Alzheimers

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Alzheimers
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By K. R. and T. M.
In this project I also refer to Alzheimers as
Dementia and AD
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Are you ready to be horrified? Are you prepared
to see some gruesome pictures? Are you sure you
are ready to be totally grossed out by my
project!? Well hold you breath because I am now
going to tell you the name of the most disgusting
project ever. Are you ready? Ok. Hope you are
ready now because my project is on
ALZHEIMERS! Scary isnt it. If you dont know
what this disease is or does you have no need to
worry because Alzheimers is not the tinniest bit
gross. (Unfortunately) In this project I will be
telling you about some of the symptoms, cause,
treatment, and diagnosis of Alzheimers. So, with
out further a due get ready to do some heavy
learning on Alzheimers.
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In General
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Alzheimers was first discovered / described in
1906 by a German neurologist by the name of Alois
Alzheimer.
This disease is mainly a deterioration of a
section of the brain. One of the effects of this
deterioration is memory loss.
Alzheimers is sometimes referred to as Dementia,
but they are actually a little different. The
main reason they are confused is because their
symptoms are so similar and because Alzheimers
can sometimes lead to Dementia.
Alzheimers usually only affects people from the
age of 60 and higher.
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What Happens
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At this time doctors/ researchers/ scientists do
not know what really happens inside the brain to
people that have Alzheimers. One thing that they
are pretty sure of is that in AD patients there
is a deficiency of neurons.
They have noticed these following things in
patients who they know who have
Dementia Ventricular growth is abnormally fast
The picture above shows the way the ventricular,
(black area in the middle), is growing faster
than it should be.
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Causes
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What causes Alzheimers is still unknown at this
present time, but there are many theories. These
include Family Genes (see pg.9 for
details) Genetic mutation (see pg.10 for
details)
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Family Genetics
It has been shown that many people who have
Alzheimers have family member (s) that have a
certain E gene. This gene is called
Apolipoprotein or APO E. The E gene that is most
commonly found in these family members is called
APO E3.
There is no hard proof that shows a definite link
to Alzheimers and this E gene, but it may be a
very important observation.
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Genetic Mutation
Genetic mutation is thought to be linked to the
making of amyloid. Amyloid is a protein in
plaques which can lead to the destruction of
neurons.
They find this very interesting because this is
what happens to Down Syndrome patients.
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Symptoms
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Some of the Symptoms of Alzheimers include
Hallucinations
Appetite Decreasing
Uncoordinated
Aggression
Forgetfulness
No Longer Cares About Things They May Have Loved
Before
Not Sleeping Properly
Unable To Care For Themselves
Depression
Memory Loss
Severe Confusion
Wanders Around A Lot
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Diagnosis
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Most of the time the process of elimination is
used to see if someone has Alzheimers. If the
patient has any of the symptoms of this disease
and has no condition such as high blood
pressure, alcoholism, or diabetes then there is a
much higher possibility of them having the
Alzheimers. Even still it is difficult to
actually give a clear diagnosis of this disease.
I believe that most people do not know that they
have Dementia until the later stages is because
the symptoms of this disease do not stand out
like some other diseases. For example memory loss
could happen to anyone who is 60 which is also
the more likely age of people developing this
disease.
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Right now you are probably thinking that there is
no way to diagnose someone of Alzheimers right?
Well, you are not completely right because there
is in fact one way to find out. That one way is
to do an autopsy, but to do an autopsy the person
would have to be dead. So, there is pretty much
no real way to diagnose someone of Alzheimers.
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Treatment
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Unfortunately, there is still no real cure for
Alzheimers, but there are some drugs which help
patients suffering from this disease. Some of
these drugs are

• Tacrine (Cognex) was approved in1993
• Donepezil (Aricept) was approved in 1996
• ENA-713 (Exelon) was approved in 2000
• Galantamine (Reminyl) was approved in 2001

Just like any other drug or medication all of the
ones I mentioned above have side effects. Some of
the most common side effects which happen when a
patient is taking medication include sedation,
falls, and sometimes even quicker mental decline!
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At the moment some research is being done in
Britain on certain therapies and how they could
possibly help patients dealing with Dementia. A
very good thing about therapies are that there
are very few side effects and it is also fairly
natural so there will not be many chemicals.
The research being done at the University of
Manchester in the United Kingdom says that
aromatherapy and bright light treatment will be a
very helpful treatment to help ease the most
severe symptoms of Alzheimers.
Other helpful therapies include

• Music Therapy Photo Therapy
• Aroma Therapy Electroconvulsive Therapy

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In aroma therapy they use special candles to help
you feel a certain way. An example would be for
you to become calm or happy. The smells of the
candles send messages to your brain and that is
how they relax you.
Music therapy is similar to aroma therapy. In
this particular therapy they use different
musics to make you feel a certain way. It is
almost like elevator music. The reason there is
music in elevators is to help some people become
distracted from maybe their fear of heights.
Different musics also send messages to your
brain and make you feel a certain way.
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Facts
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Dementia was only first described 96 years ago!
It usually takes from 2-8 years until the final
stage of Alzheimers is reached. At this point
just about all of their memory is gone.
This disease is virtually unknown in people 45
and younger.
In some cases the patient may clearly be able to
remember their childhood or early the early years
of their adult life, but when asked to recall
what they had for lunch or just something more
recent they are unable to do so.
Half of almost every nursing home in the United
States has Dementia patients.
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The End
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Bibliography