Alzheimer's disease

By:
Priyanka Datta
Stream-CSE
Roll No-23
Batch-2013-2017
Alzheimer's Disease:
a disease which is incurable, still under debate with no
solutions to researchers.
A Brain Model

Contents
Introduction: What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Difference between Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease.
A short video: describing what causes Alzheimer’s Disease.
Test & Diagnosis.
Is there any biological test?
The history of Alzheimer’s Disease:
 What are plaques & tangles?
How do plaques form?
How do tangles form?
How do plaques and tangles spread through out the brain
cortex?
Treatment & Prevention.
What is NAPA? –1) The website of NAPA
2)Importance of NAPA
Who is caring for whom?-A very short video representing an
Alzheimer’s patient.
Conclusion.
References.
German Psychiatrist:
Alois Alzheimer

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
:
Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder in which
the death of brain cells causes memory loss and
cognitive decline.
A neurodegenerative type of dementia.
 The disease starts mild and gets progressively worse.

What's the Difference Between
Dementia and Alzheimer's?
Many people use the words “dementia” and
“Alzheimer’s disease” interchangeably.
Dementia is NOT A DISEASE.
Whereas, Alzheimer’s is a disease.
Dementia is a group of symptoms which affects
memory and reasoning.
 Alzheimer’s can be spotted as a cause for dementia.
Alzheimer’s Disease mainly affects people aged between
60 & 85 .
Dementia is not a cause of Alzheimer’s.
Worldwide, 47.5 million people have dementia, out of
which more than 5 million dementia cases are actually
Alzheimer’s and there are 7.7 million new cases every
year.

Alzheimer’s is a disease.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease of the brain that slowly impairs
memory and cognitive function. 2 types of lesions do get generated in
the cortex of brain :plaques & tangles, both of which are responsible
for progression of this disease. The exact cause of this disease is
unknown and is incurable.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimate that more than five
million people in the World have Alzheimer’s disease. Although
younger people can (and do) get Alzheimer’s, symptoms generally
begin after age 60.
The time from diagnosis to death can be as little as three years in
people over 80 years old. However, it can be much longer for younger
people.

Video elaborating about Alzheimer’s Disease.

Tests & Diagnosis:
Alzheimer's disease is not simple to diagnose - there is no single
test for it.
The first thing doctors do is to rule out other problems before
confirming whether mental signs and symptoms are severe enough to
be a kind of dementia or something else.
Doctors may take:
 Take a history (ask about symptoms and daily activities).
Do a physical examination to find any signs of, for example, a stroke,
heart condition or kidney disease.
Arranging brain scans & may carry out abbreviated mental test
score(AMTS).
Sometimes dementia symptoms may relate to normal or hereditary
brain disorders(like Huntington’s Disease)
Alzheimer’s Disease is diagnosed with confirmation when there is
memory loss & impairment in any areas of cognition.
But this neurodegeneration should progress day by day such that
within 8 to 12 months , there is a marked change in the patient’s
behaviour, personality and movements.

Is there any biological test for
this incurable disease?
Answer: NO.
There is no simple biological test specifically for
Alzheimer's disease that can be used by doctors, which is
why all the diagnostic options are designed to rule out
other explanations for the dementia before confirming
Alzheimer's as the cause.
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But genetic test is possible in some settings to indicate the
likelihood of someone having or developing the disease but
this is controversial and not entirely reliable.A gene known as
the APOE-e4 is associated with higher chances of people
over the age of 55 years developing Alzheimer's disease.

The History of Alzheimer’s ,
its mechanism & secrets.

Treatment & Prevention
There is “NO” known cure for Alzheimer’s Disease.
The degeneration of brain cells/neurons cannot be halted
or reversed.
However , Alzheimer’s Association includes the following as
important elements of dementia care.
Effective management of any conditions occurring along
side the Alzheimer's.
Activities/Programs based on adult day care.
In January,2011, President Obama signed the National
Alzheimer's Project Act into law, stating:
"Alzheimer's disease burdens an increasing number of our nation's elders and their
families, and it is essential that we confront the challenge it poses to our public
health."

Who is caring for whom?
A short story about Rosie and Maria.
Rosie is 78 .
Her daughter Maria (aged between 50
to 65) is an Alzheimer’s patient.

Conclusion
“Alzheimer’s Disease is better known
in its complexity”Alzheimer’s Disease has proven to be a very complicated and stressful disease.
There is no cure and is often difficult to diagnose. From most of the cases of
this disease, Alzheimer’s Association & NIH reported that “Alzheimer's disease
is related to aging and health issues like Diabetes and Chronic disorders”. But
unfortunately , the connection between Alzheimer’s , diabetes & chronic
disorders is unknown & is still under research.
The presence of Alzheimer’s dementia becomes more reasonable if the
patient has a prominent difficulty in remembering past events and in learning
new things.
The Alzheimer’s Association has defined the stages of its progression precisely:
“ from a state of no impairment ,through mild and moderate decline and
eventually reaching very severe decline”.
Researches are being made to invent processes to convert it from incurable to
curable & possibly to eradicate this disease completely.

References
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/159442.php
www.alzheimers.org.uk
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer’s _disease/
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-
disease/basic/definition/con-20028371
www.napa.alz.org/national-alzheimers-project-act-backgroun

Alzheimer's disease

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