Identità e autonomia: due nozioni alla prova del morbo di Alzheimer / Identity and autonomy: two notions at the test bed of Alzheimer’s disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-463
Author(s):  
Stefano Fuselli
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Practical Level

Il morbo di Alzheimer è una patologia i cui effetti non sono dirompenti solo sul piano pratico, per i pazienti e i loro familiari o per il sistema socio-assistenziale, ma anche sul piano concettuale. Esso infatti mette a dura prova le correnti nozioni di identità e autonomia del soggetto, con notevoli conseguenze, prima ancora che sul piano pratico, sul piano teorico. Muovendo dal dibattito bioetico attuale, questo contributo intende portare allo scoperto quanto nel dramma dell’Alzheimer si manifesta circa la nozione di identità e di autonomia. La prospettiva prescelta non è pratica ma è teoretica, volta cioè non tanto al da-farsi ma al da-guardarsi. ---------- The effects of Alzheimer’s Disease are disruptive on a practical level for patients and their families as well as for the healthcare system. They are also disruptive on a conceptual level, because they challenge the current notions of identity and autonomy of the subject. The consequences are relevant first and foremost from a theoretical point of view rather than from a practical one. By considering the present debate in bioethics, this contribution aims to shed light on what AD can reveal about the notions of identity and autonomy. The perspective is a theoretical rather than a practical one, because it focuses on what has to be looked at rather than on what has to be done.

scholarly journals Working Memory and the Enactment Effect in Early Alzheimer’s Disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara A. Charlesworth ◽  
Richard J. Allen ◽  
Suzannah Morson ◽  
Wendy K. Burn ◽  
Celine Souchay
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Free Recall ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Enactment Effect ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Instruction Sequences ◽  
Early Alzheimer’S Disease

This study examines the enactment effect in early Alzheimer’s disease using a novel working memory task. Free recall of action-object instruction sequences was measured in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (n=14) and older adult controls (n=15). Instruction sequences were read out loud by the experimenter (verbal-only task) or read by the experimenter and performed by the participants (subject-performed task). In both groups and for all sequence lengths, recall was superior in the subject-performed condition than the verbal-only condition. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease showed a deficit in free recall of recently learned instruction sequences relative to older adult controls, yet both groups show a significant benefit from performing actions themselves at encoding. The subject-performed task shows promise as a tool to improve working memory in early Alzheimer’s disease.

scholarly journals The female characters in Branislav Nušić's and Stefan Kostov's selected comedies

Bastina ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Đurđina Isić
Keyword(s):  
Small Town ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
Modern Age ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Bereaved Family

The paper presents the results of research that included comparative study of the place and role of female characters in selected and representative comedies by Serbian comedigrapher Branislav Nušić (eng. MP, Suspicious person, Mrs Minister, Bereaved family, Dr, Deceased; srb. Narodni poslanik, Sumnjivo lice, Ožalošćena porodica, Dr, Pokojnik, Vlast) and Bulgarian comedigrapher Stefan Kostov (eng. Gold mine, Golemanov, Grasshoppers, Nameless comedy; blg. Zlamnama mina, Golemanov, Skakalci, Komediâ bez ime) in order to find similarities and differences in the process of comedigraphic shaping of female characters in the work of these two authors. The subject of the research was viewed primarily from a literary-theoretical point of view, and the dominant methods of study were comparative and analytical-synthetic. During the research, there was a differentiation of female characters in accordance with their motivational structures, psychological assemblies and the nature of the place and the role they play in the social environment in which they are located. Therefore, we can distinguish female characters who live in the province and who are fully representative of the small-town spirit, female characters who live in the capital and are a symbol of the modern age and female characters who dwell in the capital, but in fact, deeply down still carry a small-town view of the world. The structure of this paper is in line with this distinction. Conclusions made at the end of the study show that the representation of female characters in analyzed comedies of both comedigaphers is highly similar in its nature.

scholarly journals Heat Shock Proteins in Alzheimer’s Disease: Role and Targeting

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 2603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Campanella ◽  
Andrea Pace ◽  
Celeste Caruso Bavisotto ◽  
Paola Marzullo ◽  
Antonella Marino Gammazza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Heat Shock ◽  
Heat Shock Proteins ◽  
Molecular Chaperones ◽  
Protein Misfolding ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Toxic Species ◽  
Shock Proteins

Among diseases whose cure is still far from being discovered, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been recognized as a crucial medical and social problem. A major issue in AD research is represented by the complexity of involved biochemical pathways, including the nature of protein misfolding, which results in the production of toxic species. Considering the involvement of (mis)folding processes in AD aetiology, targeting molecular chaperones represents a promising therapeutic perspective. This review analyses the connection between AD and molecular chaperones, with particular attention toward the most important heat shock proteins (HSPs) as representative components of the human chaperome: Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90. The role of these proteins in AD is highlighted from a biological point of view. Pharmacological targeting of such HSPs with inhibitors or regulators is also discussed.

Technological prospecting of music therapy in Alzheimer's disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. e443101622316
Author(s):  
Murilo Bastos ◽  
Kelby Cavalheiro de Mendonça ◽  
Valquiria Camargo Lins ◽  
Eduardo Muzzolon ◽  
Deise Mara Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Active Therapy ◽  
Pharmacological Interventions ◽  
Limited Efficacy ◽  
Drug Treatments ◽  
The Subject

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive impairment and progressive memory loss and drug treatments have limited efficacy. Thus, non-pharmacological interventions, such as music therapy, have shown to be promising as supporting pharmacological treatment and, therefore, may arouse commercial interest regarding the development of this type of product. Thus, this study aims to carry out a patentometric survey on patent registrations with music therapy in the treatment of AD. A systematic search was carried out from 2000 to 2020 on the Orbti-Questel website, searching for documents referring to music therapies in AD. The terms “Alzheimer music methodology active therapy” and “Alzheimer music methodology passive therapy” were used. After searching, reading, and excluding duplicate results, we found four patent families referring to music therapy in AD and all were selected as a result, which was considered little compared to the number of studies published on the subject.

The complexity of Alzheimer's disease: an evolving puzzle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandro Sorbi ◽  
Camilla Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Pathological Process ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biological Entity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Static View

The history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) started in 1907, but we needed to wait until the end of the century to identify the component of pathological hallmarks, genetic subtypes and to formulate the first pathogenic hypothesis. Thanks to biomarkers and new technologies, the concept of AD then rapidly changed from a static view of an amnestic dementia of the presenium to a biological entity that could be clinically manifested as normal cognition or dementia of different types. What is clearly emerging from studies is that AD is heterogeneous in each aspect, such as amyloid composition, tau distribution, relation between amyloid and tau, clinical symptoms, genetic background, and thus it is probably impossible to explain AD with a single pathological process. The scientific approach to AD suffers from chronological mismatches between clinical, pathological and technological data, causing difficulty in conceiving diagnostic gold standards and in creating models for drug discovery and screening. A recent mathematical computer-based approach offers the opportunity to study AD in real life and to provide a new point of view and the final missing pieces of the AD puzzle.

scholarly journals Molecular Insight into the Therapeutic Promise of Flavonoids against Alzheimer’s Disease

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Md. Tanvir Kabir ◽  
Kamal Niaz ◽  
Philippe Jeandet ◽  
Christophe Clément ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Senile Plaques ◽  
Symptomatic Relief ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Tau Proteins ◽  
Experimental Proof ◽  
Aβ Peptides ◽  
Inhibitory Potential

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the utmost chronic neurodegenerative disorders, which is characterized from a neuropathological point of view by the aggregates of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides that are deposited as senile plaques and tau proteins which form neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Even though advancement has been observed in order to understand AD pathogenesis, currently available therapeutic methods can only deliver modest symptomatic relief. Interestingly, naturally occurring dietary flavonoids have gained substantial attention due to their antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-amyloidogenic properties as alternative candidates for AD therapy. Experimental proof provides support to the idea that some flavonoids might protect AD by interfering with the production and aggregation of Aβ peptides and/or decreasing the aggregation of tau. Flavonoids have the ability to promote clearance of Aβ peptides and inhibit tau phosphorylation by the mTOR/autophagy signaling pathway. Moreover, due to their cholinesterase inhibitory potential, flavonoids can represent promising symptomatic anti-Alzheimer agents. Several processes have been suggested for the aptitude of flavonoids to slow down the advancement or to avert the onset of Alzheimer’s pathogenesis. To enhance cognitive performance and to prevent the onset and progress of AD, the interaction of flavonoids with various signaling pathways is proposed to exert their therapeutic potential. Therefore, this review elaborates on the probable therapeutic approaches of flavonoids aimed at averting or slowing the progression of the AD pathogenesis.

Mathematical Models to Shed Light on Amyloid-Beta and Tau Protein Dependent Pathologies in Alzheimer’s Disease

Neuroscience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 424 ◽  
pp. 45-57
Author(s):  
Armin Vosoughi ◽  
Saeed Sadigh-Eteghad ◽  
Mohammad Ghorbani ◽  
Sedaghat Shahmorad ◽  
Mehdi Farhoudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Mathematical Models ◽  
Amyloid Beta ◽  
Tau Protein ◽  
Shed Light

scholarly journals Action of anti-TNF-α drugs on the progression of Alzheimer's disease: A case report

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Henrique Ferreira Camargo ◽  
Filipe Fernandes Justus ◽  
Giuliano Retzlaff ◽  
Marcelo Rezende Young Blood ◽  
Marcelo Derbli Schafranski
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Drug Class ◽  
Cognitive Response ◽  
Cognitive Improvement ◽  
Tnf Α ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Previously Treated ◽  
The Subject

The aim of this study was to describe a clinical case of a patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in use of an anti-TNF-α agent for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patient reported is an 81-year-old Caucasian man and retired teacher, diagnosed with RA in 2008 and AD in 2011. Treatment with donepezil was started in 2011 and the use of etanercept introduced in 2012. He was previously treated with adalimumab in 2010 for 18 months. In 2013, the subject was engaged in a clinical trial to assess a complementary non-pharmacological approach for AD, presenting significant cognitive improvement during the follow-up period. We propose the hypothesis of a synergistic effect of anti-TNF-α medication used for the treatment of RA as the cause of the improvement in cognitive response observed. These findings could suggest a possible use of this drug class in the therapeutic management of AD.

Insights from Drosophila models of Alzheimer's disease

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 988-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Cowan ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Amritpal Mudher
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Protein Tau ◽  
Neurodegenerative Process ◽  
Abnormal Hyperphosphorylation ◽  
Ad Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Drosophila Models

AD (Alzheimer's disease) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the abnormal hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau and the misfolding and deposition of Aβ peptide. The mechanisms by which tau and Aβ become abnormal is not clearly understood, neither is it known what role either protein plays in the neurodegenerative process underlying AD. We have modelled aspects of AD in Drosophila melanogaster to shed light on these processes and to further our understanding of the relationship between tau and amyloid in this disease.

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