Alzheimers Disease - Aging Final

What is Dementia?

Significant loss of intellectual abilities such as memory capacity, severe enough to interfere with social or occupational functioning

What is the criteria for Diagnosis of Dementia?

• Impairment to attention, orientation, memory, judgement, language, motor and spatial skills, and function

What is not the major cause of Dementia

1. Major Depression

2. Schizophrenia

What falls under the umbrella of dementia?

1. Alzheimers

2. Vascular

3. Lewy Body

4. Frontotemporal

5. Parkinson’s

Defining Dementia

Dementia is progressive, meaning the symptoms will continue to get worse as more brain cells lose connection with each other and eventually die

• It is not a normal part of aging

• there are several causes of Dementia

• Someone can have brain changes that resembles more than one type of dementia

• Dementia - like symptoms can be observed without progressive brain changes

Alzheimer’s Disease

• it is difficult to predict symptoms, the order they will appear, or its progression rate

• Symptoms may be minimal in beginning with them slowly progressing

• Characterized by plaque and tangle build up in the brain

What are some areas that are affected?

1. Cognition

2. Emotions and mood

3. Behaviour

4. Physical Abilities

Early Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

• Marked by Memory Loss

• Disorientation to time and space

• Poor Judgement

• Personality Changes

Time in stage: starts 20 years before diagnosis

Middle Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease

• Increased Memory Problems

• Difficulties with Speech

• Restlessness

• Irritability and loss of impulse control

Moderate AD time in stage : 2-10 years

Late Stage

• Incontinence of urine and feces

• Loss of motor skills

• Decreased appetite

• Have great difficulty with speech and language

• may not recognize family or even oneself in a mirror

• Losses most (or all) of self care abilities

• Decreased ability to fight off infection

Time in stage: Ranges from 1-5 years

Who was the Original Alzheimers original patient?

• Auguste D., Age: 51

Problem with:

• Memory

• Unfounded suspicions that her husband was unfaithful

• Difficulty speaking and understanding language

Rapid decline

• Died of infections from bedsores and pneumonia

What did they see in the original Alzheimers patient?

Autopsy

• dramatic atrophy, especially of cerebral cortex

• widespread fatty deposits in small blood vessels

• Dead and dying brain cells

• Abnormal deposits and around cells

What are the brain changes in Alzheimers Disease?

• Atrophy

• Senile Plaque: Buildup of Beta- Amyloid may interfere with neuronal communication

• Neurofibrillary tangles: threads of Tau protein become twisted

What are the structural changes in Alzheimer’s Disease?

• Amyloid build up

• Tau Build up

• Neurodegneration/atrophy

What are the structural changes in Alzheimers Cerebrovascular Disease?

• Cerebrovascular disease is observed in over 70 percent of the people with AD

• Often measured using white matter Hyper intensities

• Similar to AD- Specific pathology, cerebrovascular pathology is known to occur before decline in cognition

What are the Risk Factors Alzheimers Disease

• Age

• Genetics/Heredity

• Mild Cognitive impairment: objective memory impairment but no dementia

• Health Status: High Blood Pressure, High cholesterol, poor controlled diabetes

• Education is a protective factor

What are the type of preventions?

• Modifying vascular and lifestyle risk factors

• AD is multifactorial therefore multicomponent interventions that target several risk factors simulataneously may be needed for optimal preventative effects

Finger study

• two year intervention program which included: nutritional guidance, physical exercise, cognitive training, social stimulation and management of vascular and metabolic risk factors

• Improved/ maintained cognitive functioning in older adults at risk of dementia