1. Question: What do we know about the elusive nature of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease? How can personalized medicine, or the application of genomics be utilized to find treatments or even a cure for this destructive form of dementia?

3. Most common form of dementia Neurodegeneration within the brain Short-term memory loss Eventual death

4. Amyloid-beta protein plaques ~oligomers Tau protein hyperphosphorylation ~structural collapse What do these protein build-ups do to the brain?

6. Stages of Alzheimer’s ~Mild ~Moderate ~Severe How they progress…

7. Alpha-tocopherol- Vitamin E may protect brain cells by eliminating toxic free radicals in the brain. Bapineuzumab- This laboratory-designed antibody binds to A-beta protein and shuttles it out of the brain. Intravenous Immunoglobulin- These natural antibodies, extracted from blood donors, may reduce A-beta in the brain. Resveratrol- This compound, found in red wine, is being tested along with glucose and malate to protect brain cells from damage. It acts as and anti-inflammatory. Solanezumab- This drug is thought to bind to smaller, soluble assemblies of A-beta, oligomers, before they become plaques and remove them from the brain.

8. Reduce brain inflammation Shuttle excess proteins out of brain Inhibit hyperphosphorylation and/or build-up of proteins before they become in soluble.

9. The direct cause, or at least a major component is, as of yet, unidentified. Negatives of removing the excess proteins Too many factors to generalize treatment

10. Genomics has helped identify some of the genes which are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s So if genetic sequencing can become available for everyone a large population having actively expressed genes for AD may be able to be helped. Truly genomics doesn’t help find a cure but instead help prevent the disease from developing.

11. Conclusion: Although Alzheimer's Disease is still claiming the minds of many, much scientific research is progressing towards finding a cure. With the relatively new genomic map at hand, scientists and researchers have found almost 200 genes directly relating to the disease and one loci has been pinpointed as playing a role in the development of Alzheimer's as well. With the growing field of personalized medicine, a cure for Alzheimer's is no longer a seemingly impossible task, it is slowly becoming possible, perhaps even probable.

12. Further Questions: If all mental diseases were pre-diagnosed using a person's genome, how would that effect healthcare and society in general? Are there mental disorders that cannot be targeted through a person's genome? If so, are there any ways to cure these diseases or even find out their causes? In a futuristic world, where all diseases apparent or predisposed in a person's genome were to be targeted and eliminated (using personalized medicine), how prevalent would disease be in society? How would this effect an average human's lifespan?

13. Video: http://www.videojug.com/interview/alzheimers- disease-3