X-Message-Number: 16484 From: "veronica sullivan" <> Subject: Alzheimer's and memory loss Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 08:17:02 +1000 Hi all, In message 16459, Max More wrote You say it is "certain" that Alzheimer's destroys memory. I'm suspicious of the above claim because (a) people with Alzheimer's seem to recall things and sometimes not, (b) It may be that the ability to retrieve memories is damaged by Alzheimer's but perhaps the memories are still there and retrieval abilities could be repaired. The onset of Alzheimer's is generally slow and gradual. Problems with short term memory are common early on in the course of the disease. As the disease progresses problems in abstract thinking develop. The rate and severity of intellectual decline varies with different people. Alzheimer's is insidious, the disease gradually destroys a persons reason, ,judgement, and eventually the person loses their language abilities and is unable to perform any basic task.The person becomes disorientated in time and space and usually suffers marked personality changes. It is only about the last 20 years that scientists and the medical profession have been able to unravel the physiological changes that occur. It is now known that Alzheimers begins in the enterhinal cortex and proceeds to the hippocampus ( which is important in memory formation and storage). The disease gradually spreads to other regions of the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex,which is involved in functions such as language and reasoning ability. Only on autopsy neuritic plaques are found and neurofibrillary tangles. As the disease progresses, neurones in the brain slowly die, as they die lower levels of neurotransmitters (acetylcholine) are produced, creating signalling problems to the brain. This nerve cell degeneration is irreversable due to the degenerative changes and death of neurones. The good news is that medical research is powering along and it is not unlikely that a cure as such will be found in our own lifetime. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=16484