Dementia Disease In AD : A Case Study

Although research has not shown any definitive causes of AD, there are significant risk factors. The most highly prominent known risk factor for AD is in fact age. Age plays a crucial role in determining the severity of ones AD and is distinguished by two types: early onset (Familial Alzheimer’s disease or FAD) and late onset (Sporadic AD). FAD rarely appears and follows an obvious inheritance pattern. Statistically less than ten percent are classified as FAD. Early onset usually makes itself known between the ages of thirty to sixty years of age. This may also present

It is a disease that we haven’t cured yet but instead have only come up and still coming up with treatment strategies to alleviate its symptoms. AD was first described in 1906 by a German psychiatrist by the name of Alois Alzheimer whilst he was performing a histophathologic study of his patient’s brain, a patient who had been suffering from dementia. His patient’s brain’s autopsy brought to light the presence of two types of lesions, which are senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. He saw a visible difference in the brain tissue for it was severely damaged by these lesions. Since then, our knowledge of AD’s cellular and molecular alterations has increased and we have come up with various hypotheses for AD that may soon help in developing effective preventative and therapeutic strategies. One of the most prevailing hypotheses that have already leaded to a number of therapeutic approaches is the amyloid cascade hypothesis. Hence, the following essay will explore the pathology of the amyloid cascade hypothesis and the evidence for and against it. It will also touch upon current progress in clinical trials that test the

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive that destroys memory and other important mental functions. Alzheimer's disease is caused by a combination of genetic, lifestyle and environment factors that affect the brain over time. Other risk factors that can cause Alzheimer's disease is age, which is one of the greatest risk. Down syndrome, gender, mild cognitive impairment, past head trauma, and heart health.

Family history of a first degree relative with AD (+FH) has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of AD (Fratiglioni 1993) and studies have confirmed that pathological changes related to AD, such as impaired recall, are present years before the clinical manifestation of the disorder in +FH non demented participants (Bondi 1994). In addition, the APOE gene, located on chromosome 19, has been linked to AD, with its e2, e3 and e4 alleles having varying effects on the development of the disorder. The e2 allele has been found to be a protective factor against the neural changes of AD

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, neurodegenerative disease that affects the brain causing progressive memory loss and destroys thinking skills. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, which is a general term used to describe disorders that affects brain functions. Alzheimer’s disease is caused by formations of plaques and tangles in the brain. A dangerous protein called beta-amyloid tends to build up over time in the brain. As this protein molecule accumulates, they start to form plaques, which can damage and destroy brain cells. While plaques affect the spaces between the brain cells, an abnormal protein known as “tau” starts affecting inside the brain cell itself. “Tau tangles can interfere with the transportation of nutrients in and out of the cells, causing brain cells to degenerate and die” (Kosik & Bowman, 2015, p. 5). Some common symptoms for Alzheimer’s include memory loss, constantly misplacing things, unable to remember the names of family members, unable to communicate properly, and losing the ability to complete simple daily tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is a fatal disease, but patients don’t die from the disease itself. Advanced Alzheimer’s increases vulnerability and increases the chance of developing infections that soon lead to death.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Dementia is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. There are two types of Alzheimer’s disease: early onset which occurs between the ages of 30 to 60, and late onset which occurs after the age of 60. Late onset is the most common type. The National Center for Health Statistics lists Alzheimer’s as the 6th leading cause of death for people over 65 years and older.

Alzheimer’s disease was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who in 1906 diagnosed changes in the mental status of one of his patients, before and after death, upon dissection of her brain. The symptoms included memory loss, language problems, unpredictable behaviors and mental acuity difficulty. Observing the cross section of a healthy brain and one of an AD patient indicate atrophy of brain tissue. The location of the shrinking indicates the severity of the type of dementia and magnitude of AD. The beginning stages of AD usually take place in the hippocampus portion of the brain. This is the region of the brain where memories are formed. During the atrophy of the disease this area begins to shrink and throughout the duration of the disease it shrinks to the point where this region has little to no functionality.

The fact that AD usually develops later in life again complicates the boundaries of this disease. Because the process of normal aging is not completely understood, there are no consistent, established values of what constitutes "normal" cognitive impairment and memory loss with advancing years. Furthermore, the neurochemical changes, the neurophysiological changes, or the gross and fine anatomical changes that accompany normal aging are not understood well enough to provide a firm basis for determining "abnormal" changes. The brain of an 80 year old patient with AD may be difficult to distinguish from that of an age-matched normal patient without dementia. Also, some elderly patients have few or no senile plaques or neurofibrillary tangles. Even at earlier ages, the neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques that

The two main biomarkers of AD are beta-amyloid (Aβ) and tau and are highly debated in regards to their function in AD pathophysiology. The production of beta-amyloid plaques may be due to improper functioning of the proteasome preventing the breakdown of Aβ. Support for this theory comes from research indicating that the 20S proteasome is responsible for Aβ degradation and that alterations to the kinetics of the proteasome increased Aβ levels (Zhao & Yang, 2010). These accumulated levels of Aβ plaques leads to lower levels of soluble Aβ, which is needed for memory formation. This may occur through activation of nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptors and AChE levels are drastically reduced in AD patients. (Garcia-Osta & Alberini, 2009). The microtubule stabilizing protein tau may become hyper-phosphorylated in AD due to the presence of high levels of Aβ. Hoshi et al (1996) showed that Aβ exposure to rat hippocampal neurons in vitro produced increased levels of the tau kinase GSK-3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3) which in turn hyper-phosphorylated tau leading to cellular death. (Hoshi et al., 1996) The neurotoxicity of tau may not be produced solely because of GSK-3, but may be due to

The term Alzheimer’s disease is often used interchangeably with the term dementia. In actually , these terms are not interchangeable. Dementia is only a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, and it occurs only in the mid to late stages of the disease process. Approximately seventy other diseases also have dementia as a symptom.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by β-amyloid plaque formation caused by aggregation of β-amyloid42 within the brain leading to a progressive decline in cognitive function and memory loss (2). Hyperphosphorylated tau protein is occasionally found in brains of AD patients with advanced pathology however, it is not necessarily an indicator of AD but considered a sign of disease severity (2, 4, Kosik et al, 1986). AD is separated into two subcategories following the simple sporadic and familial disease classifications, early-onset AD (EOAD) which develops in individuals between 30 and 60+ years of age and late-onset AD (LOAD) which develops in individuals 60 years of age or older (2). Familial AD may

Dementia can be caused by a few things and is effecting more people every year. Dementia is the loss of intellectual and social abilities severe enough to interfere

Alzheimer’s disease, AD, is a form of dementia that affects more individuals than any other form of dementia. “Dementia is the name for a group of symptoms caused by disorders that affect the brain. It is not a specific disease” (nlm.nih.gov). AD is the leading cause of all elderly mental degeneration and death in relation. The demographic for most deaths of Alzheimer’s disease correlate with an

Also, along with Alzheimer’s, there are other diseases such as Parkinson’s which show no improvement and are a huge liability to the health care system. A lot of research is ongoing since ages but no drug is so far available which can cure such a disease. AD occurs due to progressive loss of the neural cells, which causes loss of memory, which might end up as fatal. Recent advances in the research have found the AD occurs to loss of mitochondrial function and mis-folded proteins. Currently six drugs have been approved in the United states for AD. All the drugs have shown moderate improvement in behavioral and functional measures in the

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear in their mid-60s (nih.gov). AD is a multifactorial and progressive neurodegenerative disease. Parts of AD, for example, increased oxidative state, amyloid plaque deposition, and neurofibrillary tangle of tau protein in the central cortex the limbic system of the brain, have been related with Alzheimer's disease. AD standouts amongst the most well-known and feared diseases burdening the elderly community. The disease was once thought to be a natural part of aging, is an extremely incapacitating type of mental dementia.