scholarly journals Introductory Chapter: Alzheimer’s Disease—The Most Common Cause of Dementia

Author(s):  
Md. Sahab Uddin ◽  
Ghulam Md. Ashraf
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Chinonye A Maduagwuna ◽  

Study background: Chronic neuroinflammation is a common emerging hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly and is characterized by loss of memory and other cognitive functions.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clemens Kruse ◽  
Britney Larson ◽  
Reagan Wilkinson ◽  
Roger Samson ◽  
Taylor Castillo

BACKGROUND Incidence of AD continues to increase, making it the most common cause of dementia and the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. 2018 numbers are expected to double by 2030. OBJECTIVE We examined the benefits of utilizing technology to identify and detect Alzheimer’s disease in the diagnostic process. METHODS We searched PubMed and CINAHL using key terms and filters to identify 30 articles for review. We analyzed these articles and reported them in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. RESULTS We identified 11 technologies used in the detection of Alzheimer’s disease: 66% of which used some form of MIR. Functional, structural, and 7T magnetic resonance imaging were all used with structural being the most prevalent. CONCLUSIONS MRI is the best form of current technology being used in the detection of Alzheimer’s disease. MRI is a noninvasive approach that provides highly accurate results in the diagnostic process of Alzheimer’s disease.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Regina Dowgan T. de Siqueira ◽  
Thaís de Souza Rolim ◽  
Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira ◽  
Ricardo Nitrini ◽  
Renato Anghinah ◽  
...  

Abstract Dental infections, frequent in the general population, are a common cause of inflammation with systemic impact, and are the most common cause of orofacial pain. Temporomandibular disorders are also frequent in the elderly and represent an important cause of secondary headache. Both inflammation and pain can also contribute to cognitive, functional and behavioral impairment of the elderly and aggravate symptoms of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). We report a case of a 74-year-old woman with AD and chronic facial pain who had a significant improvement in functional activities as well as in cognition and depressive symptoms after successful treatment of her facial pain. Patients with AD have higher compromise of oral health with infections and teeth loss. The investigation of orofacial pain should be performed in patients with AD, because of the associations reviewed and given the potential for improvement as highlighted by this case.


2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne C Segerstrom

Abstract Personality, especially the dimensions of neuroticism and conscientiousness, has prospectively predicted the risk of incident Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Such a relationship could be explained by personality and AD risk having a common cause such as a gene; by personality creating a predisposition for AD through health behavior or inflammation; by personality exerting a pathoplastic effect on the cognitive consequences of neuropathology; or by AD and personality change existing on a disease spectrum that begins up to decades before diagnosis. Using the 5-dimensional taxonomy of personality, the present review describes how these models might arise, the evidence for each, and how they might be distinguished from one another empirically. At present, the evidence is sparse but tends to suggest predisposition and/or pathoplastic relationships. Future studies using noninvasive assessment of neuropathology are needed to distinguish these 2 possibilities.


2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catriona D. McCullagh ◽  
David Craig ◽  
Stephen P. McIlroy ◽  
A. Peter Passmore

There is little doubt that dementia is a very common cause of disability and dependency in our society. Since dementia of whatever type is usually more common with increasing age, then as population demographics change, so will the prevalence of dementia. Dementia is a generic term and the objective for clinicians, once dementia is suspected, is to attempt to define the cause. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, and in most centres vascular dementia would feature as the next most common aetiology. In some centres, Lewy body dementia is the second most common cause. Mixed Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia would also feature high on the list at most centres.


Cell Medicine ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 215517901772228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Leon ◽  
Darrell Sawmiller ◽  
R. Douglas Shytle ◽  
Jun Tan

In the United States, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, accompanied by substantial economic and emotional costs. During 2015, more than 15 million family members who provided care to AD patients had an estimated total cost of 221 billion dollars. Recent studies have shown that elevated total plasma levels of homocysteine (tHcy), a condition known as hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), is a risk factor for AD. HHcy is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and dementia; enhances the vulnerability of neurons to oxidative injury; and damages the blood–brain barrier. Many therapeutic supplements containing vitamin B12 and folate have been studied to help decrease tHcy to a certain degree. However, a therapeutic cocktail approach with 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, methyl B12, betaine, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) have not been studied. This novel approach may help target multiple pathways simultaneously to decrease tHcy and its toxicity substantially.


1978 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.R. Crapper ◽  
U. Deboni

The most common cause of senile dementia appears to be a pathological process indistinguishable from that found in presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type. Consideration of the neuropathological changes suggest that this disease may involve the interaction of at least three processes: a viral-like infection, a disorder in the immune system and the neurotoxic effect of an environmental agent. The evidence in support of this hypothesis is reviewed.


Neurogenetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 203-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nicolaou ◽  
Y.-Q. Song ◽  
C. Sato ◽  
A. Orlacchio ◽  
T. Kawarai ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Po-Heng Tsai

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. In the United States, an estimated 5.3 million people had AD dementia in 2015, including 200,000 individuals younger than age 65 years. The number of people who are affected by AD is projected to reach 16 million in 2050. There is a tremendous cost associated with caring for people with AD. In 2015, the direct costs to US society of caring for those with AD totaled an estimated $226 billion, and if no effective disease-modifying treatments become available, this could increase to $1.1 trillion in 2050. In addition to medical costs, in 2014, caregivers of people with AD and other dementias provided an estimated 17.9 billion hours of unpaid assistance, which translates to a value of $217.7 billion. Therefore, cognitive enhancers for AD by improving cognition could address symptoms associated with AD, reduce caregiver burden, and limit health care costs.


Author(s):  
Rahul Karamchandani ◽  
Nancy R. Barbas

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) refers to the spectrum of cognitive disturbances that result from cerebrovascular brain injury. Cerebrovascular disease is associated with multiple underlying pathologies. Risk factors, clinical features, and treatment options overlap with those associated with Alzheimer’s disease, another common cause of cognitive decline. The complexity of vascular cognitive impairment and, notably, the interplay between clinical, pathologic, genetic, and biomarker characteristics of VCI and Alzheimer’s disease are discussed. The chapter places an emphasis on vascular cognitive impairment resulting from disease affecting small vessels, in contrast to that due to disease involving large vessels, in an effort to focus on a large body of evolving work and ongoing attempts at improving understanding of this complex entity.


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