The Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease

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Alzheimer’s disease effects millions of people over the age of sixty-five and is the most common form of dementia found in the elderly population. Aside from the cognitive effects, Alzheimer’s patients often experience psychological disorders such as depression. Many of the behavioral effects of Alzheimer’s disease may be related to an imbalance in neurotransmitters. The research being looked at in this paper all looks at different ways Alzheimer’s disease has affected the brains of those who have had the disease and one also looks at a way to improve the parts of the brain that it found were affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The more information about the disease that researchers have about Alzheimer’s disease the closer they will be to …show more content…
This study specifically looked at postmortem brains of aggressive patients who had Alzheimer’s disease. The patients in this study had a clinical diagnosis of probably Alzheimer’s disease as well as clinical manifestation of depression or aggressive behavior observed no less than two weeks before their deaths. The behavioral information was obtained through family members and nurses. 40 Alzheimer’s disease patients’ brains were looked at for this study. this study found that there were lower MHPG levels in the patients who showed clinical manifestation of depression. There were also lower NE and MHPG levels in the patients who showed clinical manifestation of aggression. The study also found that the most severely affected areas of the brain where the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, temporal cortex, and cerebella cortex, these areas were affected by serotonergic neurotransmission. A decreased serotonergic transmission indicated a higher severity of Alzheimer’s disease. These results supported the assumptions that alterations in specific regions of the brain might be related to aggression and depression in patients with Alzheimer’s …show more content…
That information shows that there are ways to improve mental health of a person affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The information in these articles can provide a life application for those effected by Alzheimer’s disease. The articles that talk about the different levels of neurotransmitters in those effected by Alzheimer’s disease indicates that there is the possibility of helping those with Alzheimer’s disease by correcting the levels of the neurotransmitters. While correcting the levels of the neurotransmitters in patients with Alzheimer’s disease will not relieve the cognitive impairments of Alzheimer’s disease they will improve the other effects that patients with Alzheimer’s disease often experience. This life application is not something that can be done everyday by a person with out a prescription from a doctor, but when a person is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease they may be to increase their optimal brain function by leveling out their neurotransmitters. There are a number of different medications that increase neurotransmitters such as dopamine, which would decrease depression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Other medications can improve the incorrect levels of neurotransmitters and decrease the effects that Alzheimer’s disease has on the brain. Hopefully the research on Alzheimer’s disease
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