Neurochemistry - alzheimer

Question	Answer
What is the most common form of dementia? When was it first described?	Alzheimer's disease; 1906
Examples for mild, moderate and severe stages of Alzheimer	Mild: Memory loss, language problems Moderate: Behavior & personality, learning Severe: Gait changes, incontinence, bedridden
What is the most accurate method to confirm Alzheimer?	Histologically post-mortem
How is Alzheimer diagnosed?	Patient history, information from relatives, clinical observations; Check for alternative conditions: CT, MRT, SPECT, PET
What are plaques?	(Amyloid / Diffuse Aß) plaques (=AßPs): mostly insoluble deposits of amyloid beta peptides outside neurons. Normally broken down in healthy body.
What are tangles?	(Neurofibrillary) tangles (or neuritic plaques=NPs): insoluble twisted fibers of the protein tau inside the cells. Destroys structure of cell's cytoskeleton. Tau normally is a reinforcing part of the microtubuli.
What is destroyed in Alzheimer and where?	Neurons & synapses in temporal lobe, parietal lobe and parts of frontal cortex and gyrus cinguli. (-> atrophy of these regions)
In Alzheimer, acetylcholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain degenerate - what are typical cell populations in young, elderly and AD people?	Young: 400,000 to 475,000 Elderly: less than half (140,000) AD: 45,000 to 100,000
What medications are currently used to treat the coginitive problems of AD?	Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (e.g. tacrine) NMDA receptor antagonist (memantine). No effects could be clearly shown!

Resource summary

	Created by Johanna Brinkmann almost 8 years ago