps back to the basics of molecular biology- genes. In order to intertwine scientific facts with the author’s main purpose, Moalem generates relatable ideas to the reader. For

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are still for the most part unknown. Scientists can’t quite pinpoint the exact causes of Alzheimer’s. But for the last twenty years the cause getting the most attention is that it is caused by an excess amount of insoluble fragments of beta-amyloid, then that leads to the loss of connection between brain cells, then eventually the death of said brain cells. (American Scientist, 44)

“Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.” (Howard Crystal) In Health 1000 we were asked to read the book Still Alice. I have never dealt with or have done any study on Alzheimer’s disease before reading this book. After finishing this book it has really opened my eyes to how bad of a disease and how it cripples the mind. I never imagined the effect of this disease on a patient and the patient family. This book is about a upper middle aged lady named Alice who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and how she and her family learn how to deal with disease. One of the things this book

Public health strategies and interventions have changed drastically over time. Bloodletting is one of the most ancient forms of medical interventions. It originated in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece, persisting through the Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment periods (PBS). Doctors used the bloodletting method for every ailment imaginable; from pneumonia, bone fractures, and even wounds, bloodletting was as trusted and popular as aspirin is today.