Daniel Velastegui. May 10Th, 2017. Alzheimer’S Disease

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, accounting for 65–70% of all cases (Jellinger, Janetzky, Attems, & Kienzl, 2008). The other dementias are of the Parkinson 's group, the fronto-temporal group and the vascular group. The total worldwide yearly costs for the treatment and care of patients suffering from dementia are estimated to be around 250 billion US dollars. The lifetime risk for AD between the ages of 65 and 100 is 33% for men and 45% for women with an annual increase of 1–2% in the seventh decade to almost 60% in the 10th decade with doubling every 5 years (Jellinger et al., 2008). AD is incurable, and thus represents a major public health problem. AD represents a challenge to humanity due to its relatively recent discovery, progressive nature of the illness, and complex diagnosis.

Many people aren’t aware of vascular dementia, and some of those who are aware of it misunderstand the disease. It’s very important to be educated on how the disease could affect you or someone you care about, and how you maybe able to deal with it.

There are many diseases affect people as they become older. Senior citizen diseases can attract many organs such as the brain or immune system. Brain diseases usually impact the normal life of the patients and cause many difficulties to accomplish what they want. One example of brain diseases is vascular dementia, which is a worldwide illness that affects many people. According to Young Dementia UK “Around 20% of young people with dementia have vascular dementia.” [1]. It occurs when the blood supply cannot reach to the brain vessels. As a result, brain cells may die because of a lack of the oxygen in the blood vessels. According to Alzheimer's Society “Vascular dementia can be caused by two events that can occur in blood vessels.

The disease called Alzheimer’s is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States (Weiner, 1987). It is estimated that the elderly population will double between now and 2030. During this period, the number of elderly will grow by an average of 2.8% annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is estimated to range from 11.3 million to 16 million (Alzheimer’s Association, 2005). These startling numbers should prompt an examination into one of the leading causes of death among this group of people. Understanding what Alzheimer’s is and the known causes of the disease are a good starting point. For those who have aging family members, knowing the risk factors and warning

In addition, decreased cerebral blood flow, environmental toxins and a decrease in acetylcholine have all been labeled potential culprits. Various theories for the cause of Alzheimer’s have been put forth but as yet none have been shown true.

Alzheimer’s is a disease in the brain that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and behavior. It is the most common form of dementia and is common in adults older than 65. More than five million Americans are being affected by Alzheimer’s at this moment. Alzheimer’s comes in three stages; early, middle, and advanced. The disease is caused by the shrinking of the brain due to many risk factors and genetics.

Sometimes Alzheimer’s disease and vascular disease can occur together. People who have dementing illness may also have other illness and can make them more vulnerable to other health problems.

stroke, hypertension, and diabetes or cardiovascular pathology 81 ,accounting for nearly 20 to 40% of dementia cases after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Lee 2011; Zhang et al. 2012a). It is reported that the prevalence of VD ranges from 0.4 to 1.6% among individuals aged 60 years and older (Lobo et al. 2000; Tiwari et al. 2013; Jia et al. 2014). Nevertheless, the prevalence still continues to rise with the rapid growth in the elderly population, thus leading to largely irreversible deterioration in patients’ quality of life and increased financial

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been ranked the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. New research suggests the ways of

VD is the second most common type of dementia; consisting of 10 to 30 percent and it is due to dead nerve cells in infected vessels. This is often caused by transient ischemic attacks (Miller, 2009). The two widely known forms of vascular dementia is Multi-infarct dementia (MD) and Binswanger’s disease (BD) also known as sub cortical vascular dementia. MD is a result of Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIA) that harms the cortex of the brain which is involved with memory. BD is related to stroke and high blood pressure and affects the “white matter” in the brain causing movement difficulties and emotional imbalances (Alzheimer’s Association, 2011). Late adulthood, diabetes mellitus, recurrent strokes and low education are common risk factors of VD however there are preventive measures like smoking, diabetes and sedentary lifestyle (Miller, 2009).

Alzheimer is a disease that affects the elderly most. The disease was discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in the year 1906 when he was examining a female’s brain. He found out that the woman displayed memory loss, language problems and some inexplicable changes in behavior. The disease was named after the doctor who was a German psychiatrist and a neuropathologist. Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that leads to memory loss, personality changes, and language problems (Gilbert & Julie 2). The disease is mostly diagnosed in people over the age of 65 years, though there is a small minority of people under the age of 50 who get the disease. Studies show that 1% of a whole population aged between the ages 65-75 have severe

Blood pressure is something that can affect the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The disease itself can’t be diagnosed until after death but this study seems to suggest that blood pressure does cause definite changes in the body. The effects of blood pressure in the older generation have caused an increase in arterial stiffness. The hardening of the arteries causes cerebral atherosclerosis. This is where there is a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances on the artery walls. The course of this hardening is the cause of hypertension which results in hypoxia. The person ends up not having enough oxygen going to the brain which damages their white matter in the brain. Autopsies actually show that there is microvascular degeneration

The updated guidelines cover the full continuum of the disease as it gradually progresses over many years. They describe the earliest preclinical stages of the disease, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia due to Alzheimer’s pathology. The guidelines now adopt the use of imaging and biomarkers in blood and spinal fluid that may help determine if changes in the brain and those in body fluids are due to Alzheimer’s disease. Biomarkers are increasingly engaged in the research setting to detect onset of the disease and then track progression. It is not used routinely in clinical diagnosis without further testing and validation.

For this reason, an understanding of the cognitive impairments associated with the disease alongside a characterization of the less prominent pathologies such as vascular pathologies should be studied. Much is not yet known about vascular pathologies in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease; however, if present in the early stages of the disease, greater amyloid beta build up would be found in regions surrounding blood vessels in the 3xTg AD mice in comparison to a

Just like photoreceptor cells (particular neurons without turnover) are dependent on other cells (particular gliocytes showing cell turnover), other neurons - as those of the Central Nervous System - depend on another type of gliocytes (microglia cells). As explanation for Alzheimer Disease (AD), the decline of turnover and functionality of microglia cells has been hypothesized. Microglia cells remove β-amyloid protein and it is proved that, in AD, there is inadequate removal and harmful accumulation of this protein. Patients likely affected by AD show telomeres that are significantly shorter than in apparently normal subjects. An age-related dysfunction of endothelial cells could be, at least in part, an explanation for AD, but “a cell senescence model might explain Alzheimer dementia without primary vascular involvement”. There is an association between Alzheimer disease or ARMD and unhealthy lifestyle, which reduces the number of endothelial