Reducing Alzheimer's Disease

According to government statistics, approximately 750,000 people in the United Kingdom currently have dementia, with an anticipation that this may rise to close to 1.7 million by 2051. Elderly patients are most frequently diagnosed with

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.

In the United States there are approximately 5.4 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Every sixty-nine seconds a person is diagnosed. This is an ongoing issue, and unless something is done, sixteen million people will be affected by 2050 (Latest).

Alzheimer’s disease is a prominent brain disease that effects a massive amount of individuals in the United States. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for 60-80% of dementia cases, with no chance of being cured, prevented or decelerating over time (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). AD is the most well-known form of dementia, causing complications in brain function in the areas of memory, thinking, and behavior (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). In an effort to gain a deeper understanding of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers create new knowledge about the disease, which is then distributed to the public. The goal in this information disbursement is to find new and inventive ways to treat AD, prevent AD from progressing at such a rapid pace, and aid in the quality of life in those diagnosed with AD as well as caregivers and medical professionals providing treatment to individuals’ with AD.

Alzheimer’s: Scientists know that during Alzheimer’s two abnormal proteins build in the brain. They form clumps called either ‘plaques’ or ‘tangles’. These plaques and tangles interfere with how brain cells work and communicate with each other. The plaques are usually first seen in the area of the brain that makes new memories. A lot of research is focused on finding ways to stop these proteins in their tracks and protect brain cells from harm.

Dr. Longo says, “Most people are working at the edges of the problem, but we’re going right after the core of it.” His goal is keeping the brain’s nerve cells healthy and protected against any assault, including the amyloid plaques and tau tangles. He and his team have developed a drug called LM11A-13 aka C31, which is showing very promising results so far in mice, even indicating the possibility of reversing damage already done! It focuses on maintaining the health and function of the neuron, the connections between neurons and interrupting many of the unhealthy communications caused by amyloid that in turn destroy the cell. LM11A-13 has been found to be safe for humans, and trials will soon begin on Alzheimer’s patients. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but this drug could lead to helping millions of people affected or who have the potential to be affected by this horrible disease, maybe even preventing it all together.

Alzheimer’s disease affects the lives of over 5 million Americans today. The cost that it has placed on the U.S is a staggering $203 million dollars. Researchers have reported that those numbers are expected to triple by 2050. However draining that this disease may seem, the real question is whether there is a solution. To this day there is still no cure to stop or even slow down th progression of the brain disease but there are treatments that help cover the symptoms. While the majority of the people who suffer from Alzheimer is generally over the age of 65, about 200,000, of the estimated 5 million, are in the age range of 30-40.

Alzheimer’s disease or AD is an incurable disorder of the brain that results in loss of normal brain structure and function. In an AD brain, normal brain tissue is slowly replaced by structures called plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The plaques represent a naturally occurring sticky protein called beta amyloid and in an Alzheimer’s brain, sufferer’s tend to accumulate too much of this protein. Neurofibrillary tangles represent collapsed tau proteins which, in a normal brain along with microtubules, form a skeleton that maintains the shape of the nerve cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, the tau proteins break loose from their normal location and form tangles. Without the support of these molecules, nerve cells collapse and die. As normal

The third drug is Galantomine. This drug is also prescribed for mild to moderate cases as well . It is a cholinesterase inhibitor meaning it does almost the same as the previous drug because it controls certain substances in the brain (Johnson, 2009). Alzheimer’s Disease is the degeneration of the cerebral cortex resulting in diffuse cortical atrophy (Johnson, 2009). The three main brain parts that Alzheimer’s disease affects are the cerebrum, cerebellum, and the brain stem (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014). When the inflammation and build-up gets to those parts of the brain it starts to break down the tissue , and when this happens brain cells decrease and neuronal loss begins (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014).

These treatments have medicines that enhance the chemicals in the brain that are responsible for transferring information from one cell to another, but they don’t prevent the death of brain cells. Recently, scientists are trying a new treatment called “recruiting the immune system”. This treatment uses drugs known as “ monoclonal antibodies” which prevents “ antibodies from clumping into plaques and clear the body of beta-amyloid that forms in the brain”. They mimic and enhance the antibodies that your body naturally makes to replace the ones that have died. These Monoclonal antibodies make it easier for the immune system to fight off the drug. In the future, Scientist hope to treat Alzheimer’s with a combination of medications that will cure the disease. Similar to the ones used to fight off cancer. “Alzheimer’s and other dementias has cost the nation $226 billion dollars per year. And someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and dementia will receive $9.7 billion dollars in additional health care. The search to cure Alzheimer’s is still going on

Histopathologically, Alzheimer's disease consists of physiological changes to the brain where abnormal formation of senile plaques composed of beta-amyloid proteins can cause blockage of neuron signaling at the synapses [2]. Tau proteins, which are microtubule associated, are naturally found in the brain and take part in the nutrient transport network in the brain. The degeneration of Tau proteins creates congregates and forms Neuron Fiber Tangles, which is hypothesized to correlate with brain necrosis and brain size [1].

There are some potential treatments for Alzheimer’s that scientists have contemplated such as Zinc and the prevention of a C1q protein. Zinc is critical for the brain and without it neurons can die. As a possible treatment remedy, Zinc can be added to a diet. Also Zn can decline the amount of Amyloid plaques. Recently, Ben Barres who studied at Stanford University School of Medicine conducted a study which involves a protein called C1q. C1q is deemed important because it builds up around the brain where the nerve cells are, this is important because the destruction of nerve cells leads to dementia. C1q is responsible for the elimination of hazardous material and is usually not found in the brain. A study was conducted with the development of an infants brain stating that the growth of synapsis was too quick and there were an abundance of them and something had to get rid of unnecessary synapsis causing a dangerous amount of C1q. Barres is currently working on a possible drug that could prevent the C1q protein. With the current curiosity that AD brings on people, I believe that in no time we will have a treatment.

Contrary to what many people believe, getting Alzheimer's is NOT a normal or natural part of aging. Yet, each year, there are more than 3 million people in the US diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Although, there is no real “cause” for this disease, factors that may contribute to it include age and family history, environmental components, particular genes (APOE-e4 or ADAD are the strongest risk genes), immune system complications, and protein deposits located in the brain. Therefore, since there is

Alzheimer's Disease is a condition that affects 50% of the population over the age of eighty five, which equals four million Americans each year. It is becoming an important and high-profile issue in today's society for everyone. There are rapid advancements being made in the fight against this disease now more than ever, and the purpose of this essay is to educate the public on the background as well as the new discoveries. There are many new drugs that are being tested and studied every day which slow down, and may even halt the progress of the disease.

Approximately 44 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s. More than 5.3 out of the 44 million of people living with Alzheimer’s are Americans. This makes it the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. All things considered, it makes it highly likely that someone within your life is living with this disease. Therefore, people need to educate themselves on the effects of Alzheimer’s because it is increasingly affecting the lives of countless people worldwide.