Alzheimer's Disease

Let's Understand Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease begins an average of 30 years before the first symptoms. The accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain, the major mechanism thought to cause Alzheimer's disease, can even be seen in young adult brains.

Despite how awful Alzheimer's disease can be, people are in denial because they don't believe anything can be done, or that prevention can lead to positive outcomes. With current medical and scientific knowledge, the onset and progression of Alzheimer's can be delayed by an average of six years. This can allow the benefit of "Prevention through Delay" allowing people to live out their natural life without suffering from that disease.

The brain is divided into four main lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital. To generalize how the brain functions, the back half (the parietal and occipital) and back part of the temporal lobes; takes in and perceives the world. The front half of the brain integrates this information, analyzes it and decides what to do with it, and then executes the decision.

Dementing diseases start by affecting a very small part of the brain, usually in one location. This can take many years of brain damage before the first symptom appears. As long as there's only one symptom, this is classified as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). If the disease causing MCI is not diagnosed and treated, it will progress and affect other brain areas. As more damage accumulates, more symptoms will appear.

Alzheimer's disease and related disorders are progressive conditions with two or more impairments in mental skills that interfere with a persons ability to function in his/her usual manner; social, family, personal or professional life.

Alzheimer's disease can be delayed or even prevented

Summary of brain functions by region

Frontal Lobe

Temporal Lobes

Functions:

Judgement
Impulse Control
Attention Span
Organization
Self-monitoring
Problem-solving
Critical thinking
Empathy

Problems:

Poor Judgement
Impulsivity
Short attention
Disorganization
Trouble learning from experience
Confusion
Poor time management
Repeated mistakes
Lack of empathy

Temporal Lobes

Functions:

Hearing/Listening
Reading
Reading social cues
Short term memory
Long term memory
Recognizing objects by sight
Mood stability
Naming things

Problems:

Memory problems
Reading problems
Word finding problems
Trouble reading social cues
Mood instability
Poor visual recognition
Abnormal sensory perceptions
Religious or moral preoccupation

The Cerebrum

Temporal Lobes

Parietal Lobes

The cerebrum constitutes the largest part of the human brain. It is also known as the cortex and is responsible for performing a great number of important brain functions, including action and thought processing. The cerebrum is further subdivided into four different sections that have their own respective functions and are termed as lobes. The names of these lobes are; frontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe and temporal lobe.

Parietal Lobes

Occipital Lobes

Parietal Lobes

Functions:

Direction sense
Sensory perception
Spatial processing
Visual guidance
Recognize objects by touch
Ability to know where you are
Know right from left
Reading/Creating maps

Problems:

Impaired direction sense
Trouble dressing
Left Right confusion
Denial of illness
Impaired position sense
Trouble with math/writing
Unawareness of what you see
Impaired copying/drawing/cutting

Occipital Lobes

Functions:

Sight
Color perception
Lines
Depth

Problems:

Deficits in Vision
Deficits in perception
Visual hallucinations
Visual illusions
Blindsight
Functional blindness

The Cerebellum

Occipital Lobes

The cerebellum is known as the little brain and resembles the cerebrum for it has a highly folded surface and distributed in 2 hemispheres. This part of the brain is responsible for performing functions like balance, posture and coordination of movement. Even though the cerebellum is smaller in size, it contains more neurons than the entire brain itself. The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain stem and on top of the pons.

Alzheimer's Prevention Program