...Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive and irreversible brain disease that destroys mental and physical functioning in human beings, and invariably leads to death. It is the fourth leading cause of adult death in the United States. Alzheimer's creates emotional and financial catastrophe for many American families every year, but fortunately, a large amount of progress is being made to combat Alzheimer's disease every year. To fully be able to comprehend and combat Alzheimer's disease, one must know what it does to the brain, the part of the human body it most greatly affects. Many Alzheimer's disease sufferers had their brains examined. A large number of differences were present when comparing the normal brain to the Alzheimer's brain. There was a loss of nerve cells from the Cerebral Cortex in the Alzheimer's victim. Approximately ten percent of the neurons in this region were lost. But a ten percent loss is relatively minor, and cannot account for the severe impairment suffered by Alzheimer's victims. Neurofibrillary Tangles are also found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. They are found within the cell bodies of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, and take on the structure of a paired helix. Other diseases that have "paired helixes" include Parkinson's disease, Down's Syndrome, and Dementia Pugilistica. Scientists are not sure how the paired helixes are related in these very different diseases. Neuritic Plaques are patches of clumped material lying...
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...dysfunction of the cranial nerve VII (the facial nerve) causing an inability to control facial muscles on the affected side. Often the eye in the affected side cannot be closed. The eye must be protected from drying up, or the cornea may be permanently damaged, resulting in impaired vision. In some cases denture wearers experience some discomfort. The common presentation of this condition is a rapid onset of partial or complete paralysis that often occurs overnight. In rare cases, it can occur on both sides resulting in total facial paralysis. Bell’s palsy is defined as a one-sided facial nerve paralysis of unknown cause. Several other conditions can also cause facial paralysis, e.g., brain tumor, stroke, myasthenia gravis, and Lyme disease; however, if no specific cause can be identified, the condition is known as Bell's palsy. It is thought that an inflammatory condition leads to swelling of the facial nerve. The nerve travels through the skull in a narrow bone canal beneath the ear. Nerve swelling and compression in the narrow bone canal are thought to lead to nerve inhibition or damage. Usually it gets better on its own with most people achieving normal or near-normal function. Corticosteroids have been found to improve outcomes, when used early, while anti-viral drugs have not.[3][4] Many show signs of improvement as early as 10 days after the onset, even without treatment. Bell's palsy is the most common acute disease involving a single nerve and is the most common cause...
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...coordinating incoming and outgoing impulses, thoughts, and feelings via nerves. Functionally, the nervous system can be divided into the central nervous system (controls in-bound and out-bound neural impulses), and peripheral nervous system (connects the CNS with the peripheral parts of the body). The PNS can be divided into subdivisions of the somatic nervous system (deals with the parts of the body we move voluntarily) and autonomic nervous system (works with the involuntary parts of the body). The CNS receives sensory input from the peripheral nervous system and produces motor responses via nerves. A nerve is a fiber composed of nerve cells and neurons. Most nerves of the peripheral nervous system contain both sensory neurons and motor neurons. The sensory neurons in the peripheral nerve carry sensory impulses to the CNS. The CNS processes this information and sends the appropriate motor signals back to the nerves via the motor neurons. (Terfera, D. & Jegtvig, S., 2015). The brain and spinal cord is what makes up the central nervous system. The brain being the command center controlling the body functions of sending and receiving messages through the nerves. At the end of each nerve cell, there is a synaptic terminal thus full of extremely tiny sacs that hold neurotransmitter chemicals. These chemicals transmit nerve impulses from one nerve to another or from nerves to muscle cells. An electrical nerve impulse travels along the neuron to these sacs that then release...
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...attacks the central nervous system. There are many believers that this an autoimmune disease. Autoimmunity means that the immune system is reaching against normal occurring antigens in the body. Although, many believe this, there is no antigen that has been identified in Multiple Sclerosis; therefore, it cannot be classified as an autoimmune disease. In the case with Multiple Sclerosis the immune system attacks and damages certain structures and cells within the CNS. The following structures and cells are: myelin, oligodendrocytes, and underlying nerve fibers. Myelin is a fatty sheath that surrounds and protects nerve fibers. Oligodendrocytes is a myelin producing cell....
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...Addiction is a major public health issue in America. In 2012, Partnership for Drug Free Kids estimated 23.5 million American adults were involved with drugs and alcohol to the point they considered to be problematic. Every person may not be directly impacted by addiction but every community and society as a whole has been indirectly affected by addiction. Many of America’s leading medical issues like cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS can be directly connected to the disease. Furthermore, many of America’s leading social issues like driving under the influence, domestic violence, child abuse and chronic stress can be directly related to addiction. Prior to scientific research on the disease, it was a common misconception that addiction was...
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...Taylor Curry Dr. Ward English II November 4, 2014 ALS or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis but mostly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” is a disease where the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movements. It was named after Lou Gehrig because he was the first person with this disease. He was diagnosed in 1938, the doctor originally diagnosed him with a very rare form of degenerative disease. On June 2, 1941 is when the world lost a beloved baseball legend to ALS. This disease will end up leading people with the disease to their death. A-myo-trophic comes from the Greek language. “A” means no or negative, “Myo” refers to muscle and “Trophic” means nourishment- “no nourishment”. “Lateral” identifies...
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...Ask the expert Parkinson’s disease Parkinson’s disease is a chronic and degenerative neurological disease that occurs in 1 in 100 hundred people that are over 60 years old. But there are also people that are diagnosed with this disease as young as 18 years old. This disease develops gradually and in the beginning you may not even feel anything wrong with your body. But as time goes by, the symptoms will show up on your body and progressively worsens. Parkinson’s disease is caused by a deterioration of neurons in an area of brain known as the substantia nigra. This substantia nigra cells produce dopamine, a chemical messenger allowing communication between substantia nigra and other parts of the brain. The communication between these cells...
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...8/04/08 Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease affects the way you move. It happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. Normally, these nerve cells make an important chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the part of your brain that controls movement. It lets your muscles move smoothly and do what you want them to do. When you have Parkinson’s, these nerve cells break down. Then you no longer have enough dopamine, and you have trouble moving the way you want to. Parkinson’s is progressive, which means it gets worse over time. But usually this happens slowly, over a period of many years. And there are good treatments that can help you live a full life. No one knows for sure what makes these nerve cells break down. But scientists are doing a lot of research to look for the answer. They are studying many possible causes, including aging and poisons in the environment. Abnormal genes seem to lead to Parkinson's disease in some people. But so far, there is not enough proof to show that it is always inherited. The four main symptoms of Parkinson’s are: Tremor, (which means shaking or trembling) Tremor may affect your hands, arms, legs, or head. Stiff muscles, slow movement, Problems with balance or walking. People usually start to have symptoms between the ages of 50 and 60, but in some people symptoms start earlier Tremor may be the first symptom you notice. It is one of the most common signs of the disease, although not everyone...
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...Alzheimer's Disease ● Definition-Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that occurs when nerve cells in the brain die. ● Signs-Memory loss that affects job skills, difficulty performing familiar tasks, problems with language, disorientation to time and place, poor or decreased judgment, problems with abstract thinking, misplacing things, changes in mood or behavior, changes in personality, loss of initiative. ● Treatment-specific treatment will be determined by the physician based on your age, health, and medical history, extent of disease, your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapy, expectations for the course of the disease, your opinion or preference and at this time there...
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...TREATMENTS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE ( First Draft ) BEL 311 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES LECTURER’S NAME MADAM RAFIZAH MOHD RAWIAN SHAFINAS BINTI SAMSUDIN 2010131651 BMD3Ab b SHAFINAS BINTI SAMSUDIN 2010131651 BMD3Ab b PREPARED BY EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TREATMENT OF ALZHERMEIR’S DISEASE Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks. According to Howard Crystal & William C. Shiel Jr ( 2005 ), Alzheimer's disease is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception. Many scientists believe that Alzheimer's disease results from an increase in the production or accumulation of a specific protein (beta-amyloid protein) in the brain that leads to nerve cell death. The likelihood of having Alzheimer's disease increases substantially after the age of 70 and may affect around 50% of persons over the age of 85. Nonetheless, Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging and is not something that inevitably happens in later life. For example, many people live to over 100 years of age and never develop Alzheimer's disease. But, nowadays there are some types of effective treatment that are effective for Alzhermeir’s disease. The management of Alzheimer's disease consists of medication based...
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...Parkinson’s disease Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease each year, and this number does not reflect the thousands of cases that go undetected. Parkinson's disease is a disorder that affects nerve cells in the part of the brain controlling muscle movement. Parkinson's is progressive, meaning the signs and symptoms become worse over time. Although Parkinson's may eventually be disabling, the disease often progresses gradually, and most people have many years of productive living after a diagnosis. We will be going through the organ system Parkinson’s affects as well as the signs, symptoms, and treatements. Organ System Affected With Parkinson’s The major organ system affected by Parkinson’s is the nervous system. The nervous system is the major controlling, regulatory, and communicating system in the body. It is the center of all mental activity including thought, learning, and memory. Together with the endocrine system, the nervous system is responsible for regulating and maintaining homeostasis. Like other systems in the body, the nervous system is composed of organs, principally the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and ganglia. These, in turn, consist of various tissues, including nerve, blood, and connective tissue. Together these carry out the complex activities of the nervous system. The various activities of the nervous system can be grouped together as three general, overlapping functions, sensory, integrative, and motor. Functions of...
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...Glaucoma is characterised as a group of diseases that causes the optic nerve damage and can result in vision loss and even blindness. The major features of these different diseases that grouped together make up glaucoma include: cupping and atrophy of the optic nerve head, loss of visual field, and increased intraocular pressure (Thylefors). The discovery and symptoms of Glaucoma date back to the 17th century (Facts about Glaucoma). Glaucoma has been known for it’s characteristic of blindness since the 19th century. The first description of glaucoma was given by the French Dr Antoine-Pierre Demours in 1818. Dr G.J Guthrie later recognizes hardening of the eye as a common characteristic of the disease he named Glaucoma. Dr William McKenzie...
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...Palsy is named for Sir Charles Bell, a 19th century Scottish surgeon and physiologist who described the facial nerve and its connection to the condition. The disorder, which is not related to a stroke, is the most common cause of facial paralysis. Generally, Bell’s Palsy affects only one of the paired facial nerves and one side of the face, however, in rare cases it can affect both sides. (NIND,2003) It’s sudden onset, the cause is unknown but is presumed to involve swelling of the seventh (facial) nerve due to immune or viral disease resulting at the point where it leaves the bony tissue. (Davis, 1985) Due to the inflammation that is directed by the body’s immune system against the nerve controlling movement of the face. This causes...
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...inferior vestibular nerve, and the central pathways (intact and working properly). ENG/VNG’s calorics only evaluate the horizontal semicircular canal and the pathway through the superior portion while VEMPs evaluate the saccule (and utricle and superior vestibular nerve if using oVemps) and the inferior portion of the vestibular nerve. VEMPs can be useful supplementary information along with other vestibular assessments to find out what the etiology of the disorder might be. For instance, if a patient has abnormal calorics and a normal VEMP, then there is a focal lesion (horizontal...
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...basics * Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Bottom of Form * Alzheimer's is not a normal part of aging, although the greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer's are 65 and older. But Alzheimer's is not just a disease of old age. Up to 5 percent of people with the disease have early onset Alzheimer's (also known as younger-onset), which often appears when someone is in their 40s or 50s. Learn more: Early Onset Alzheimer's and Risk Factors * Alzheimer's worsens over time. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, where dementia symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. In its early stages, memory loss is mild, but with late-stage Alzheimer's, individuals lose the ability to carry on a conversation and respond to their environment. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Those with Alzheimer's live an average of eight years after their symptoms become noticeable to others, but survival can range from four to 20 years, depending on age and other health conditions. Learn more: 10 Warning Signs and Stages of Alzheimer's Disease. * Alzheimer's has no current cure, but treatments for symptoms are available and research continues. Although current Alzheimer's treatments cannot stop Alzheimer's from progressing...
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