Free Alzheimer's Disease Research Essay Sample
The journal article “Progress in the development of new drugs in Alzheimer’s disease” was written by Pial A., Nourhashémi, F., Hein1, C., Caillaud, C. and Vellas B. These authors were specialists in the medical some coming from the department of internal medicine while others have worked in university hospitals. In this journal article, Piau et al. describe the current state of research targeted on Alzheimer - a disease estimated to have affected about “26.55 million” people. The article provides significant information concerning reasons of the genesis of the Alzheimer’s disease with many of them being hypotheses that are still under study. In addition, the paper explores the current intervention techniques that medical experts use to modify the disease as one the intervention that has been well received by the medical fraternity. While the document presents the current shortcoming in research and intervention, it does provide room for more research and hope that invention techniques are to become more refined not to mention informing that many intervention techniques are still under study.
The article reveals that Alzheimer’s disease is a health complication that affects mainly adults and has the ability to cause progressive memory loss in its victims. In the article, the authors identify that the Alzheimer’s disease is linked to the presence of cognitive sphere deficits that affect occupation and social functioning of people, especially those elderly. The human brain is the primary organ that promotes proper cognitive experiences and functioning. With the loss of basic functioning such as memory, it is clear that the Alzheimer’s disease affects the cognitive functions of its victims. The article attempts to explain how the disease occurs, Piau et al. use several hypotheses that experts have devised so far as an attempt to explain the disease. First, the article highlights that cholinergic hypothesis of Alzheimer posits that the Alzheimer’s disease affects the cholinergic neurons located in the forehead leading to the loss of memory. The loss of the cholinergic seems to trigger the loss of memory. In addition, Piau et al. argued that excess amount of glutamate can cause loss of cognitive functioning if it is located on the cerebral cortex. In the article, the above explanations are marked as controversial and limited in their attempt to define the Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on cognitive functions. For this reason, Piau et al. indicated that the presence of two proteins aggregates—“Abeta-peptide and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs)” mark the existence of Alzheimer’s disease. More conclusively, the authors argue that the aggregation of Abeta-42 and accumulation of this toxic substance is the primary cause of the Alzheimer’s disease. The connection between the protein aggregates and the Alzheimer’s disease has given researchers a new insight into the ways of modifying the disease.
That article mentions many modern interventions aimed at reducing the impact of Alzheimer and improving cognition among patients suffering from this disease. The first intervention is the use of antiamyloids agents through immunization, which can slow down the rate at which deposition of amyloid occurs. Secretases modulation also promotes cleavage, which has been found to modify the disease. Another strategy is the use of tau-related therapies, which helps in providing therapeutic invention that reduces and restores the phosphatase activity in the brain. Under this technique, the use of substances such as methylthionium chloride provides researchers with a technique to prevent the aggregation of tau in the brain into tangles. The article also describes the use of neuroprotective agents such as alpha-lipoic acid that help reduce the amount of oxidative stress. Along with revealing other treatments, the article identifies such treatment as being under clinical trials and waiting testing.
This is an interesting article that provides a lot of information on the Alzheimer’s disease, and the current intervention devised to reduce its impact on cognitive functions. This article interests me because I deal with elderly patients many of whom are suffering from the Alzheimer’s disease. Through this article, I am more likely to understand what interventions are reported to be effective for treating patients. Moreover, this article provides an appreciation of the research efforts to develop effective intervention that will make elderly persons once again enjoy health and wellness. Given that many of the interventions are still under trial, there is more hope that research will help reduce the impact of this disease on mankind.