final exam

Neurodegenerative Diseases | CH 6

Alzheimer’s Disease

• most common form of dementia in older people

• progressive mental deterioration manifested by memory loss, inability to calculate, loss of visual-spatial orientation, confusion, and disorientation

• usually begin after 60, typically result in death within 5-10 years

• cause: loss of cholinergic neurons in certain brain areas with the formation of beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in these neurons

• brain is atrophic, andnormal communication between nerve cells is blocked

• Risk factors

  • greater age

  • family history

  • lower education level

  • female gender

• theres no cure and disease will get worse over time and is inevitably fatal

• measure to slow down progression: NSAIDs, statins, limit alcohol intake, strong family support

• AD Diagnostic Clues:

• Genetic Progress with AD

• Familial AD

• Late Onset AD

• Diagnostic Testing