Title: Alzheimer's Disease (Abnormal Psychology)
1Alzheimers DiseaseAbnormal Psychology
2Content
- Introduction
- 10 Signs and Symptoms
- Causes
- Treatment
- References
(Trezvuy, 2020)
3IntroductionAlzheimer's Awareness Ribbon is
PurpleWorld Alzheimer's Month is September
World Alzheimer's Day is 21 September
- The campaign was launched in 2012, so the 9th
World Alzheimer Month is in 2020 - (World Alzheimers Month, 2020)
4Alzheimers Disease (AD)
- It is named with Dr. Alois Alzheimer, who first
found on a post-mortem, and then termed the
condition in 1906 (MacGrill, 2020) - It is the most common cause of dementia,
- A general term for memory loss and cognitive
abilities that restrict with independent function
everyday (Alzheimer's Association, 2020a and
Nall, 2017) - It is in the category of neurocognitive
disorders, which lead to impaired mental function
(Krause, 2018) - It is aging abnormally (World Health
Organization, 2020)
5Alzheimers Disease (AD)
- It covers about 60 - 80 (Alzheimer's
Association, 2020b) - The 6th leading cause of death in the US, and the
5th among adults aged 65 years or older (Heron,
2013) - Around 50 million people have dementia in the
worldwide (World Health Organization, 2020) - The National Health and Morbidity Survey 2018 of
Malaysia stated that those aged 60 years and
above are 8.5 have dementia - It was significant in those living far from the
city areas, females, those with poor education,
and lower class society (Institute for Public
Health, 2019)
610 Signs and Symptoms
- (Centers for Disease Control And Prevention, 2019
- and Alzheimer's Association, 2020c)
71 Memory Loss that Disrupts Daily Life
- Forgetting events, repeating yourself or
depending on more aids to help you not to forget
(like sticky notes or reminders)
- --- Have I taken medicine?
- At times forgetting names or appointments, but
recalling them later
82 Challenges in Planning or Solving Problems
- Struggling to pay bills or cook recipes you have
used for many years
- --- How should I solve this problem?
- Seldom make mistakes when managing finances or
household bills
93 Difficulty Completing Familiar Tasks
- Struggling to drive places, use a cell phone, or
do shopping
- --- How to use this mobile phone?
- Seldom need help to use microwave settings or to
record a TV show
104 Confusion with Time or Place
- Losing track of dates, or cannot remember where
they are or how they reached there
- Forget the day of the week but remembering it
later
115 Trouble Understanding Visual Images and Spatial
Relationships
- Struggling to balance or judge distance, or
easily dropping things quite often
- --- Is this place far or near to me?
- Vision changes due to cataracts
126 New Problems with Words in Speaking or Writing
- Struggling to follow or join a conversation, or
having trouble with vocabulary
- --- How to write the word again?
- Sometimes having trouble finding the right word
137 Misplacing Things and Losing the Ability to
Retrace Steps
- Placing car keys anywhere or struggling to search
something
- Misplacing things rarely and retracing steps to
search them
148 Decreased or Poor Judgment
- Struggling to pay attention to hygiene or poor
money management
- --- Ah, the car nearly hits me!
- Seldom make a bad decision or mistake, like not
changing the oil in the car
159 Withdrawal from Work or Social Activities
- Struggling to follow a favorite team or activity
- --- What are they chatting about?
- From time to time feeling bored in family or
social commitments
1610 Changes in Mood and Personality
- Becoming anxious, confused, depressed, fearful or
suspicious
- --- What is going on now?
- Making very specific ways of doing things and
getting angry easily when a routine is interrupted
17Causes
- Brain Tour Visual Guide
- Brain Imaging Studies
- Alzheimers Seven Stages
18Causes
- AD develops because of the death of brain cells
in a neurodegenerative condition - The brain tissue has a loss of connection between
the nerve cells, or neurons, causing information
cannot pass easily around inside the brain - Abnormal increase levels of tiny deposits
(plaques and tangles) develop on the nerve tissue
- Plaques are made from a protein called
beta-amyloid, grow between the dying brain cells - Tangles are made from another protein called tau,
appear within the nerve cells - It is not clear why these changes occur
- (MacGrill, 2020)
19Brain Tour Visual Guide- To show what happens in
the process of developing AD
- (Alzheimer's Association, 2020d)
Brain Imaging Studies - A brief idea of how
inside the AD's brain looks like
- MRI Brain with T1 and VBM
- PET Scans Amyloid PET, Tau PET, FDG-PET and
PiB-PET
20Normal vs Alzheimer's Brain
21Healthy vs Alzheimer's Brain (Keep Memory Alive,
2020)
22MRI Brain
- Top row
- Healthy brain
- Bottom row
- Advanced AD brain
- Severe volume loss
- Enlarged ventricles
- Loss of volume in the gyri and hippocampus
- (Koran, 2019)
Sagittal
Coronal
Axial
23Under the Microscope
24More About Plaques
25More About Tangles
In healthy areas
In areas where tangles are forming
Tau collapses into twisted strands called tangles
Orderly, parallel strands for providing key
materials to the cells
The strands cannot stay straight and disintegrate
Tau helps to keep the strands straight
26Amyloid PET - Plaques
PET Scans
- To check the brain deposition for amyloid plaques
- Amyloid PET
- (Jack, 2017a)
- To check the neurofibrillary tangles for
pathologic tau - Tau PET
- (Jack, 2017b)
Tau PET - Tangles
27PET Scans for Tau and Amyloid(University of
California at Berkeley, 2016)
28T1-Weighted MRI, FDG-PET and PiB-PET Images of
Four Representative Participants
- Notes
- (A) 64yo female AD pt with Aß deposition on
PiB-PET and AD type of hypometabolism on
FDG-PET - (B) 76yo female MCI subject with Aß deposition
on PiB-PET and AD type of hypometabolism on
FDG-PET - (C) 78yo female AD pt with -PiB and FTD type of
hypometabolism - (D) 71yo male AD patient with -PiB and
non-specific hypometabolism on FDG-PET. - FDG, F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose PiB, Pittsburgh
compound B PET, positron emission tomography
AD, Alzheimers disease MCI, mild cognitive
impairment FTD, frontotemporal dementia Aß
deposition, beta-amyloid deposition pt, patient. - (Zhang et al., 2017)
There is a difference when comparing
from Participant A with moderate AD to
Participant D with mild AD
29Alzheimers Seven Stages
- Stage 1 - (Normal) No symptoms, but there might
be strong family history - Stage 2 - (Normal aged forgetfulness) The
earliest symptoms appear - Stage 3 - (Mild cognitive impairment) Mild
physical and mental impairments appear, like
lowered memory and focus, are noticeable by their
close ones - Stage 4 - (Mild AD) Memory loss and the inability
to perform daily tasks - Stage 5 - (Moderate AD) Need help from loved ones
or caregivers - Stage 6 - (Moderately severe AD) May need help
with eating and putting on clothes - Stage 7 - (Severe AD) May be a loss of speech and
facial expressions - Moving through these stages, they will need more
support from a caregiver - (Herndon MFA, 2018 and Kaufman, 2020)
30Progression Plaques and tangles (blue areas)
spread through the cortex
31Voxel-based Morphometry (VBM) of MRI Brain (Gray
Matter)
- VBM analysis showed obvious atrophy in medial
temporal structures at the mild cognitive
impairment (MCI) stage initially. - As AD develops from early stage to late stage,
atrophy of medial temporal structures becomes
more noticeable. - (Matsuda, 2013)
32Treatment
- Can live 4 - 8 years on average after diagnosis,
but the longest is 20 years (Alzheimers
Association, 2020e) - Currently, there is no known cure, because AD is
an irreversible progressive disease, which means
the symptoms will be worsen day by day (Herndon
MFA, 2018, and Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2020) - The support is available to help the condition
includes (Alzheimer's Society, 2020) - Drug treatments
- In the mild (early) or moderate (middle) stages,
a drug like donepezil (e.g., Aricept),
rivastigmine (e.g., Exelon) and galantamine
(e.g., Reminyl) will be prescribed to temporarily
ease symptoms, or slow down their progression - Without drugs treatments
- Keeping mentally, physically and socially active
can have a very positive impact - In Malaysia, support can be received from
Alzheimers Disease Foundation Malaysia (ADFM)
and Caring With You (Homage, 2020)
33References
- Alzheimer's Association. (2020a). What is
dementia? Retrieved from https//www.alz.org/alzhe
imers-dementia/what-is-dementia - Alzheimer's Association. (2020b). What is
Alzheimer's? Retrieved from https//www.alz.org/al
zheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers - Alzheimer's Association. (2020c). 10 early signs
and symptoms of Alzheimer's. Retrieved from
https//www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/10_signs - Alzheimer's Association. (2020d). Brain tour Part
2. Retrieved from https//www.alz.org/alzheimers-
dementia/what-is-alzheimers/brain_tour_part_2 - Alzheimers Association. (2020e). Stages of
Alzheimers. Retrieved from https//www.alz.org/al
zheimers-dementia/stagestextOn20average2C2
0a20person20with,any20signs20of20the20diseas
e.
34References
- Alzheimer's Society. (2020). Treatment and
support of Alzheimer's disease. Retrieved from
https//www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/types
-dementia/treatment-support-alzheimers-disease - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2019). 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's.
Retrieved from https//www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybr
ain/ten-warning-signs.html - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(2020). Alzheimer's disease. Retrieved from
https//www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/alzheimers.htm
l - Herndon, J., MFA. (2018). Everything you need
to know about Alzheimers disease. Retrieved from
https//www.healthline.com/health/alzheimers-disea
sestages - Heron M. (2013). Deaths leading causes for 2010.
National Vital Statistics Reports. 62(6), 194.
Retrieved from https//www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/
nvsr62/nvsr62_06.pdf - Homage. (2020). Dementia 101 All you need to
know. Retrieved from https//www.homage.com.my/car
e-connect/tips/dementia-101/
35References
- Institute for Public Health (IPH), National
Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health
Malaysia. (2019). National Health and Morbidity
Survey (NHMS) 2018 Elderly Health. Vol. II
Elderly Health Findings, 2018. Retrieved from
http//iku.moh.gov.my/images/IKU/Document/REPORT/N
HMS2018/NHMS2018ElderlyHealthVolume2.pdf - Jack, C. R. (2017a). Amyloid PET - Plaques
Picture. Retrieved from https//aspe.hhs.gov/adv
isory-council-july-2017-meeting-presentation-impli
cations-biologically-based-definition - Jack, C. R. (2017b). Tau PET - Tangles Picture.
Retrieved from https//aspe.hhs.gov/advisory-counc
il-july-2017-meeting-presentation-implications-bio
logically-based-definition - Kaufman, P. (2020). What is Alzheimer's?
Symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention. Retrieved from https//www.everydayhea
lth.com/alzheimers-disease/guide/ - Keep Memory Alive. (2020). Picture. Retrieved
from https//www.keepmemoryalive.org/cc-nevada/alz
heimers-brain
36References
- Koran, M. E. (2019). Picture. Retrieved from
https//practicalneurology.com/articles/2019-nov-d
ec/neuroimaging-and-alzheimers-disease - Krause, L. (2018). Neurocognitive disorders
(Organic brain syndrome). Retrieved from
https//www.healthline.com/health/organic-brain-sy
ndrome - Matsuda, H. (2013). Picture. Retrieved from
https//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC35701
39/ - MacGill, M. (2020). Alzheimer's disease
Symptoms, stages, causes, and treatments.
Retrieved from https//www.medicalnewstoday.com/ar
ticles/159442what-is-it - Nall, R. (2017). Dementia (neurocognitive
disorders) Types and causes. Retrieved from
https//www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314850
37References
- Trezvuy. (2020). Vector modern ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
awareness circles desigen Vector. Retrieved
from https//www.123rf.com/photo_57608871_stock-ve
ctor-vector-modern-alzheimers-disease-awareness-ci
rcles-desigen-purple-ribbon-isolated-on-white-back
groun.html - University of California at Berkeley. (2016).
Picture. Retrieved from https//www.psypost.org/
2016/03/pet-scans-reveal-key-details-alzheimers-pr
otein-growth-aging-brains-41393 - World Alzheimers Month. (2020). 2020 Campaign
Materials. Retrieved from https//www.worldalzmont
h.org/ - World Health Organization (2020). Dementia.
Retrieved from https//www.who.int/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/dementiatextDementia20is20a2
0syndrome20in,million20new20cases20every20yea
r. - Zhang, N., Zhang, L., Li, Y., Gordon, M. L., Cai,
L., Wang, Y., Xing, M. (2017). T1-weighted MRI,
FDG-PET and PiB-PET images of four representative
participants. Picture. Retrieved from
https//content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-a
lzheimers-disease/jad170383
38Thank You!