Symptoms And Diagnosis Of Alzheimer s Disease - 2581 Words

Word Count: 1840 It is estimated that currently 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease. [1] 60-70% of dementia cases in the elderly are caused by Alzheimer’s. [2] As the population ages a greater percentage of Americans will be impacted whereas between present time and 2050 it is estimated that 20 percent of the population will be in an age category that puts them at risk. [1] The disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the neurons resulting in memory loss, language skills, thinking and behavioral changes. Diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to this disease are changing due to knowledge that the underlying pathology begins 10-20 years before the symptoms appear. [3] Therefore new methods are†¦show more content†¦[5] In an Alzheimer’s Dementia brain the insoluble Aï  ¢ exceeds soluble forms of Aï  ¢ by a factor of about 100-fold. [6] It has been indicated that these plaques can be cleared. [7] Plaques are composed of insoluble Aï  ¢ peptides, mostly 42 amino acids in length (Aï  ¢-42) [8] Knowledge of the initial deposition of Aï  ¢ plaques is important to improve understanding of early Alzheimer’s Dementia pathology. It is suggested that APP mismetabolism and subsequent Aï  ¢ aggregation are the primary events driving pathogenesis. [9] Mutations in the Aï  ¢ precursor protein gene on chromosome 21, lying in or near the Aï  ¢Ã¯â‚¬  peptide region, cause early-onset, autosomal dominant familial forms of Alzheimer’s Dementia. [10] The deposition of Aï  ¢ is likely important for signifying the beginning of the pathological cascade even if it may not be the only or main causal event. However, since all young healthy persons and many older individuals (who do not have Alzheimer’s Dementia) have no evidence of Aï  ¢ deposition the conversion of a non-demented individual with no evidence of Aï  ¢ plaques to Aï  ¢ deposits in a cerebral distribution suggests a pathological event. Biomarkers provide a unique, useful biological measure of the underlying pathology independent of any clinical signs and neuropsychological characteristics of Alzheimer’s Dementia. Identification of reliable biomarkers is critical