Alzheimer - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Alzheimer

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Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease of the brain. ... Homocysteine (an amino acid) is linked to Alzheimer's. ... Alzheimer's can also be diagnosed by ruling ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Alzheimer


1
Alzheimer's Disease
2
Table of Contents
  • What is Alzheimer's
  • What causes Alzheimers
  • What parts of the brain are affected
  • How do you detect Alzheimers
  • Alzheimers sample test
  • Who is at risk
  • A movie and links on Alzheimers

3
What is Alzheimers?
  • Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease of the
    brain.
  • The disease attacks nerve cells in all parts of
    the cortex of the brain, as well as some
    surrounding structures.
  • In the end, an afflicted person loses all memory
    and mental functioning.

Table of contents
4
What causes Alzheimers?
  • Some speculated causes of Alzheimer's are
  • a slow acting virus
  • toxic substances (e.g., aluminum in non-natural
    sources).
  • Homocysteine (an amino acid) is linked to
    Alzheimer's. It is a known risk factor in heart
    disease and high blood pressure, and known to be
    harmful to nerve cells.

Table of contents
5
What parts of the Brain are affected?
  • The hippocampus, which is part of the limbic
    system and in part functions as the focal point
    where processes leading to memory storage and
    retrieval begin.
  • The cortex, which is used in forming associations
    between ideas and memories.

Table of contents
6
How do you detect Alzheimers?
  • Diagnosis is done by asking the individual a
    series of questions to test their short term
    memory.
  • Alzheimer's can also be diagnosed by ruling out
    other explanations for a memory deficit, such as
    a tumor, or stroke.
  • Diagnosis is only about 90 accurate. The only
    way to know that a person has Alzheimer's for
    sure is to do an autopsy after the person dies.

Table of contents
7
An example of a test to diagnose Alzheimer
  • Click here to take the Mini Mental State Exam.

Table of contents
8
Who is at risk for developing Alzheimer
  • Age
  • The number of cases of Alzheimer's disease
    doubles every five years in people over 65. By
    age 85, almost half of all people are afflicted.
  • Family History
  • People with a family history of the disease are
    at higher than average risk for Alzheimers due
    to genetics.
  • Gender
  • A number of studies suggest that women are more
    likely to get it while one reported that men are
    more likely to suffer age-related brain damage.
  • Population Differences
  • African Americans and Hispanics may have a higher
    risk than Caucasian Americans.
  • Alzheimer's disease occurs less frequently in the
    Native American Cherokees and in Asians.

Table of contents
9
A movie on Alzheimers disease
  • You will need real ONE to view this video.
  • Alzheimers

Links to Alzheimers resources
Alzheimers Association Alzheimers Disease
Education and Referral Center
Table of contents
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