1. COLUMBIA PRESBYTARIAN HOSPITAL CENTER
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
DEREK KENYENSO
MENTOR:
DR. KAREN L. BELL
COLUMBIA PRESBYTARIAN HOSPITAL CENTER

2. WHAT IS AD?
It is a progressive, degenerative brain disease with gradual onset.
Causes a steady decline in the ability to:
Remember and Learn
Think and Reason
Communicate and Respond
Live independently
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

3. AD STATISTICS
AD is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older.
Approximately 4.5 million people now have AD.
By 2050, 13.2 million older Americans are expected to have AD if no preventive treatments become available.

4. IT’S NEVER TOO SOON

5. DISEASE PROGRESSION Forgetfulness, word finding
Mild AD
Forgetfulness, word finding
Problems with shopping, driving, hobbies
Depression, apathy, withdrawal
Problem solving
Calculations
Moderate AD
Poor recent memory, orientation, lack of insight
Requires help with complex activities of daily living
Wandering, getting lost
Difficulty dressing (sequence & selection)
Insomnia
Delusions, agitation
Severe AD
Very limited language
Loss of basic skills
Dressing, bathing, incontinence
Eating, Walking, motor slowing
Agitation

6. EARLY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
In the earliest stages, before symptoms can be detected with tests, plaques and tangles begin to form in brain areas involved in: ,
Neurofibrillary tangles
Senile plaque
LEARNING AND MEMORY
THINKING AND PLANNING

7. MILD–TO-MODERATE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
More plaques & tangles occur leading to problems with:
Speaking and understanding speech
Confusing with things and people around you

8. SEVERE ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
In advanced Alzheimer’s disease, most of the cortex is seriously damaged and the brain shrinks dramatically due to widespread cell death.
Individuals lose their ability to communicate, to recognize family and loved ones and to care for themselves.

9. TEN WARNING SIGNS Memory loss Difficulty doing familiar tasks
Problems with language
Disorientation to time and place
Poor or decreased judgment
Problems with abstract thinking
Misplacing things
Changes in mood or behavior
Changes in personality
Loss of initiative

10. SYMPTOMS AND EFFECTS

11. TREATMENT OF AD
Drugs used to treat mild-to-moderate AD symptoms include:
ARICEPT (donepezil)
EXELON (rivastigmine)
RAZADYNE, RAZADYNE-ER (galantamine)
An additional drug, NAMENDA (memantine), has been approved to treat symptoms of moderate-to-severe AD.
These drugs can help improve some patients’ abilities to carry out activities for a while, but they do not stop or reverse AD.

12. RESEARCH: CLINICAL TRIALS
Drug studies:
Only way to find out if a treatment is effective and safe.
examine approved drugs to see if they can be used for other diseases
look at new experimental drugs

13. RESEARCH: CLINICAL TRIALS
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins
Anti-inflammatory drugs
Substances that prevent formation of b-amyloid plaques

14. REFERENCES http://www.alz.org/AboutAD/WhatIsAD.asp

15. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Karen L. Bell Evelyn Dominquez Ruth Tajedar
Sarah Downs
Alberto Connan
Dr. Sats
Harlem children Society

16. THANK YOU VERY MUCH