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Submitted by ZephyrX on February 25, 2008
Category: Science
Words: 951 | Pages: 4
Views: 139
Popularity Rank: 81,489
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Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is one of the most common of the dementing illnesses. A
progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain, causing impaired
memory, thinking and behavior. A person with Alzhiemers Disease may experience
personality and behavior changes, impaired judgment, confusion and difficulty
finishing thoughts, following directions or even finding the right word to say
in a conversation. Once advanced the sufferer may require a caretaker as daily
chores become very difficult to accomplish. Evidence points toward amyloid as
one of the main causes for the occurring cytotoxic processes. Researchers have
found that degeneration appears to be caused by interference with intracellular
calcium homeostasis via activation of calcium channels, intracellular calcium
stores, and further production of free radicals by calcium-sensitive enzymes.
The glutamatergic system seems to be involved in mediating the toxic processes.
In the brain, the nerve cells in the part that controls memory and thinking are
damaged, this interrupts the passage of messages between communicating cells.
The cells undergo distinctive changes, these are called neuritic plaques (groups
of degenerating nerve cell ends) and neurofibrillary tangles (groups of twisted
filaments which accumulate in previously healthy nerve cells). The cortex (used
for thinking) of the brain shrinks, the spaces in the center of the brain become
enlarged causing reduction of the surface area in the brain. Symptoms of AD
usually occur in older adults and are the ones most at risk, although people in
their 40s and 5Os may also be affected. The symptoms include a loss of
intellectual capacity, loss of language skills which may include having trouble
finding words, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking,
disorientation in place and...
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