neurodegenerative disorders Flashcards
dementia description and examples of symptoms
note that dementia falls under the umbrella of alzheimer’s disease, but they are not the same thing
Dementia is a group of symptoms that affect a person’s ability to think, remember, and reason.
symptoms include;
Memory loss
Confusion
Difficulty with language and understanding
Changes in behavior
Mood changes
Emotional control issues
Visual hallucinations
Sleep disturbances
Repeated falls and fainting
one of the first symptoms is memory loss
more common nowadays due to aging population, alaongside other risk factors like the consumption of high glycaemic foods
the greatest risk factor for dementia
increased age
main types of dementia and their descriptions
alzheimer’s disease : main symptom is memory loss and is characterised by Amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles…etc
vascular dementia: Caused by reduced blood supply to the brain, and leads to impaired judgement or ability to make decisions…etc
dementia with Lewy bodies: characterised by lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex. causes Memory loss, but also sleep disturbances, hallucinations, and parkinsonian symptoms
frontotemporal dementia: results to changes in personality /behaviour , language difficulties.
Lewy bodies are abnormal clumps of protein that accumulate in the brain, causing Lewy body dementia (LBD).
Alzheimer’s the main cause, followed by vascular dementia
describe mild cognitive impairment(MCI)
refers to the Slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities, including memory and thinking skills.
MCI symptoms do not significantly interfere with daily life
or independent function
the two main symtoms of MCI and their descriptions
amnestic MCI, the main symtpom, which causes memory impairment
nonamnestic MCI, in which thinking skills other than memory are affected, i.e memory is not affected.
which type of MCI is more likely to cause ALzheimer’s disease or other dementias
amnestic MCI
the phases of cognitive decline
normal aging, which is associated with slight changes in our cognitive
preclinical decline, where the brain changes without measurable symptoms, not detectable on tests
MCI
the dementia, which is severe enough to interfere with everyday activities
what happens to the brain during alzheimer’s
the brain shrinks, there is a buildup of abnormal proteins like amyloid plaques and tau tangles, loss of neurons and eventually brain death.
note that shrinking occurs normally with aging, but is substantially elevated in Alzheimer’s
the part of the brain where memory is stored
memory is stored is various parts of the brain but the main part is the hippocampus , it is where the overall experience of a memory is stored
other areas involved are, the neocortex, the amygdala, the cerebellum, stratium(long term memory) and the prefrontal cortex(short term memory)
the main neuropathological features of Alzheimer’s
Amyloid plaques
neurofibrillary tangles
Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are abnormal clumps of the protein tau that form inside neurons
how are amyloid plaques formed
when enzymes cut into the Amyloid precursor protein(APP) fragments of protein , including beta-amyloid
beta-amyloid fragments come together in clumps to form amyloid plaques
APP is the precursor of the
beta-amyloid peptide, the
building component of plaques
how do we detect amyloid plaque presence in the brain
with brain imaging techniques, like;
PET scans
MRI
CT scans..etc
alzheimer’s is sometimes referred to as the diabetes of the brain, true or false
true .
there are similarities in both conditions, eg, insulin resistance being linked with (alzheimer’s disease)AD…
SYMPTOMS OF ALZHEIMER’S
Multiple cognitive deficits that include impairments of recent memory and at least one of the following cognitive disturbances:
aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or a disturbance in
executive functioning
aphasia; also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person’s ability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions
apraxia;a disorder of the brain and nervous system in which a person is unable to perform tasks or movements when asked, even though: The request or command is understood. They are willing to perform the task.
agnosia; a rare disorder whereby patients cannot recognize and identify objects, persons, or sounds using 1 or more of their senses despite otherwise normally functioning senses
one of the first brain structures affected in Alzheimer’s is??
the hippocampus
which of these is responsible for retrieving longterm and shorterm memory;
hippocampus
neocortex
hippocampus for the retrieval of short term memory
neocortex for the retrieval of longterm memory
state some other ways that Alzheimer’s can be diagnosed
blood tests, and medication history to rule out other possible causes
memory tests like the mini mental state examination (MMSE) or the
General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition (GPCOG), to assess cognitive abilities
brain scans
genetics account for a great percentage of alzheimer’s cases, true or false
false, The majority of Alzheimer’s disease cases are
sporadic (with no genetic inheritance)
early onset alzheimer’s
alzheimer’s that occurs before the age of 65
early onset alzheimer’s presents as a mutation in how many genes, name these genes
3
- Amyloid precursor protein
- Presenilin 1 (PS1)
- Presenilin 2 (PS2)
note that it has full penetrance, meaning every person with a particular gene mutation will develop the disease
presenilins control the cleavage of??
APP (Amyloid precursor protein)
how to reduce risk of dementia
keeping physically active
dont smoke
eat a healthy balanced diet
keeping alcohol within recommended limits
keep to a healthy weight
giving the brain a healthy workout
current treatments for AD
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
NMDA receptor antagonists( Aimed to reduce excitotoxicity caused by high glutamate release by damaged neurons)
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors most commonly used
treatment aimed at symptoms and not causes
name some acetylcholinesterase inhibitors used in AD treatment
Donepezil
Rivastigmine
Galantamine
