Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

Living Healthfully - October 2010

Here is another presentation of the disease progression:


Earliest Stage- Impairment on learning, memory, thinking, and planning.

Middle Stage- Impairment in speaking, and understanding speech, and visuospatial defect

Severe Stage

On Memory Loss

Memory is a complex function of the brain that uses several storage buffers of differing capacity and duration. It can be divided into three major types: working, episodic, and long-term or remote memory.

Working Memory
• This lasts for < 30 seconds and has a limited storage capacity.

• The reticular activating system and pre-frontal and parietal lobe networks are activated during working memory.

Episodic Memory
• This lasts for minutes to many months or even years and binds information about “what”, “where”, and “when”.
• Normal individuals lay down multiple episodic memories throughout the day, which allow them to move through life connected to previous experience.
• It is commonly tested by asking a patient to recall three words after three to five minutes.
• The hippocampal complex is critical for episodic memory.

Remote Memory
• This stores information lasting for weeks to a lifetime, and contains most of our personal experiences and knowledge.
• The anterior temporal neocortex processes such experience.

In Alzheimer’s disease, the episodic memory is initially lost. And so upon investigation, diagnostic imaging reveals hippocampal atrophy. However at the later stages, other forms of memory maybe affected.



FOR MORE INFO ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASECLICK HERE
86
Vote
   


Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

One of the most common causes of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. As early as this point, we have to understand that Alzheimer’s disease is different from dementia. Others include Parkinson’s disease, drug intoxication, and vascular diseases.

Dementia is an acquired deterioration in cognitive abilities that impairs the successful performance of activities of daily living. Memory is the most common cognitive ability lost with dementia. In addition to memory, other mental faculties are also affected such as language, visuospatial ability, calculation, judgment, and problem solving. Neuropsychiatric and social deficits develop in many dementia syndromes resulting in depression, withdrawal, hallucinations, delusions, agitations, insomnia, and disinhibition.


In Alzheimer’s disease, involvement of the above symptoms depends on the disease progression and the extent of damage among the brain structures.

Atrophy of the structures corresponding to the above functions usually is the feature of Alzheimer’s disease.
76
Vote
   


More Posts
4 Posts
8 Posts
1 Posts
150 Posts dating from February 2007
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:

Physiotherapy's Blogs

1212 Vote(s)
8 Comment(s)
13 Post(s)
1296 Vote(s)
5 Comment(s)
20 Post(s)
Moderated by Physiotherapy
Copyright © 2012 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]