2. Table of Contents What is Alzheimer's What causes Alzheimer’s What parts of the brain are affected How do you detect Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s sample test Who is at risk A movie and links on Alzheimer’s

3. What is Alzheimer’s? Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease of the brain. The disease attacks nerve cells in all parts of the cortex of the brain, as well as some surrounding structures. In the end, an afflicted person loses all memory and mental functioning. Table of contents

4. What causes Alzheimer’s? Some speculated causes of Alzheimer's are : a slow acting virus toxic substances (e.g., aluminum in non- natural sources). Homocysteine (an amino acid) is linked to Alzheimer's. It is a known risk factor in heart disease and high blood pressure, and known to be harmful to nerve cells. Table of contents

5. What parts of the Brain are affected? The hippocampus, which is part of the limbic system and in part functions as the focal point where processes leading to memory storage and retrieval begin. The cortex, which is used in forming associations between ideas and memories. Table of contents

6. How do you detect Alzheimer’s? Diagnosis is done by asking the individual a series of questions to test their short term memory. Alzheimer's can also be diagnosed by ruling out other explanations for a memory deficit, such as a tumor, or stroke. Diagnosis is only about 90% accurate. The only way to know that a person has Alzheimer's for sure is to do an autopsy after the person dies. Table of contents

7. An example of a test to diagnose Alzheimer’ Click here to take the Mini Mental State Exam.Mini Mental State Exam. Table of contents

8. Who is at risk for developing Alzheimer’ Age The number of cases of Alzheimer's disease doubles every five years in people over 65. By age 85, almost half of all people are afflicted. Family History People with a family history of the disease are at higher than average risk for Alzheimer’s due to genetics. Gender A number of studies suggest that women are more likely to get it while one reported that men are more likely to suffer age-related brain damage. Population Differences African Americans and Hispanics may have a higher risk than Caucasian Americans. Alzheimer's disease occurs less frequently in the Native American Cherokees and in Asians. Table of contents

9. A movie on Alzheimer’s disease… You will need real ONE to view this video.real ONE Alzheimer’s Links to Alzheimer’s resources… Alzheimer’s Association Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center Table of contents