ALZHEIMER’S & RELATED DEMENTIA

“While I am still able, I want to articulate and give voice to

what it is like to walk in these shoes and let people know

that given this diagnosis, we are capable of contributing to the world around us. Please

listen to our voices – individually and collectively.”

-Richard (who has early onset Alzheimer’s disease)

DEMENTIA

Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—to such an extent it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. It is not a disease itself, but a group of symptoms that often accompanies a disease or condition (www .nia.nih.g ov/sites/d efault/fil es/Unravel ing_final).

EXAMPLES OF DISEASES THAT CAUSE DEMENTIA

Alzheimer’s diseaseVascular dementia Parkinson’s disease with dementia

Pick’s disease Mixed dementiaDementia with Lewy bodiesFrontotemporal dementia

OTHER CAUSES OF DEMENTIA

Medication side effects Depression Vitamin B12 deficiency Chronic alcoholismTumors or Infections of the Brain

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE,

A FORM OF DEMENTIA 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 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases (www.alz.org).

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE Progressive brain disorder Damages and eventually destroys

brain cellsLeads to loss of memory, thinking

and other brain functionsNot a part of normal agingStarts slowly and gradually gets

worse Alzheimer's is fatal, and currently,

there is no cure

ALZHEIMER’S BRAIN ABNORMALITIES

Plaques, microscopic clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide

Tangles, twisted microscopic strands of the protein tau (rhymes with "wow")

Loss of connections among brain cells responsible for memory, learning and communication. These connections, or synapses, transmit information from cell to cell.

Inflammation resulting from the brain's effort to fend off the lethal effects of the other changes under way

Eventual death of brain cells and severe tissue shrinkage

PLAQUES & TANGLES

BRAIN CHANGES

THE BRAIN-A FEW HIGHLIGHTS Cerebral Cortex (outer layer)—processes

sensory information from outside world Frontal Lobe (front of brain)—thinking,

organizing, planning and problem solving, memory, attention and movement

Parietal Lobe (behind frontal lobe)–perception and integration of stimuli from senses

Occipital Lobe (back of brain)–vision Temporal Lobe–balance and coordination Amygdala—processing and remembering

strong memories (like fear) Hippocampus—learning and short term

memory.

WHAT WE DO FOR PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AND OTHER FORMS OF DEMENTIA

Pharmacological (medication) Interventions (like Namenda & Aricept)

Non-pharmacological interventions

Provide support and education to family members

Advocate