Alzheimer’s Disease Jeremy Toepp Period 6 Biology

Causes Plaques Tangles APOE 2, 3, and 4 on chromosome 19  2-Some protection  3-Neutral  4-Increases risk

Frequency Varies  2% Most agreed upon percent for 65 year-olds  20% For people over 80 years-old

How it is Passed On Early-onset or familial AD  Autosomal dominant  Gene mutations on chromosomes 21, 14, and 1 Late-onset AD  Apolipoprotein E (APOE)

Symptoms & Signs Changes in mood or personality Withdrawal Poor judgment Losing things, can’t backtrack steps New problems in speaking or writing Trouble understanding pictures, car mirrors, etc. Confusion with time or place Difficulty completing familiar tasks Challenges in planning or solving problems Memory loss that affects daily life

Treatments Some medications can slow the effects

Chances of Relatives Having it Approximately 50% of first-degree relatives were demented by age 91 Group relatives similar

Prognosis (Outcome) By the end stages of AD, the person will  Have little motor control  Little to no short-term memory This limits them to memories from several years before  Have similar effects to severe Dementia

Limitations Memory loss  Recognition of familiar objects or people Motor control Conversation

Unique Stuff Named after the German doctor, Alois Alzheimer, who first named it in 1906 The older a person gets, the higher his or her risk of getting Alzheimer's Only about 1 or 2 people out of 100 have Alzheimer's at age 65 One out of every five people has the disorder by age 80 As many as 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease 13.2 million older Americans will have Alzheimer’s by 2050 unless new ways are found to prevent or cure it Caffeine has been clinically proven to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease