Alzheimer’s Disease Free Essay

Microvascular Injury and Blood-brain Barrier Leakage in Alzheimer’s Disease

The increase in life expectancy and new habits gave humanity the opportunity to become acquainted with Alzheimer’s disease, which steals memories, everyday skills and personality. The complex nature of the occurrence, the severity of diagnosis and the great bulk of research have led to the emergence of myths about Alzheimer’s disease, with which people are often better acquainted than with methods of prevention (Kalat, 2018). However, it is the knowledge of the latest information that allows you to protect yourself from an incurable disease.

This disease is the most common form of memory loss or dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is usually diagnosed in old people, but it can appear at an earlier age. Most often, the disease begins with a short-term memory disorder, that is, a person easily forgets the information received recently, and at the same time easily reproduces facts and data related to the distant past. Then the long-term memory is also upset, a number of other symptoms appear. There is a reason to relate the appearance of the disease at an early age with a mutation of genes (McDaniel, 2005). Also, geneticists believe that those at risk who have close relatives suffer from Alzheimer’s disease are at risk. During the course of the disease, a number of pathological processes occur in the body. For example, the concentration in the brain tissues of incorrectly folded proteins – beta-amyloid and tau protein. Small peptides form plaques. Senile plaques also appear. In addition, there is a “loss” of neurons and synaptic connections. This leads to atrophy of certain areas of the cerebral cortex. Simply put, there is a destruction of nerve cells in large quantities, there is a lack of substances necessary for the transmission of nerve impulses. The disease develops gradually. Alzheimer’s disease is considered as senile marasmus – is a disease in which certain systems of brain cells (neurons) seem to die, leading to the development of senile or senile dementia (dementia). This disease is more common in people poorly educated, with unskilled professions. A person with high intelligence is less likely to encounter manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease because he has a greater number of connections between nerve cells (Kalat, 2018). Therefore, with the death of some cells, the lost functions may be transferred to others that were not previously involved. More often, age-related dementia affects women – perhaps the reason for this lies in the longer life expectancy of women: many men simply do not live up to Alzheimer’s disease. People with Alzheimer’s disease also suffer from chemical imbalances in the brain. The lack of chemicals that help in the transmission of signals between neurons also contributes to the breakdown of connections between them and the loss of functionality. The main feature of dementia and the diseases causing it is that this condition progresses with time (Kalat, 2018). Patients with Alzheimer’s disease do not recover, therapy can only contain some symptoms, and medications that would completely cope with the disease simply do not exist yet.

There are particular factors make a person more vulnerable to the disease.

  1. Older age is a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease are at least 65 years old. Although much less common, Alzheimer’s disease (also known as early-onset Alzheimer’s disease) can begin before 65 years. It is estimated that the number of such patients is up to 5%. Often, manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age are not correctly diagnosed.
  2. Relatives with Alzheimer’s. If one of your parents or brothers and sisters suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, then you are more likely to get sick than those who do not have such close relatives. It is not fully understandable, especially the causes of familial cases of Alzheimer’s disease, but it is possible that genetic and environmental factors and lifestyle play a part.
  3. Genetic factor. There are several genes whose mutations increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Allele e4 of the APOE gene is the most common risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease; it is estimated that he played his role in the development of the disease in about a quarter of cases. Unlike the risk gene, the determining gene guarantees the development of the disease. There is only one case where Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the inheritance of a determining gene. The development of Alzheimer’s disease due to the presence of a determining gene occurs rarely, in less than 1% of cases. Alzheimer’s disease caused by the presence of a determining gene is called “autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease (ADBA).”
  4. Mild cognitive impairment. Symptoms of mild cognitive impairment include changes in thought processes, but they do not interfere with everyday functions and are not as severe as in Alzheimer’s disease or other advanced dementia. The presence of mild cognitive impairment, especially with memory problems, increases the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. However, mild cognitive impairment does not always progress. In some cases, they are reversible or remain at the same level.
  5. Cardiovascular diseases. Research suggests that brain health is directly linked to cardiovascular health. Through the blood, the brain receives the oxygen and nutrients necessary for normal functioning, and the heart is responsible for the blood flow to the brain (Zipser et al., 2006). Therefore, the causes that lead to cardiovascular diseases may also be related to the increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Among them are smoking, overweight, diabetes elevated cholesterol and blood pressure in middle age.
  6. Level of education and Alzheimer’s disease. There is a link between fewer years of formal education and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Although there is no obvious reason for this dependence, it is believed that more formal education years may help strengthen the connection between neurons, thereby allowing the brain to use alternative ways of transmitting signals from the neuron to the neuron with changes caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
  7. Traumatic brain injury. The risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias increases as a result of moderate to severe head injuries, such as hitting the head or other damage to the skull, which leads to loss of memory or consciousness for more than thirty minutes. A half of all traumatic brain injuries are caused by traffic accidents. Those who constantly receive blows to the head and other head injuries, for example, athletes or participants in combat conflicts, are also at increased risk of developing dementia and cognitive impairment.

There are several different signs and symptoms of memory loss that may indicate Alzheimer’s disease. If a person experiences one or more of the following symptoms, you need to see a specialist. The most common symptom of Alzheimer’s disease is memory loss. A person who has experienced memory loss can:

  • forget recently received information;
  • re-request the same information;
  • be highly dependent on aids, such as calendars and notes;
  • forget important events or dates.

When a person grows old, he can often forget about various things. A typical non-Alzheimer’s memory loss may include forgetting a friend’s name but recalling it later. A person with early onset Alzheimer’s disease will experience a more pronounced loss of memory and may repeatedly forget the same information.

Another common early sign of Alzheimer’s disease is that a person has difficulty performing a familiar task. A patient with early onset Alzheimer’s disease can:

  • forget how to get to the grocery store, restaurant or workplace;
  • have trouble balancing your home or work budget;
  • forget the rules of the familiar game.

Sometimes with natural aging, a person begins to need help in dealing with new or unfamiliar things. For example, the need to help an older person understand the settings on a new phone is not unusual and does not necessarily indicate a problem. In contrast, if a person has been using the same phone for many years and suddenly cannot remember how to make a phone call, he may experience memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Some people with early onset Alzheimer’s disease find that they have problems solving and focusing. It may be difficult for a person to follow a recipe or instructions written on a product. They may also have problems tracking monthly bills or expenses.

Sometimes Alzheimer’s disease can cause vision problems, which can make it difficult to judge the distance between objects. It can also make it difficult for a person to distinguish between contrast and color. These vision problems can make driving difficult. Normal aging also affects the vision, so it is important to regularly conduct an examination by an ophthalmologist.

Another common sign of early onset Alzheimer’s disease is confusion about places or time. A person may have problems tracking the seasons, months or time of day. Sometimes a person may not know where they are, or not remember how he got there.

Most people lose items at certain times, but can usually find them by performing a logical search and repeating their steps. A person with Alzheimer’s disease may forget where he placed the item, especially if he put it in an unusual place. This pathology also makes it difficult for a person to repeat the steps in order to find the missing object. This can be unpleasant and can make a person believe that someone is stealing from him.

A person may have problems with maintaining a conversation or repeating what has been said. There may also be problems with the recording of thoughts. A person can stop in the middle of a conversation, unable to understand what to say next. Patients may struggle to find the right word or label things wrong.

Each of us sometimes makes bad decisions. However, people with early onset Alzheimer’s disease may experience noticeable changes in their ability to make the right decisions. Signs of poor judgment include:

  • too much spending on unnecessary items;
  • inattention to personal care;
  • irregular hygiene.
  • mood or personality changes

A person with Alzheimer’s disease may become embarrassed, anxious, suspicious or depressed. He can demonstrate these qualities in various settings, including at work, at home and in unfamiliar places. Such patients may become upset because of their symptoms or feel unable to understand the changes taking place. This can manifest itself in the form of aggression or irritability towards others. As Alzheimer’s disease progresses, a person may stop participating in social or work activities in which he had previously engaged.

How the disease progresses: the symptoms of the disease at different stages. Replacing the prementia comes the next stage of Alzheimer’s disease – early dementia. The decrease in memory progresses, agnosia begins to appear – a violation of different types of perception (tactile, visual, auditory). However, this preserves the sensitivity of consciousness. Often there is a violation of speech, perception, executive and motor functions. With regard to the events of the distant past, the obvious long-perceived facts, well-learned daily motor functions, all this is less subject to oblivion in comparison with the new information. Vocabulary at an early stage of dementia is reduced, speech speed decreases, coordination of movements can be disturbed, making it difficult to perform everyday household activities. Then moderate dementia occurs, in which the symptoms listed above are aggravated, coordination of movements is disturbed, and reading and writing skills are lost. The patient can perform basic household functions (dress, perform hygienic procedures, etc.), but over time he will need help in this. Long-term memory begins to break down, behavioral abnormalities appear, which usually become aggravated in the evening: tearfulness, irritability, aggression, and even a desire for vagrancy (Marriott, Hauss-Wegrzyniak & Benton, 2002). Relatives and loved ones may be under stress at the same time, so placing Alzheimer’s patients in institutions is often the solution. The last stage of the disease is severe dementia. During this period, the patient is completely dependent on outside help, his speech consists of fragmentary phrases, vocabulary is reduced to a minimum. The patient usually does not leave apathy, his muscle mass is depleted, and he can no longer carry out all the necessary actions without assistance, including eating. Immobility in most cases causes pneumonia and pressure ulcers, which becomes the cause of death.

The disease begins with increasing memory impairment. The early stage may go unnoticed by others, since the person, having noted the first symptoms of the disease, tries in every way to hide them. With the increasing loss of memories, a feeling of confusion, misunderstanding. Gradually, a person ceases to orient himself in a place and time, his accumulated knowledge, experience, and skills fall out of his memory, and first, the events that come next in time are forgotten, and then more distant ones. Recognition of the shape, color, faces, sense of orientation in space is impaired. This may affect, for example, in the chaos and asymmetry of handwriting: letters accumulate in the center or in the corners of the page, vertically. The brain uses different structures to work with existing types of memory. There are two main types of memory: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory stores a limited amount of information for a short period of time. Long-term memory stores a large amount of complex information for a long time. This is what is commonly called “memory.”

Loss of memory with age and normal aging: despite the fact that forgetfulness and memory disorders do not occur only in older people, it is true that these people are more susceptible to such problems. With age, the ability to learn and the quality of memory can deteriorate even without any pathology. However, when these problems become more serious than usual, we can talk about mild cognitive impairment or, with more serious impairments, dementia.

Loss of memory as a result of emotional problems in older people: it is common for older people to feel lonely, losing loved ones, or not to feel useful after retiring. Given these changes, it is normal that some of the elderly suffer from emotional disorders, such as depression. Depressed older people may experience more memory loss and confuse these symptoms with Alzheimer’s disease or other memory problems. Depression can cause serious memory problems in both the elderly and young people, but in the case of elderly patients, it is very important to carry out appropriate differentiated diagnostics to rule out the presence of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the fact that memory problems in people suffering from depression may not be as relevant as in other pathologies, it is necessary to pay attention to the emotional problems with which they suffer (Castel, Balota & McCabe, 2009).

Memory loss with mild cognitive impairment: A mild cognitive impairment is a disorder that leads to memory loss, but does not interfere with the person who suffers from it in his daily activities. Some studies suggest that a mild cognitive impairment may be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, although not in all cases these disorders lead to Alzheimer’s disease.

Memory loss due to dementia is one of the most important problems affecting the health of older people, but this is not a normal consequence of aging. Dementia usually includes the onset of chronic cognitive problems, such as problems with memory, speech, behavior, etc. There are different types of dementia, but the most common form is Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease memory loss. In this disease, a protein called “beta-amyloid” accumulates in the neurons, forming senile plaques, until these neurons lose vitality. This leads to a gradual and severe deterioration of memory, problems with orientation (patients often do not know what day it is and where they are), difficulties in calculations and, in general, with the implementation of everyday tasks. The severity of the disease varies depending on the stage at which the patient is located. In the mild stage, a person with Alzheimer’s disease can show significant memory loss, get lost in a familiar place, keep away from usual business and conversations, can forget dates, show symptoms of depression and hostility. In the moderate stage, memory loss cases are most prominent, patients may forget names or things that happened a few minutes ago, have difficulty with shopping or cooking, may neglect personal hygiene, have problems with speech or show aggression, tend to forget the road, and ultimately, their daily life becomes impossible without outside help. In the advanced stage, patients may have problems with eating or understanding simple information, they do not recognize relatives and friends, they behave inadequately in public. At this stage, the person becomes completely addicted.

There is no simple test that could determine Alzheimer’s disease. Establishing a diagnosis requires a comprehensive medical examination, which may include:

  • Family Medical History;
  • Neurological examination;
  • Cognitive tests for memory and thinking;
  • Blood tests (to rule out other possible causes);
  • Neuroimaging.

Although the doctor can usually determine the presence of dementia, it can be difficult to determine its type. A misdiagnosis is especially characteristic of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. It is important to establish an accurate diagnosis as early as possible, as this gives:

  • Higher probability of obtaining a favorable effect from the existing methods of treatment, improving the quality of life;
  • Opportunity to get help from support services;
  • Chance to participate in clinical trials and research;
  • Ability to express your wishes for future care and living;
  • Time to resolve financial and legal issues.

Currently, dozens of methods of therapy and pharmacological research are being developed to prevent the destruction of brain cells under the influence of Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms, as there are still no specific drugs for Alzheimer’s disease. There are some tools that can help with memory loss. They are most effective if you start taking them at an early stage of the disease. Doctors can also provide recommendations and prescribe medications that can help cope with insomnia, since it can also cause memory problems. A person can also talk to a counselor about any behavioral changes he is experiencing. In addition, some drugs are relevant for symptoms of depression or anxiety. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and the disease is not completely cured. However, early detection can help slow the progression of pathology, but will not prevent it.

References

Castel, A., Balota, D., & McCabe, D. (2009). Memory Efficiency and the Strategic Control of Attention at Encoding: Impairments of Value-Directed Remembering in Alzheimer’s Disease. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/neu233297.pdf

Kalat, J. (2018). Biological Psychology. Retrieved from http://paradise.untergrund.net/tmp/roinat/Biological%20Psychology%20(2).pdf

McDaniel, M. (2005). Older People with the “Alzheimer’s Gene” Find It Harder to “Remember to Remember” Even if they’re Healthy. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2005/01/alzheimers-memory.aspx

Marriott, L., Hauss-Wegrzyniak, B., & Benton, R. (2002). Long-Term Estrogen Therapy Worsens the Behavioral and Neuropathological Consequences of Chronic Brain Inflammation. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bne-1165902.pdf

Zipser, B. D., Johanson, C. E., Gonzalez, L., Berzin, T. M., Tavares, R., Hulette, C. M., et al. (2006). Microvascular injury and blood-brain barrier leakage in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 28, 977–986.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 19, 2024]
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