Neuro Note #3 | Alzheimer's
What You Can Do To Prevent Alzheimer's | Lisa Genova | TED
What is Alzheimer's? It is a disease that is caused by the buildup of Amyloid-B which in return destroys the synapse which affects memory, thinking skills, and the ability to do everyday tasks.
Alzheimer's is a prevalent neurological disease that a lot of people will experience personally, or with someone they know. Lisa Genova sheds light on this disease and what we can do to prevent it. If you are like me, you might think that Alzheimer's is something you're either gonna get, or you're not gonna get. However, Lisa explains this isn't exactly the case. Whenever we are born, we inherit genes from our parents, and some of those genes (such as APOE4) could include being predisposed to getting Alzheimer's. Like mentioned above, some of the genes cause inflammation, and other issues, such as the build up of the Amyloid-B in the synapses. However, there are other things that cause the buildup of Amyloid-B and the affects of Alzheimer's. Those things could include something as simple as not getting enough sleep or exercise. Whenever we are asleep, especially in the REM cycle (deepest sleep), our brain is basically cleansed of all of the toxins and buildup of chemicals we had during the day. This buildup could include Amyloid-B. So, if you are someone who runs on very little sleep or even pulls an all nighter, that could result in the buildup of Amyloid-B. This buildup also causes a disruption in the sleep cycle, so staying up alone can affect the quality of sleep from that point on, and it becomes a reoccurring cycle. Aerobic exercise and cardiovascular health are also really important to prevent not only the buildup of this chemical, but Alzheimer's itself. Aerobic exercise increases your cardiovascular health and releases all of the good chemicals in your brain which overpower the bad ones (such as Amyloid-B). Studies have shown that roughly 80% of those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's had poor cardiovascular health and a sedentary lifestyle. As you can see, even without the inheritance of a certain gene, other factors can cause the unfortunate reprocustions of Alzheimer's. Lisa also mentions that as we get older, we may know simple things such as someones name and one thing associated with them. She gave the example of her being an author of a book, and it being tied to her name. Alzheimer's can destroy this simple connection someone has with her name. They could remember the book, but who is the author? this is where more interesting research comes in to play. We have so many synapses, and Alzheimer's doesn't destroy ALL of them! So as we get older, and even now, we need to make several connections, induce complex learning, thinking, and reasoning. She gave the example that if we take her name, associate it with things such as her being a yogi, author, neuroscientist, TED talk guest, etc. that we have alone just made 4 new connections with 4 synapses. So, if one or two synapses are damaged, we still have the connections from the other things we learned about her and can associate it back to her name. As you can see, we all can start now practicing preventing Alzheimer's with small steps such as getting plenty of rest, exercise, eating healthy, and practicing using complex thinking, learning, and association.
I chose this TED talk because of the prevalence of Alzheimer's. We are faced with so many medical issues, diseases, and problems every single day. Sometimes we have this stigma that there isn't anything we can do about it, if it happens to you, you're just SOL and you're going to die. And as many studies show, that just isn't the case. We all, even as healthy Americans, can take care of our bodies and take preventative measures to decrease our chances of being in bad health.
I learned not only the chemical makeup of Alzheimer's, but also what affect it can have on the body, and how the body causes the affects of the Alzheimer's. Most importantly, I learned that even before you can detect Alzheimer's, there are ways to prevent getting it, and experiencing its awful affects on the mind. This is relevant to what we are discussing in OT 537 as a part of dementia. In the future, I can take what I have learned from this TED talk and apply the knowledge to my future client's. If client's express their concern of their forgetfulness or even their worries about getting Alzheimer's, I now have some knowledge on providing them with preventive measures and encouragement to avoid the affects as much as possible.
You can find this TED talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0
TED. (2017, May 19). What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's | Lisa Genova. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0
What is Alzheimer's? It is a disease that is caused by the buildup of Amyloid-B which in return destroys the synapse which affects memory, thinking skills, and the ability to do everyday tasks.
Alzheimer's is a prevalent neurological disease that a lot of people will experience personally, or with someone they know. Lisa Genova sheds light on this disease and what we can do to prevent it. If you are like me, you might think that Alzheimer's is something you're either gonna get, or you're not gonna get. However, Lisa explains this isn't exactly the case. Whenever we are born, we inherit genes from our parents, and some of those genes (such as APOE4) could include being predisposed to getting Alzheimer's. Like mentioned above, some of the genes cause inflammation, and other issues, such as the build up of the Amyloid-B in the synapses. However, there are other things that cause the buildup of Amyloid-B and the affects of Alzheimer's. Those things could include something as simple as not getting enough sleep or exercise. Whenever we are asleep, especially in the REM cycle (deepest sleep), our brain is basically cleansed of all of the toxins and buildup of chemicals we had during the day. This buildup could include Amyloid-B. So, if you are someone who runs on very little sleep or even pulls an all nighter, that could result in the buildup of Amyloid-B. This buildup also causes a disruption in the sleep cycle, so staying up alone can affect the quality of sleep from that point on, and it becomes a reoccurring cycle. Aerobic exercise and cardiovascular health are also really important to prevent not only the buildup of this chemical, but Alzheimer's itself. Aerobic exercise increases your cardiovascular health and releases all of the good chemicals in your brain which overpower the bad ones (such as Amyloid-B). Studies have shown that roughly 80% of those who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's had poor cardiovascular health and a sedentary lifestyle. As you can see, even without the inheritance of a certain gene, other factors can cause the unfortunate reprocustions of Alzheimer's. Lisa also mentions that as we get older, we may know simple things such as someones name and one thing associated with them. She gave the example of her being an author of a book, and it being tied to her name. Alzheimer's can destroy this simple connection someone has with her name. They could remember the book, but who is the author? this is where more interesting research comes in to play. We have so many synapses, and Alzheimer's doesn't destroy ALL of them! So as we get older, and even now, we need to make several connections, induce complex learning, thinking, and reasoning. She gave the example that if we take her name, associate it with things such as her being a yogi, author, neuroscientist, TED talk guest, etc. that we have alone just made 4 new connections with 4 synapses. So, if one or two synapses are damaged, we still have the connections from the other things we learned about her and can associate it back to her name. As you can see, we all can start now practicing preventing Alzheimer's with small steps such as getting plenty of rest, exercise, eating healthy, and practicing using complex thinking, learning, and association.
I chose this TED talk because of the prevalence of Alzheimer's. We are faced with so many medical issues, diseases, and problems every single day. Sometimes we have this stigma that there isn't anything we can do about it, if it happens to you, you're just SOL and you're going to die. And as many studies show, that just isn't the case. We all, even as healthy Americans, can take care of our bodies and take preventative measures to decrease our chances of being in bad health.
I learned not only the chemical makeup of Alzheimer's, but also what affect it can have on the body, and how the body causes the affects of the Alzheimer's. Most importantly, I learned that even before you can detect Alzheimer's, there are ways to prevent getting it, and experiencing its awful affects on the mind. This is relevant to what we are discussing in OT 537 as a part of dementia. In the future, I can take what I have learned from this TED talk and apply the knowledge to my future client's. If client's express their concern of their forgetfulness or even their worries about getting Alzheimer's, I now have some knowledge on providing them with preventive measures and encouragement to avoid the affects as much as possible.
You can find this TED talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0
TED. (2017, May 19). What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's | Lisa Genova. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0
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