Term
| Is dementia (meaning "depraved of mind") a cognitive impairment? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is an example of cortical dementia? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is an example of subcortical dementia? |
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Definition
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Term
| 2 descriptors for Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
1. irreversible
2. progressive |
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Term
| 2 most significant physical findings in the brains of those affected by Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
1. neuritic plaques
2. neurofibrillary tangles |
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Term
| What neurotransmitter is greatly reduced in the cortex in patients with AD? |
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Definition
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Term
| Is acetylcholine necessary for cognitive function? |
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Definition
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Term
| Are neuritic plaques found only in brains with Alzheimer's? |
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Definition
| no! they can be found in normal brains too, but they are in excess in AD patients |
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Term
| A protein called _____ occupies the center of the neuritic plaques |
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Definition
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Term
| Surrounding the beta amyloid protein are fragments of deteriorating neurons, particularly those containing _____, a neurotransmitter necessary for memory & learning |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| chemicals that transmit signals between neurons |
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Term
| Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are remnants of a protein called _____, which is found inside brain cells & is essential for maintaining proper cell structure & function |
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Definition
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Term
| Are tau proteins acting abnormally in patients with AD? |
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Definition
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Term
| An early feature of most _____ dementias is a loss of short term memory or inability to remember what you just learned |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| the cued form of short term memory, generally preserved with aging |
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Term
| 3 stages of Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
1. early or mild stage
2. moderate or middle stage
3. late or severe stage |
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Term
| 3 characteristics of the early stage of AD |
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Definition
1. difficulty in recalling names & conversations
2. misplacing objects
3. getting lost in familiar neighborhoods |
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Term
| 2 characteristics of the middle stage of AD |
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Definition
1. worsening memory loss, especially of current events
2. depression, withdrawal, agitation, confusion, disorientation, paranoia |
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Term
| 2 characteristics of the later stage of AD |
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Definition
1. increasing suspicion, paranoia
2. requires constant care |
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Term
| Shrinkage of the brain, particularly the _____, may be an early sign of Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
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Term
| Does the overall brain volume shrink in AD patients? |
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Definition
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Term
| Smaller hippocampal volumes & faster rates of shrinkage make you _____x more likely to develop dementia as those with larger volumes & a slower rate of brain cell wasting |
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Definition
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Term
| At the stage of mild cognitive impairment, considerable atrophy has already occurred in the _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| 2 characteristics of neurodegenerative diseases |
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Definition
1. neuronal loss
2. intraneuronal accumulations of fibrillary materials |
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Term
| 2 most common neurodegenerative diseases |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| loss of function & death of nerve cells in the brain leading to loss of cognitive function |
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Term
| 2 physical signs of Alzheimer's |
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Definition
1. senile plaques
2. neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) |
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Term
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Definition
| hollow cylinders about 25 nm in diameter (lumen = approx. 15 nm in diameter), most commonly comprised of 13 protofilaments which, in turn, are polymers of alpha & beta tubulin |
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Term
| Microtubules play key roles in _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| _____ originate the fibrillary tangles |
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Definition
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Term
| Beta-amyloid initiates _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| What is made up by the first 42 amino acids in the amyloid precursor protein (APP)? |
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Definition
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Term
| _____ organizes molecular cascades & initiates the degeneration of neurons |
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Definition
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Term
| Is there a normal process of cleaving APP? |
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Definition
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Term
| 3 ways which APP is naturally cleaved |
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Definition
1. secretases cleave the APP between the 16th & 17th amino acids to fragment beta-amyloid in two
2. endosomes & lysosomes digest APP leaving the 42 amino acid beta-amyloid peptide intact
3. other pathways secrete the first 40 amino acids of the beta-amyloid peptide extracellularly |
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Term
| Are normal APP cleavage products soluble? |
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Definition
| yes! but the beta-amyloid can do stuff so it isn't |
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Term
| 2 processes in the ongoing neuronal death seen in AD |
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Definition
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Term
| When can the soluble, unaggragated form of beta-amyloid be neurotoxic? |
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Definition
| when it occurs in conjunction with other potentially injurious scenarios to the neuron |
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Term
| How does beta-amyloid cause necrosis? |
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Definition
| disturbing calcium ion gradients across the cell |
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Term
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Definition
| dilation of the endoplasmic reticulum & mitochondria, & ultimately membrane disintegration with loss of cytoplasmic contents, leading to inflammation & damage to surrounding tissues |
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Term
| What ultimately happens to cells undergoing necrosis? |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens when beta-amyloid self-aggregates & becomes insoluble? |
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Definition
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Term
| apoptosis (also referred to as programmed cell death) |
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Definition
| a natural form of cell death that occurs during development or tissue regression |
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Term
| 3 things that characterize apoptosis |
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Definition
1. cell surface protuberances (blebs)
2. chromatin condensation & nuclear shrinkage (pyknosis)
3. nuclear fragmentation (karonexis) into multiple nuclear bodies |
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Term
| What do you see in PET scans of normal brains versus Alzheimer's brains? |
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Definition
| the AD brains show much less activity |
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Term
| Profound loss of _____ occurs in very mild Alzheimer's Disease |
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Definition
| layer II of the entorhinal cortex |
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Term
| In normal subjects, what happens to the number of neurons in EC layer II between 60 - 90 years of age? |
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Definition
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Term
| In mild cases, the number of neurons in layer II decreased by _____% & the number of neurons in layer IV decreased by _____% |
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Definition
layer II = 60%
layer IV = 40% |
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Term
| In severe cases, the number of neurons in layer II decreased by ____% & the number of neurons in layer IV decreased by _____% |
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Definition
layer II = 90%
layer IV = 70% |
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Term
| The average total number of neurons in the EC was reduced by _____% in the AD group when compared with the nondemented group |
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Definition
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Term
| The volume of the EC was reduced by _____% in the AD group when compared with the nondemented group |
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Definition
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Term
| What EC layer deals with output to the DG & CA3? |
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Definition
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Term
| What EC layer receives input from the hippocampus? |
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Definition
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Term
| Were significant decreases in neuronal number present in all layers of the EC in AD brains when compared with the nondemented group? |
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Definition
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Term
| What layer of the EC loses the most neurons in AD patients? |
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Definition
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Term
| 2 parts of the brain basically destroyed by AD |
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Definition
1. entorhinal cortex
2. CA3 |
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Term
| Can the entorhinal cortex project to the dentate gyrus in AD? |
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Definition
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Term
| Can the subiculum project to the entorhinal cortex in AD? |
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Definition
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