July 1, 2018

Alzheimer’s Discussion

       When I first saw this assignment come up on my Module, I got nervous thinking about how I would talk to others about such a personal topic for me. My grandpa passed away earlier this year due to Alzheimer’s. Although I wasn’t physically with him for most of his last couple of years due to him still living in Mexico, the few times I visited and the information that was passed down to me from my family members still caused me a lot of pain. I began researching this disease a couple months before his passing and things made more sense. I used the information I learned through simple internet research to help my family cope with the pain as well. Before, they had become so frustrated with watching him get worse that they started blaming each other (or worse, sometimes him) for his symptoms. I explained to my mom what was slowly happening to his brain and that none of this was his fault. I advised that we should only make his last few months as pain-free and smooth as possible. He had taken care of all of us his whole life and now it was time to return the care. In fact, the last couple weeks, we all concluded that when he was gone, we would see his passing as a rebirth of what he once was. He might have been physically gone but he no longer had to suffer.

       At the beginnings of Alzheimer’s, some symptoms that may show up are: forgetting what you just recently learned, forgetting important dates or events, struggling to develop a plan or work with numbers, taking increasingly longer to do tasks, getting confused on where they are or what time it is, vision issues, struggle with words and self-repetition, losing things, struggle with decisions and judgement, isolation, mood and personality changes. These changes are different from regular age-related changes because they are more constant and extreme. Alzheimer’s is caused by cell loss in the brain that happens over time. The beginnings of Alzheimer’s actually happens way before symptoms show up. Slowly, because parts of your brain isn’t working as well as it used to, it gets worse and worse. Eventually, your brain becomes so damaged that it causes death.

       Although we know the basics of Alzheimer’s, scientists still have a long way to go in terms of researching a cure or the specific details that comes with the disease. Still, we have some new research that while does not leave us with clear answers just yet, has set a path towards better understanding. For example, some research suggests that there is a connection between Alzheimer’s and immunological mechanisms in the brain. It is stated that, “Misfolded and aggregated proteins bind to pattern recognition receptors on micro- and astroglia and trigger an innate immune response, characterized by the release of inflammatory mediators, which contribute to disease progression and severity.” [i] Does systemic inflammation make Alzheimer’s worse? The research does suggest that any sort of systemic inflammation in your body or obesity can make Alzheimer’s progress faster. This is interesting to note in a society that is addicted to inflammatories such as coffee, alcohol and sugar. Could these make progression worse? They are questions we do not yet have answers to but it seems scientists and doctors are focused on research that reduce symptoms or slow the process, rather than finding an all-out cure. Either way, it could affect the lives of millions of people all around the world and their families. 

[i] Heneka, M. T., Carson, M. J., El Khoury, J., Landreth, G. E., Brosseron, F., Feinstein, D. L., … Kummer, M. P. (2015). Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease. The Lancet. Neurology, 14(4), 388–405. http://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(15)70016-5