LECTURE SLIDE NOTES IN BLACK | LECTURE NOTES IN RED WRITING
o Neurodegen-
Alzheimer’s disease:
erative - Neurodegeneration
o Introduction and prevalence of disease
disorders - ‘Progressive damage or death of neurons leading to a gradual
o Symptoms deterioration of the bodily functions controlled by the affected part of
o Causes of disease the nervous system.’
o Pathology - Acute e.g. Stroke - where damage will occur in blood vessel and
o Treatments – existing and ‘undertodevelopment’
damage this takes place in first few minutes
- Chronic e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s
Chorea – slowly developing over long period of time (many years)
- Natural degeneration of neurones (i.e. ageing) must be distinguished
with:
- Disease-induced degeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease)
- Referred to either acute or chronic which refers to the time frame
o Dementias - Dementia:
- An ‘umbrella’ term for a particular group of symptoms
- Characteristic symptoms of dementia = memory, language, problem-
solving, other cognitive abilities
- Dementia has many causes
- Alzheimer’s disease = most common cause of dementia
- Dementia doesn’t point to a specific disease, just outlines symptoms
that are caused by different diseases. Doesn’t specify the underlying
cause of symptoms
o Alzheimer’s - 1st identified over 100 yrs ago
disease - ‘A degenerative brain disorder of unknown origin that causes
progressive memory loss, motor deficits, and eventual death.’
- Incidence as population ages
- Come up with by pathologist Alzheimer over 100 years ago
o Alzheimer’s - 50 million worldwide
disease - 1 million UK
prevalence - 1 in 14 people aged over 65
- At current rate – over 1.5 million people in the UK by 2040
- Access to diagnosis/treatment/support – how do we prepare for the
incline in diagnosis?
- 20 year projected increase
o Alzheimer’s
disease – risk
factor - Non-modifiable risk factors
Age
- Most important risk factor
- Ageing = Alzheimer’s disease
- 65-74 yrs – 3%; 75-84 yrs – 17%; over 85 – 32% of population
Biological sex
- x2 as many women over 65 with AD versus men
- Why? Women live longer than men? Links with loss of the hormone
oestrogen post-menopause?
Genetics (see later)
Family history (see later)
Just because someone isn’t getting older it doesn’t assume that they are going
to gain Alzheimer's disease
o Neurodegen-
Alzheimer’s disease:
erative - Neurodegeneration
o Introduction and prevalence of disease
disorders - ‘Progressive damage or death of neurons leading to a gradual
o Symptoms deterioration of the bodily functions controlled by the affected part of
o Causes of disease the nervous system.’
o Pathology - Acute e.g. Stroke - where damage will occur in blood vessel and
o Treatments – existing and ‘undertodevelopment’
damage this takes place in first few minutes
- Chronic e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s
Chorea – slowly developing over long period of time (many years)
- Natural degeneration of neurones (i.e. ageing) must be distinguished
with:
- Disease-induced degeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease)
- Referred to either acute or chronic which refers to the time frame
o Dementias - Dementia:
- An ‘umbrella’ term for a particular group of symptoms
- Characteristic symptoms of dementia = memory, language, problem-
solving, other cognitive abilities
- Dementia has many causes
- Alzheimer’s disease = most common cause of dementia
- Dementia doesn’t point to a specific disease, just outlines symptoms
that are caused by different diseases. Doesn’t specify the underlying
cause of symptoms
o Alzheimer’s - 1st identified over 100 yrs ago
disease - ‘A degenerative brain disorder of unknown origin that causes
progressive memory loss, motor deficits, and eventual death.’
- Incidence as population ages
- Come up with by pathologist Alzheimer over 100 years ago
o Alzheimer’s - 50 million worldwide
disease - 1 million UK
prevalence - 1 in 14 people aged over 65
- At current rate – over 1.5 million people in the UK by 2040
- Access to diagnosis/treatment/support – how do we prepare for the
incline in diagnosis?
- 20 year projected increase
o Alzheimer’s
disease – risk
factor - Non-modifiable risk factors
Age
- Most important risk factor
- Ageing = Alzheimer’s disease
- 65-74 yrs – 3%; 75-84 yrs – 17%; over 85 – 32% of population
Biological sex
- x2 as many women over 65 with AD versus men
- Why? Women live longer than men? Links with loss of the hormone
oestrogen post-menopause?
Genetics (see later)
Family history (see later)
Just because someone isn’t getting older it doesn’t assume that they are going
to gain Alzheimer's disease
