1. How is treatment of the disorder progressing? What are some treatments and how have they changed over time? How successful are they? Are there any drawbacks?
1.1. Hamilton, Jon. "Treatment For Alzheimer's Should Start Years Before Disease Sets In." NPR. NPR, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/17/163093866/treatment-for-alzheimers-should-start-years-before-disease-sets-in>.
1.1.1. ABCD: on is a correspondent for NPR's science desk and researches health risks and neuroscience. He writes about humans and the body alot. There are numerous doctors and experts quoted without. This article had no unwanted ads and is fairly recent being from 2012. It was about possible treatments for the disease and how they should start when you are young. The author had evidence and facts to back up the claims. It was not biased and the article explored numerous points of view including why people would be for this and why some would be against it.
1.1.1.1. *treatment for the disease should start years or decades before sympotoms start occuring *need to start treating before a lot of neurons die *drugs might work better if given before symptoms start appearing *Study shows changes start occuring in the brain 11 years before symptoms start occuring *This means people who show no symptoms and may never actually get alzheimer's would have to start taking a drug for it in which the long term risks are unknown *people with family history of the disease may want to take this risk
1.2. Cooper, Charlie. "Alzheimer’s Treatment Breakthrough: British Scientists Pave Way for Simple Pill to Cure Disease." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 04 May 2014. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/alzheimers-treatment-breakthrough-british-scientists-pave-way-for-simple-pill-to-cure-disease-8869716.html>.
1.2.1. ABCD:Charlie is a health reporter for the magazine and has wrote numerous health related articles that were published. The article has quotes from professors and doctors. It is very recent too being published in 2013. It answers my question about possible treatments. It's a pill that could possible stop alzheimer's sometime in the future. The article provided facts and information to back up the claims and thoroughly explained the topic. There were no unwanted ads and the information matched other articles i have seen.
1.2.1.1. *a drug like compoud was able to halt brain cell death in mice for the first time *Mice were used because they can have the best animal model of human neurodegenerative disorders *First substance given to mice that prevented brain disease *Alzheimer's is caused by a loss of proteins that cause brain cells to die off *this compoud restored proteins to protect brain cells and stopping the disease *Drug did cause side effects like weight loss and mild diabetes, but professors believe it should be possible to develop a drug to protect the brain without the side effects eventually *A cure for alzheimer's is still a long ways off but this is a big step
1.3. "Latest Treatment Options." Alzheimer's Association. Alz.org, 2014. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_treatments.asp>.
1.3.1. ABCD: There was no specific author given but the cite is credible because it is a .org and is the Alzheimer's association. The sources information is to provide a variety of information on Alzheimer's. The specific article I read was all about possible treatments, but not cures. It was not biased but simply listed medications and treatments that can help with the effects of alzheimer's. There was no ads and it provided alot of facts on alzheimer's.
1.3.1.1. *No cure or stop as of right now, only medications to help lessen symptoms like memory loss and confusion *2 types of medidcatioins approved by FDA that affect chemicals that carry messages between the brain's nerve cells *Vitamin E is sometimes prescribed to treat cognitive Alzheimer's symptoms
2. How do loved ones of someone affected by Alzheimer's cope? Are there any groups or ways of helping support them? What is the hardest thing they have to deal with?
2.1. Perspective #1: Brody, Jane E. "Caring for the Alzheimer's Caregiver." Well Caring for the Alzheimers Caregiver Comments. The New York Times, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 01 May 2014. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/caring-for-the-alzheimers-caregiver/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0>.
2.1.1. ABCD: Jane is a writer for the NY Times and has had many health related articles published. The article has credible sources cited throughout and a lot of quotes and interviews with professional doctors and experts. Answers questions about what caregivers have to go through and what their lives are like. Different ways they cope. Published only a couple months ago so very recent information.
2.1.1.1. *Have to have patience *“We laugh a lot — laughter definitely helps,” he said. “I make jokes out of many of the problems. Maintaining a sense of humor enables me to stay in balance.” said Paul Divinigracia who is 75 and wife has alzheimers. *Watch comedy tv *Requires constant adjustments to the new challenges that arise *Lots of books written *Can be hard to convince family that something really is wrong and will only get worse *Caregivers have to constantly be observing and know what's going on *Cause a lot of stress on the cargivers which can lead to illnesses and earlier death ages *Traveling can help release stress and give the patients new things to learn and remember *Returning patients to things they used to do can help trigger memories *Biggest challenge for caregivers is when the patient becomes physically or verbally abusive *Dr. London said, “caregivers are often the casualties, the hidden victims, of Alzheimer’s disease. “No one sees the sacrifices they make,” she said.
2.2. Brown, Jeffrey. "Coping With Alzheimer’s: A Mother and Daughter Portrait Of Long-Term Care." PBS. PBS, 30 May 2013. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/health-jan-june13-healthcare_05-30/>.
2.2.1. ABCD: The interviewer/editorer is journalist for PBS. The people being interviewed are directly being affected by Alzheimer's. It's from the perspective of a lady who's mom has Alzheimer's. She tells about what it's like to take care of someone with the disease and the struggles they face. It answers my questions about the struggles loved ones face and how they cope. It is very recent, being published a year ago. All the information seems consistant with other sources.
2.2.1.1. Rebecca's mother Mary has Alzheimer's and moved in with her. From the moment she gets up she has to take care of her mother. She has to wake her up, get her dressed, brush her teeth, and get her to take her medications. She says it's like having a 2 year old who is not potty trained. She says it's very uncomfortable around other people because they don't understand the disease. They talk to her very loud and slowly like she can't hear but they don't need to because she can hear, she just doesn't understand what they're saying. Rebecca says there are still special moments where she can see her old mom. She won't send her mom to a home because she says no one can understand her mom the way she can. Money can also be an issue. Organizations to help like: *Older Americans Act-created a national network of agencies on aging to support community social services for older people *Financial assistance through a states long term care program Health risks for Rebecca because of stress and unable to afford health insurance. "It’s not always perfect, but she’s my mother. And so that’s the way you have to look at this disease. You can’t dwell on what was or what might be. It’s what it is today. And so she’s alive. She’s functioning. She’s getting up. She’s moving around. She has happy moments and not-so-happy moments, but it’s not a sad situation."
3. Synthesis: Loved ones of people with alzheimer's cope by staying positive, hopeful, and keeping a sense of humor. It's hard to deal with watching your loved one completely change. The effect it has on your own life is also very hard. It can have financial and health consequences for the caregiver. They want to take care of their loved one though, because they can provide the best care. Taking care of someone with alzheimer's is a full time job and there are various groups and organizations to help them.
4. Synthesis:There aren't very man treatments other than some pills that help stabalize the effects of the disease. A recent study has suggested that if people started taking drugs when they are young they might be able to beat the disease. But, the long term effects are relatively unknown at this point. There really isn't much that can be done as of right now but there are many studies going on.
5. What do researchers think are some factors that cause alzheimer's? Have there been any experiments or studies to find these causes? What?
5.1. Belluck, Pam. "Protein May Hold the Key to Who Gets Alzheimer’s." The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Mar. 2014. Web. 02 May 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/20/health/fetal-gene-may-protect-brain-from-alzheimers-study-finds.html>.
5.1.1. ABCD: Pam is a health and science writer for the NY Times, and she also has gotten numerous awards for her writing. There are numerous doctors and professionals quoted in the essay. Very recent date-this year. About recent findings about what may cause Alzheimer's.
5.1.1.1. *The memory & thinking problems of Alzheimer's might be caused by a failure in the brain's stress response system *a protein previously thought to act mostly in the brains of developing fetuses. The scientists found that the protein also appears to protect neurons in healthy older people from aging-related stresses. But in people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, the protein is sharply decreased in key parts of the brain *Call the protein REST *Still have to decide if it's a cause or an effect of brain deteriation *not possible to measure rest levels in living people *Still alot of unanswered questions-has to be something else contributing to the disease
5.2. Hamilton, Jon. "Alzheimer's Blood Test Raises Ethical Questions." NPR. NPR, 09 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/03/09/286881513/alzheimers-blood-test-raises-ethical-questions>.
5.2.1. ABCD: Jon is a correspondent for NPR's science desk and researches health risks and neuroscience. He writes about humans and the body alot. There are numerous doctors and experts quoted without. It's an informational piece with the information being backed up by experiments and research. It's a unique perspective on whether or not someone would want to know if they are going to develop Alzheimer's. It shows both sides. It answers questions about studies being done to find the cause of Alzheimer's and how they can possible find the cause. It's very recent, from this year. It also has no advertisements on the site.
5.2.1.1. A blood test can show whether or not people in their 70's are likely to delvelop alzheimer's within a few years. It's accurate over 90% of the time. *predicting Alzheimer's has been possible through MRI's or spinal tap but those methods are painful and expenseive. *People have to decide if they are prepared to get the results *lipids in the blood show whether or not someone will get the disease *Positives of knowing: make plans for retirement and where they will want to live *Negatives:People might treat you different and interact with you differently, you might get depressed or have a negative sense of self
5.3. Dillow, Clay. "Alzheimer's May Be Caused By Poor Diet." Popular Science. Popular Science, 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 May 2014. <http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-09/newest-impact-poor-diet-alzheimers>.
5.3.1. ABCD: Clay has written many articles for Popular science and researches modern science technologies. There are no advertisements other than more articles to read on the site. The purpose is to inform on a possibile cause of Alzheimer's that is being researched and there is experiments and evidence that is explained in the article. It is a balanced perspective and is not biased. It answers the question about possible causes that are being researched. It definitely gave me more ideas of information to look up and cited some sources that could help. It is still pretty recent being written in 2012.
5.3.1.1. Noone is sure the causes of Alzheimer's but a new idea is that it's primarily a metabolic disease like diabetes. Basically a poor diet can cause this disease. Scientists even refer to it as type 3 diabetes. The number of people with Alzheimer's is rapidly increasing as well as diabeties. Our diets have also been getting increasingly worse. There has also been research to show that many people with Alzheimer's either lack a natural insulin in their body or an impairment of the brain's ability to respond to it. There has always been a like between Alzheimer's, type 2 diabities, and obesity. People who die of Alzheimer's in most cases have been found to have low insulin levels in the brain. This means insulin is also produced in the brain, not just the pancreas.