The class was instructed to make a PowerPoint on Alzheimer's and it's effects.

1. Old Age Project:
Alzheimer’s Disease
BRITTANY CLARK
PSYCHOLOGY 2078
4/16/2014

2. What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
 Most common form of dementia (Alzheimer's Association, 2014)
 50- 80% of dementia cases
 Cognitive disorder
 Affects mental and physical function
 Memory, language, reasoning
 Due to a reduced amount of acetylcholine, which helps the brain with
memory
 Usually occurs in middle to old age adult
 However, it is not a part of normal aging (Alzheimer's Association, 2014)
 Worsens over time

3. Effects of
Alzheimer’s
• Difficulty remembering
newly learned
information
• Alzheimer’s begins
by changing the
part of the brain
that affects
learning
• Mood changes
• Confusion
• Difficulty doing every
day activities

4. Causes of Alzheimer’s
 Age is a primary factor in Alzheimer’s disease (Santrock, 2012).
 Nearly half of those older than age 85 have Alzheimer's (Mayo Clinic, 2014);
 Genes can cause Alzheimer’s as well.
 ApoE4 is an allele that is linked to the complications that cause Alzheimer’s (Santrock,
2012).
 However, genes cause Alzheimer’s Disease less than 5% of the time (Mayo Clinic,
2014).
 Lifestyle choices may also cause Alzheimer’s.
 Factors that increase the chance of heart disease may also increase the chance of
Alzheimer’s Disease (Mayo Clinic, 2014).
 Smoking, lack of exercise, high blood pressure

5. How does
Alzheimer’s
happen?
• Still a mystery
• Each nerve cell in the
brain communicates with
one another.
• Alzheimer’s affects this
connection.
• Changes the tissue of the
brain
• Nerve cells in the brain die,
the brain shrinks, and the
damage spreads (NIH
Senior Health, 2012).

6. Prevention of Alzheimer’s
 To reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease:
 Get educated about the disease
 Stimulate your brain
 Read
 Play a musical instrument

7. Treatment of Alzheimer
 Drugs
 Currently do not cure the disease, but slows the progression
 Cholinesterase inhibitors
 Boost cell communication
 Increase levels of acetylcholine
 Memantine (Mayo Clinic, 2014
 can be paired with cholinesterase inhibitors
 Slows the symptoms

8. Treatment of Alzheimer’s Continued
 Lifestyle
 Exercise
 Diet
 Omega-3
 May prevent mental decline
 Vitamin E
 May delay the effects of Alzheimer’s
 Ginkgo
 Substances in this plant extract may benefit Alzheimer’s

9. Alzheimer’s Stats
 More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease.
 Every 67 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer's.
 Alzheimer's disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
 There are approximately 500,000 people dying each year because they
have Alzheimer's.
 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia.
 In 2013, 15.5 million caregivers provided an estimated 17.7 billion hours of
unpaid care valued at more than $220 billion (Alzheimer’s Association,
2014).

10. Lifestyle Policy to Suppress Alzheimer’s
Disease
 Physical exercise
 Reduces your risk by 50% (Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation)
 Healthy Diet
 glial cells may help remove debris and toxins from the brain that can contribute
to Alzheimer’s disease (Smith, Wayne, & Segal, 2014).
 Ginger, green tea, fatty fish and blueberries are a few foods to feed glial cells
 Mental Stimulation
 Challenging your brain reduces your risk
 “Use it or lose it”

11. Lifestyle Policies to Suppress
Alzheimer’s Disease
 Sleep
 Greater risk of Alzheimer’s if you have sleep deprivation
 Adults need at least 8 hours of sleep.
 Manage stress
 Stress also puts stress on the brain.
 Breathe and relax to suppress stress.
 Be social
 Studies show that the more social the individual is, the better their
(Smith, Wayne, & Segal, 2014).

12. Future of Alzheimer’s Disease
 Currently five FDA approved Alzheimer’s drugs
 Research includes working on drugs that alter the brain changes during
Alzheimer’s (Alzheimer's Association, 2014).
 Researchers are also working on prevention of amyloid plaques that affect
memory.
 Vaccination
 Inject beta amyloid
 Inhibiting drugs
 MTC and Al-108
 Reduce the tangles in the brain during Alzheimer’s

13. Future of Alzheimer’s Disease
 2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Plan includes
 Finding ways to prevent Alzheimer’s by 2025
 Informing the public
 Enhance care for Alzheimer’s patients
 Funding research projects for Alzheimer’s

14. References
 Alzheimer's Association (2014). Alzheimer's disease & dementia | Alzheimer's
Association. Retrieved from
http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_what_is_alzheimers.asp
 Alzheimer's Association (2014). Alzheimer's drug treatment horizon | Research Center |
Alzheimer's Association. Retrieved from
http://www.alz.org/research/science/alzheimers_treatment_horizon.asp
 Mayo Clinic (2014). Alzheimer's disease Definition - Diseases and Conditions - Mayo
Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/
basics/definition/con-20023871

15. References
 National Institute on Aging (2012). About alzheimer's disease: alzheimer's basics | National
Institute on Aging. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/alzheimers-basics
 National Institute on Aging (2013). HHS releases 2013 Alzheimer?s disease plan update |
National Institute on Aging. Retrieved from http://www.nia.nih.gov/newsroom/2013/06/hhs-releases-
2013-alzheimers-disease-plan-update
 National Institute on Aging (2012). NIHSeniorHealth: Alzheimer's Disease - What Is
Alzheimer's Disease? Retrieved from
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/alzheimersdisease/whatisalzheimersdisease/01.html

16. References
 Santrock, J. W. (2011). Life-span development. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Smith, M., Wayne, M., & Segal, J. (2014). Alzheimer’s & Dementia Prevention: How to
Reduce Your Risk and Protect Your Brain. Retrieved from
http://www.helpguide.org/elder/alzheimers_prevention_slowing_down_treatment.htm
 Thompson, D. (2014). Alzheimer's Research, Future Treatments - Alzheimer's Disease
Center - EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved from
http://www.everydayhealth.com/alzheimers/alzheimers-research-and-future-treatments.
aspx