Cause, Pathology and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease
Growing up in the 80's I remember my mother questioning President Reagan's politics, policies, morality, and even his sanity. Though I would not wish a debilitating disease on anyone, I had to laugh at the irony when I heard Reagan had Alzheimer's Disease(AD). To think that his "I do not recall" line during the Contra scandal may have been true! The idea of the President of the United States suffering the early stages of a disease causing dementia, confusion, irritability, and memory loss(1) during the very dangerous Cold War gives me the heebie jeebies.
Symptoms(6,7) Reagan and the Cold War aside, Alzheimer's is an appalling disease, affecting millions of people, with no known cure. Even the cause is not fully understood. Its symptoms are memory loss, confusion, poor judgment, personality changes, and loss of intellectual competence. The disease progresses, leaving victims unable to care for themselves. Patients usually die between 8 and 20 years after onset. The emotional strain of the victims who can feel the deterioration of their minds, as well as the family and friends who witness it are often devastating.
Pathology(2, 3) AD is characterized by the death of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) secreting cells. The major pathological description of AD is Neurofibrillary tangles(NFTs). Though NFTs normally exist in elderly people, the high quantity and distribution in AD patients is unique. NFTs are fibrous tangles that grow out of the neuronal soma and extend into the dendrites. These tangles remain, even after the parent cell is killed and deteriorates. NFTs are composed of strands of insoluble proteins, twisted into a helix called ...
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...l far off. There needs to be a better understanding of AD before useful treatments can be developed. No treatments exist to combat the disease itself, but some treatments aim to address the problem in a round about manner. Since many cells killed by AD are acetylcholine secreting, mental processes are effected by a shortage of this neurotransmitter. A drug, Tacrine hydrochloride, blocks the destruction of acetylcholine by enzymes, allowing the brain to get by with a diminished supply. However the drug does not address the more important issues of cell death, brain lesions, plaques, and NFTs. The drug simply temporarily abates the symptoms. Luckily, there are huge research efforts to better understand the disease at a fundamental level, which may eventually lead to more meaningful treatments.
Internet Sources:
http://www-tech.mit.edu/V113/N40/fda.40w.html
The Meech Lake accord was a set of constitutional amendments that were designed to persuade Quebec Province to accept the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 (Brooks 152). This accord derives its name from the Meech Lake, where these negotiations were held by Mulroney Brian, the Canadian Prime Minister, and the ten premiers of the ten Canadian Provinces (Brooks 211). By the time the Canadian constitution was being implemented, Quebec was the only province that had not consented to it. Somehow, the partition of the constitution in 1982 was carried out without Quebec’s agreement, but it was still bound by the same law. Attempts were made to persuade this province to sign the constitution, which it agreed to do but only after its five demands are fulfilled by the Canadian government. Unfortunately, these demands were not met and this accord failed in 1990, when two provincial premiers failed to approve it. This paper answers the question whether Quebec asked for too much during the Meech Lake Accord negotiations.
To begin Sprague argues that the Canadian Government disingenuously mismanaged Metis land organization. Sprague states that evidence of this can be seen in the Canadian government not allowing the Lieutenant Governor Adams G. Archibald to make changes to Section 31 and 32 of the Manitoba Act. Archibald proposed the government grant outlined in Section 31 should allocate each person of Aboriginal ancestry an allotment of “140 acres” (pg.75) of land. Archibald also suggested that the location of these allotments be in close proximity so as to “not disperse families throughout the province” (Pg. 75). Lastly Archibald proposed a suggestion in carrying out Section 32 which insured that land owned was not jeopardized during the process of confederacy. He recommended that Manitoba be recognized as an independent province such that affairs including land ownership would be dealt with on a provincial level. Therefore as Sprague argues Archibald’s words were not taken into consideration by both the governments of John A. Macdonald and Alexa...
This paper supports Thomas Flanagan's argument against Native sovereignty in Canada; through an evaluation of the meanings of sovereignty it is clear that Native sovereignty can not coexist with Canadian sovereignty. Flanagan outlines two main interpretations of sovereignty. Through an analysis of these ideas it is clear that Native Sovereignty in Canada can not coexist with Canadian sovereignty.
Rynard, P. (2001). Ally or colonizer?: The federal state, the cree nation and the james bay agreement. Journal of Canadian Studies, 36(2), 8.
Harm reduction itself is a heavily contested topic, predominantly with regards to its definition, but subsequently with its effectiveness, which is highly dependant on which definition is applied. It is important when discussing definition debates to consider that, as stated by Erickson (1995) "our interpretations of the term tend to change over time and this is a healthy process that is essential in the full articulation of an 'emerging public health perspective'" (Erickson, 1995: 283). There is literature to suggest that the term 'harm reduction' was firstly used only in application to programmes and policies that tried to reduce harm for individuals that continued to use substances, and as such did not include abstinence focused approaches (Single and Rohl, 1997). This deliberate exclusion from definition is beneficial in the sense that it clarifies harm reductions stance in
One specific policy that adheres and follows the harm reduction approach is the Drug Policy Alliance. Their policy is considered to be a harm reduction approach because they acknowledge the fact that “A basic tenet of harm reduction is that there has never been, and will never be, a drug-free society” (Drug Policy Alliance) and have the same aims and objectives as the approach of harm reduction. This policy is more of an intervention than just a basic rehab that only focuses on the use of drug but not the bigger picture – the reason people use the drugs.
Roger Townshend makes a number of points that support the idea of Native sovereignty. He identifies that the very perception of sovereignty in regard to Aboriginals in Canada has changed. In the initial contact by early European settlers, Aboriginals were treated as “…allies or as enemies, but in any event, as nations to be treated as equals with European States,” (Townshend 37). Through ti...
Olthius and Townshend are in favour of native sovereignty within Canada based on historical and moral grounds. These authors believe there is a difference in perceptions between native and non-native Canadians regarding the jurisdiction over Canadian territory. In their essay, they write that Aboriginal people believe the Canadian state is oppressive and usurps the powers of Aboriginal people, while most non-aboriginals would be unlikely to question the status of the Canadian state. The essay contends that before European settlement, First Nations people had stability in their economic and political structures. Although their style was different than that of European nations, there was recognition of sovereignty of aboriginal lands. Acquisition of land in Canada did not come from conquest; rather it came primarily in the form of land transaction treaties. However, the treaties did little to support the claim of Canadian sovereignty since they are mostly unclear about issues of jurisdiction. A secondary way of claiming land for European settlement was through discovery of vacan...
Conflict between Canada and the First Nations has been going on since the Europeans first arrived. After their arrival the First Nations way of life was hindered severely; The Europeans brought many diseases that the Aboriginal people were unfamiliar with and had no resistance to, or cure for. “By the 16th century about 80% of Canada's Native population had died from the various diseases (Renneboog, 5).” The Europeans also came to Canada with the intentions of taking all of the land for themselves, disregarding the people who occupied the land before them. Over time the Europeans had manipulated the First Nations to their will and the Aboriginals were discriminated for their different complexion, culture, customs, and way of life. But between the years 1945 and 2010 there have been many changes involving interactions with the First Nations people. Some changes were good, but most of them were bad. Canada does not deserve to be known as a nation that demonstrates equality because it has not given the First Nations people equal rights to their land, it was discriminatory to their culture and way of life, and it has denied them of a safe and legitimate education.
Steckley, J., & Cummins, B. D. (2008). Full circle: Canada's First Nations (2nd ed.). Toronto:
Alzhiemer’s disease is the most common form of dementia . It is a disease in which nerve cells in the brain die. As nerve cells die it’s difficult for the brain's signals to be transmitted properly. The death of the nerve cells occurs gradually over a period of years. The gradual loss of brain function seems to be due to two main forms of nerve damage, nerve cells develop tangles (neurofibrillary tangles) and protein deposits known as beta-amyloid plaques build up in the brain. The first sign of Alzheimers is memory impairment. Recent memory is lost first and as time goes on, attention is lost, simple calculations become impossible, and ordinary daily activities become difficult, and the patient feels bewildered and frustrated. Symptoms tend to worsen at night which is known as the sundown effect. Patients have dramatic mood swings such as outbursts of anger, bouts of fearfulness, and periods of lethargy. The patient becomes increasingly disoriented and because of disorientation they may wander off and become lost. Alzheimer’s also results in physical problems like an odd gait, or a loss of coordination. Over the course of time patients lose physical and communicative abilities entirely. Alzheimer's disease can run its course from onset to death in as few as four years, or it may play out over a period of as long as 20 years. On average people suffer with Alzheimer's disease for about nine years. Alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. One person out of eight age 65 and over has the disease.
Alzheimer's disease is ending the brains and lives of our country's people, stealing them from memory, the ability to reason, and affecting their emotions and behavior. Alzheimer's disease weakens the brain. The longer we live the greater the risk: one out of every two Americans aged 85 and older and one out of every 10 aged 65 and older are afflicted with the disease. It affects two groups: those with the disease and the loved ones who care for them. Alzheimer's diseases changes the way people view the world.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, terminal, degenerative brain disease. It is the fourth leading cause of death in adults and currently affects over four million people in the United States. This number is expected to increase over the next several years as the baby boomers age, until it reaches fourteen million by the year 2025.
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disease which slowly destroys thinking and memory skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day to day life. This irreversible disease is the most common cause of dementia amongst the elderly, with an appearance of first symptoms after age 60.
Today’s era of business world adapts to everything new but these modern concepts are an indirect tribute to the theories produced by Taylor, Fayol, Mayo and Weber. Taylor’s Scientific management theory is one such example which has become such an important aspects of modern management that it feels unbelievable that his concepts were a part of the history. It is falsely assumed that as the society progresses, the older theories tend to lose their importance. The thing to be noted here is that these theories are based on basic human needs which do not change with time; the thing that changes is the method to fulfil those needs. Investigating earlier management theories is important because these theories are less complex and provide immediate solution to the problems. These theories basically help us to go to the root of the problem and understand its complexity. The better understanding we have about the problem, the easier it is to accomplish the objectives of the company. The following essay states the importance of the Taylor’s Scientific management theory and how it is implemented even today in the business world.