Stem cell therapies and Alzheimer’s disease
brain barrier, which protects the brain from harmful agents. 20 This is exacerbated by the fact that glucose is no longer able to reach the brain, and the benefits of glucose in clearing away of toxic beta- amyloid and tau proteins is diminished. Brains that are affected by Alzheimer’s lose matter at rates which are three times as fast as in healthy ageing. 21 In the early stages of the disease neurons and their connections in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are destroyed. These are key parts of the brain involved in short term memory and converting short term memory to long term memory. Damage is spread to the brain stem, frontal lobe, parietal love, and temporal lobe and can be even more widespread by the later stages. 22 The disease is insidious and progressive, and symptoms are displayed depending on which of these brain regions are damaged first, and the extent of the damage to these regions.
1.2: Progression of the disease
Progression of the disease and how quickly it occurs is different from individual to individual. Memory, thinking, judgement, language, problem-solving, personality and movement can all be affected. According to Mayo Clinic, 2019, progression is split into 5 different stages, which makes it easier for doctors to prescribe drug treatments and target certain behavioural therapies. The first stage of the disease is ‘Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease’ . This can happen long before any symptoms are displayed in the patient, and they continue to live their normal lives without any knowledge that the disease has started. Depending on the volume of beta amyloid that has been accumulated, new imaging can detect first signs of excess beta amyloid in the brain. Furthermore, additional biomarkers have been identified which serve as measure to indicate an increased risk of the disease. 23 Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease occurs when the person has mild changes to their memory and thinking ability which is not enough to affect work or relationships. People with MCI may have trouble judging the number of sequence of steps needed to complete a task. The patient may have memory lapses, such as forgetting conversations that happened or meetings. Mild d ementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is when the disease is most often diagnosed. It becomes clear to family and doctors that a person is having significant trouble with memory and thinking which is impacting daily functioning. People can experience memory loss of recent events, and difficulty with tasks involving information recall. A common action that occurs in this stage is getting lost or misplacing belongings, even in familiar places that the individual has visited many times. People could be socially withdrawn, as parts of the brain affected control personality and decision making.
Moderate dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease is where patients grow more confused, and this is where they need to be monitored regularly and need assistance with most day-to-day activities. They will have
20 What happens to the brain in Alzheimer’s Disease? 2017. 21 Taylor 2020: 24. 22 Duncan 2017. 23 For information in this section, I am indebted to Alzheimer's stages: how the disease progresses 2019.
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