Problem StatementThe problem to be addressed in this study is Alzheimers Disease (AD) is a debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disorder estimated to affect over 5 million women in the United States, yet recent research has shown that many cases go undiagnosed (Royse et al., 2021). Dubois et al. (2021) have shown, as well, that diagnosing AD remains a critical challenge for physicians. This leads to significant health inequalities for American women compared with men because of womens increased risk for diagnosis due to their demographic factors such as age, gender, and ethnicity (de Lange, 2020; Majoka & Schimming, 2022; Peeters et al., 2022). Research has also suggested that American women with AD experience greater disability and require more assistance than their male counterparts, which further highlights the need for attention on this issue (Zuo & Heflin, 2023). Thus, there is a basis for seeking to better understand the challenges physicians…...
mlaReferences
de Lange, A. G. (2020, August). Women\\\\\\'s brain aging: Effects of sex-hormone exposure, pregnancies, and genetic risk for Alzheimer\\\\\\'s disease. Human Brain Mapping, 41(18), 5141-5150.
Dubois, B., Villain, N., Frisoni, G. B., Rabinovici, G. D., Sabbagh, M., Cappa, S., ... & Feldman,
H. H. (2021). Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer\\\\\\'s disease: recommendations of the International Working Group. The Lancet Neurology, 20(6), 484-496.
Alzheimer's Disease: Summary of esults Q&A
The summary of results on the case study of AD provides that AD is still a disease of those primarily age 85 and older, and an expensive, time-consuming process. It is not a disease that is appropriate for "large, epidemiologic studies" thus screening strategies are most sell-suited so cohort studies are feasible. Diagnostic workups assist in making studies manageable and successful in diagnosing sources of AD and number of actual cases of AD in the public.
Diagnosis of AD brings with it many problems including fear and social stigma; thus it is beneficial to examine risk factors and distinguish between cognitive impairments that are minimal and evidenced in the public at large and actual early warning signs and preclinical AD. False positives are a common diagnostic problem as signs are common with advancing age and may include, "poor vision, hearing loss, arthritis" which all affect performance…...
mlaReferences:
Jones, GMM., Reith, M., Philpot, MP, et al. 1987. Smoking and dementia of Alzheimer's type. (Letter).
Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 50; 1383.
Macarthur, C., Dougherty, G., and Pless, B. 1997. Reliability and validity of proxy respondent information about childhood injury: An assessment of a Canadian surveillance system. Am. J. Epidemiol. 145(9): 834-841.
Robert, P.H., Schuck, S., Dubois, B., Lepine, J.P., Gallarda, T., Olie, JP, Goni, S., Troy, S. 2003. Validation of the Short Cognitive Battery B2C. Value in screening for Alzheimer's disease and depressive disorders in psychiatric patients. Encephale, 29(2 Pt1). 266-72.
Another study sponsored by these marketing firms was published in the August 2001 issue of the Neurology and claimed that it improved cognition, behavior and daily activity in 290 Alzheimer's patients, only 80 of whom had a severe stage. The effect of the drug on the majority of the patients tested was, therefore, uncertain and inconclusive. The former head of the Alzheimer's research for the National Institutes of Health, said that the modest effects of the drug on respondents fewer than several hundred to 1,000 people would be a problem. Exelon, a product of Novartis, and Reminy, a product of Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutica, were similar subjects of small, company-sponsored post-marketing studies. FDA rules say that companies cannot promote their drug products for off-label use or for purposes other than those approved by the FDA by providing doctors or researchers with scripts for their use at conferences and…...
mlaBibliography
1. Delagarza, Vincent W. Pharmacologic Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. American Family Physician, 2003
2. Ebony. Important News for African-Americans in the Battle Against Alzheimer's Disease. Johnson Publishing, 2005
3. FDA Consumer. Second Alzheimer's Drug Ok'd. Food and Drug Administration: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997
4. Klotter, Jule. Marketing Aricept for Alzheimer's Disease. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients: The Townsend Letter Group, 2002
female Alzheimer's patient endures due to this disease. Alzheimer's is a progressive cognitive disorder that destroys a person's memory and hampers other functions that a normal human would expect to be able to experience each day. This paper delves into the disease and presents information through the available literature. The case of an individual that is suffering from Alzheimer's, named Sadie Cohen, will be referenced in this paper.
Severity of the disorder: Alzheimer's caused many of Sadie's brain cells to "degenerate and die," which led to her severe memory loss and the dysfunction of many of her mental abilities; a person like Sadie with Alzheimer's feels lost, confused, and incompetent (Mayo Clinic).
Risk factors: The most common risk factor when it comes to Alzheimer's is the age factor. Moving up in age brings with it the chance of getting the disease. An estimated ten percent of people beyond the age of…...
mlaWorks Cited
Alter, T. (2012). The Growth of Institutional Deception in the Treatment of Alzheimer's
Disease: The Case Study of Sadie Cohen. Journal of Social Work Practice, 26(1), 93-107.
Farran, C.J., Fogg, L.G., McCann, J.J., Etkin, C., Dong, Z., and Barnes, L.L. (2011).
Assessing family caregiver skill in managing behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's
Research Article Chart
Criteria and Defining Characteristics
Article 1:
Abraham, R. P., Denton, D. A., Al?Assaf, A. S., Rutjes, A. W., Chong, L. Y., Malik, M. A., & Tabet, N. (2015). Vitamin and mineral supplementation for prevention of dementia or delaying cognitive decline in people with mild cognitive impairment. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (10).
Article 2:
Kwok, T. C. Y., Lam, L. C. W., Sea, M. M. M., Goggins, W., & Woo, J. (2012). A randomized controlled trial of dietetic interventions to prevent cognitive decline in old age hostel residents. European journal of clinical nutrition, 66(10), 1135.
Article 3:
Dangour, A. D., Whitehouse, P. J., Rafferty, K., Mitchell, S. A., Smith, L., Hawkesworth, S., & Vellas, B. (2010). B-vitamins and fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and dementia: a systematic review. Journal of Alzheimer's disease, 22(1), 205-224.
Abstract
After reading the abstract what do you expect to learn from the article?
What I expected to learn from the article is…...
Therefore the cognitive performance wasn't improved significantly by the use of DHEA though in the 3 months period only a fleeting effect might have been observed (Wolkowitz et al., 2003, p.1073.)
Vitamin E
Vitamin is often prescribed by doctors for the treatment of Alzheimer disease. A large study which was funded by the federal government showed that the reduced ability to do daily activities is delayed slightly by the intake of vitamin E The useful aspects of vitamin E can be attributed to its antioxidant nature which helps in the protection of nerve cells from chemical deterioration. The physician supervision is necessary when someone takes vitamin E as an Alzheimer treatment. There were high doses of vitamin E used in the federal study and vitamin E when used with other medications can interact negatively including the ones used for preventing the clotting of the blood (Khachaturian, 1992, P.73).
Neurotransmitters
The medicine world has…...
mlaReferences
Wolkowitz, O., Kramer, J., Reus, V., Costa, M., Yaffe, K., Walton, P., et al. (2003). DHEA
treatment of Alzheimer's disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Neurology, 60(7): 1071-1076. Retrieved April 1, 2010, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12682308
Khachaturian, Z. (1992). Alzheimer's disease: new treatment strategies. New York: Wiley
Interscience.
Clinical Trial NCT01504854
The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias will grow as the U.S. population age 65 and older continues to increase. It is projected more than 3 million people aged 85 and older are likely to have Alzheimer's, when the first wave of baby boomers reach age 85 in the year 2031 (Alzheimer's Association, 2015). By 2025, the number of people age 65 and older with Alzheimer's disease is estimated to reach 7.1 million -- a 40% increase from the 5 million who are age 65 and older currently affected (Alzheimer's Association, 2015). Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia and is projected to be one of the most prevalent illnesses with our older adult population in the future. Alzheimer's disease remains 100% fatal and there is no cure for the disease; however, there are medications that are believed to be able to slow…...
mlaReferences
Alzheimer's Association. (2015). www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_facts_and_figures.asp.
ClinicalTrials.gov. (2015). Resveratrol for Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials identifier NCT01504854. Retrieved on March 14, 2015 from https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01504854?term=memory&type=Intr&state1=NA%3AUS%3APA&Phase=1&rank=20 .
What is worth noting here is the fact that behavior disturbances, ranging in severity from repeated questioning to physical violence, are common (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).
It is unclear whether Alzheimer's disease represents a single entity or several variants. Some experts believe that there are distinct subtypes of Alzheimer's disease, such as Lewy body disease (in which the signs of Parkinson's disease, visual hallucinations or alterations in alertness or attention, or all of these symptoms, are conspicuous) and frontotemporal dementia (in which disinhibition, misconduct or apathy, or all of these signs, are prominent). The well-established risk factors for Alzheimer's disease are age, a family history of the disease and Down syndrome (National Institute of Mental Health, 1989).
Confusions about Alzheimer's Disease and the Need for Alternative Actions
There have been numerous studies conducted in relation to Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, there are a number of reports which revealed…...
mlaU.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Summary, Confused Minds, Burdened Families: Finding Help for People with Alzheimer's and Other Dementias, OTA-BA-404, Washington, DC: Supt. Of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1990.
Vickrey, Peg Gray-. Advances in Alzheimer's Disease. Nursing: Springhouse Corporation, 2002
Whitehouse PJ. Genesis of Alzheimer's disease. Neurology 1997;48(5 Suppl 7):S2-7.
Research Design
he research was conducted in 40-day care centers located in Baltimore County. A total of 510 newly admitted Alzheimer patients agreed to participate in the study and filled out the questionnaire during their first visit to the day care center. A follow-up survey was conducted two months later using the same instrument.
Study participants also completed an instrument designed to identify barriers preventing community services from being utilized, from the perspective of patients and caregivers. he instrument also assessed whether access to community services impacted the patient's quality of life.
he research design was based on the rans-heoretical Model (M), which assumes that individuals will differ significantly in how motivated and ready they are to change their health-related behaviors (Prochaska, and Diclement, 1983). his research design has been used by a number of researchers to investigate the association between barriers to healthcare services and quality of life measures (e.g., Skevington, Day,…...
mlaThe research design was based on the Trans-Theoretical Model (TTM), which assumes that individuals will differ significantly in how motivated and ready they are to change their health-related behaviors (Prochaska, and Diclement, 1983). This research design has been used by a number of researchers to investigate the association between barriers to healthcare services and quality of life measures (e.g., Skevington, Day, Chisholm, and Trueman, 2005). The hypothesis proposed here is that TTM is a valid research model for understanding the barriers that are preventing minority AD patients and their caregivers from accessing community AD services, as well as understanding the impact these barriers have on the psychological and social status of patients.
There are six stages of behavior change viewable through the TTM lens: (1) pre-contemplation of change, (2) contemplating change, and (4) preparation for changing (engaging sporadically in change behavior), (5) action (regular, but recent change activity), and (6) maintenance (long-term commitment to change activity) (Prochaska, and Diclement, 1983). Most AD patients would be expected to fall into the categories between preparation and action
Individuals who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study were asked to complete a
Alzheimer's Disease currently affects more than four million Americans. Alzheimer's is a disease characterized by the progressive degeneration of areas within the brain, resulting in cognitive and physical decline that will eventually lead to death. It is important to emphasize that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not a normal part of aging. Although AD typically appears in those over sixty-five, it is a neurodegenerative disease, quite distinct from any aging-related cognitive decline. ecause Alzheimer's is eventually fatal, and because the decline typical of an Alzheimer's patient is so devastating, much research is currently being done to investigate potential treatments. With the elderly population the fastest growing segment of North American society, Alzheimer's threatens to be an even greater health concern in the future decades.
For patients exhibiting mild cognitive impairment, research is being done on ways to slow the disease's progression. The two main thrusts of Alzheimer's research are biological, which seeks…...
mlaBibliography
Cohen-Mansfield J. (2001). "Nonpharmacologic interventions for inappropriate behaviors in dementia: a review, summary, and critique." American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,
Cummings, J. (2004). "Alzheimer's Disease." New England Journal of Medicine, 351(1),
Gerdner L.A., & Swanson E.A. (1993). Effects of individualized music on confused and agitated elderly patients. Archive of Psychiatric Nursing, 7, 284-291.
Klunk, W. E et al. (2004). "Imaging brain amyloid in Alzheimer's disease using the novel positron emission tomography tracer, Pittsburgh Compound-B." Annals of Neurology,
One of the most common mental disorders linked to Alzheimer's is depression which according to Elwood Cohen manifests itself in three important ways. First, "There are higher rates of depression among Alzheimer's patients than among non-demented adults;" second, "Having a depressive episode is associated with an increased risk for developing Alzheimer's," and third, Depressive symptoms can be confused with dementia in older adults" (1999, 214).
In a recent study conducted by the Cardiovascular Health Initiative, based in Washington, D.C., more than one-third of 400 dementia patients and more than one-fifth of 300 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had experienced symptoms of depression during a one-month period prior to the study. Similar results were reported by the Multi-Institutional esearch in Alzheimer's Genetic Epidemiology (MIAGE) which discovered that "In the year prior to a patient being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the same patient was almost five times more likely than their…...
mlaReferences
Cohen, Elwood. (1999). Alzheimer's Disease. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Coughlin, Patricia B. (1993). Facing Alzheimer's. New York: Ballantine Books.
Powell, Lenore S. (1993). Alzheimer's Disease: A Guide for Families. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishers, Inc.
A and Katie Courtice. (1993). Alzheimer's Disease. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishers, Inc.
Alzheimer's Disease: An Overview
Disease description and possible misconceptions
Alzheimer's disease is one of, although not the only type, of dementia elderly patients may suffer. The most common form of the illness occurs after age 60. Early-onset Alzheimer's disease before the age of 60 is less common, but the symptoms and worsening of the illness tends to be swifter in nature. Early-onset Alzheimer's disease has a known genetic component. "Certain genes...such as APOE epsilon4 allele" are linked to a greater likelihood of developing Alzheimer's (Jasmin 2010). In older patients, the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's can be difficult to determine. "The only way to know for certain that someone has AD is to examine a sample of their brain tissue after death," to determine if the tissue sample exhibits neurofibrillary tangles, "twisted fragments of protein within nerve cells that clog up the cell;" neuritic plaques, "abnormal clusters of dead and dying nerve…...
mlaReferences
Gwyther, L.P. (2004). Ask the expert: Common questions about Alzheimer's disease.
National Women's Health Report, 26(6), 7-7. Retrieved:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/236242441?accountid=10901
Harman, D. (2000). Alzheimer's disease: A hypothesis on pathogenesis. Age, 23(3), 147-161.
After 13 months, the rats begin to show signs of dementia including reduced cognitive ability and memory impairment (McGill University, 2010).
Amyloid B. immunotherapy
Past research
Past research on the effects of active or passive a? immunization on a? buildup and AD progression provided evidence that such immunization "protects against the progressive loss of synaptophysin in the hippocampal molecular layer and frontal neocortex of a transgenic mouse model of AD" (Buttini & al, 2005). This provided further support for the amyloid hypothesis.
Current research
Since the discovery of a? immunotherapy effectiveness in the treatment of AD in mice, the AN1792 a? vaccine was developed and tested on humans (Lemere & Masliah, 2010). Unfortunately, clinical trials were discontinued when around 6% of the subjects developed meningoencephalitis (Lemere & Masliah, 2010). However, since some subjects showed improvements in a? plaque clearance, several new a? immunotherapies have been developed and are currently undergoing clinical trials (Lemere &…...
mlaReferences
Basi, G., & al, e. (2010). Amyloid precursor protein selective gamma-secretase inhibitors for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, 2 (36).
Buttini, M., & al, e. (2005). Amyloid Immunotherapy Prevents Synaptic Degeneration in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. The Journal of Neuroscience, 25 (40), 9096-9101.
Ganguly, R., & al, e. (2005). Effect of Moringa Oleifera in Experimental Model of Alzheimer's Disease: Role of Antioxidants. Annals of Neurosciences, 12, 33-37.
Herrup, K. (2010). Reimagining Alzheimer's Disease -- an Age-Based Hypothesis. The Journal of Neuroscienc5y7e, 30 (50), 16755-16762.
Numerous studies have documented that shift workers (i.e. those who regularly rotate work shifts from one schedule to another) suffer much higher incidence of many medical problems; likewise, the third shift is widely considered to be the most dangerous in terms of workplace accidents and industrial injuries (Lamond, Dorrian, oach, et al., 2003).
esearchers have determined that there are several specific causes of the negative consequences associated with shift work, some of which are functions of circadian rhythm disruption while others are directly related to other factors, such as the quality and quantity of daytime sleep (Pauley, 2004). In most biological organisms, there is a complex circadian rhythm mechanism that is not yet understood precisely. In principle, that mechanism coordinates various biological processes, such as the secretion of various hormones, during sleep. According to evolutionary biologists, circadian rhythms evolved as means of adaptation to the natural 24-hour cycle of light…...
mlaReferences
Lamond, N., Dorrian, J., Roach, GD., McCulloch, K., Holmes, a.L., Burgess,
H .J., Fletcher, a., and Dawson, D. "The Impact of a Week of Simulated Night
Work on Sleep, Circadian Phase, and Performance" Occupational.
Environment,
Alzheimer's disease has developed into a major health concern for the elderly population throughout the world. This degenerative brain disorder was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1907. Today Alzheimer's is one of the most prevalent forms of brain disorders contributing to as much as 50 to 70% of all reported cases of dementia. Over the years the study of early onset Alzheimer's disease (pre-senile AD) has kind of overshadowed the study of late onset Alzheimer in elderly group. However the disease statistics indicate an increasing susceptibility of the older population. Approximately 5% of the population above 65 years of age and around 20% of the people above 85 years of age are affected by Alzheimer's disease. Hence what was previously ignored as an inevitable old age symptom (senile dementia) is now being properly recognized as an illness. This new perspective of AD has resulted in a drastically altered understanding…...
mlaBibliography
Simon Lovestone and Martin Dunitz, " Early diagnosis and Treatment of Alzheimer's
Disease," Published by Martin Dunitz Ltd., 1998
Gerry Bennett and DR Mark Jones, "The Alzheimer's Handbook," Vermilion
Publishers, 2001
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