I hope you enjoy this

1. UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN: THE NEUROBIOLOGY
OF LIFE
ALZHEIMERS AND THE EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
BY
LORA MCKENZIE

2. THANK YOU AND HOPE YOU ENJOY
Subscribing to be a Neuromoocer has been one of the best experiences in my life. I have improved in
brain anatomy, learnt to distinguish between CNS and PNS functions. I have learnt about disease
processes and how parts of the brain are responsible for certain functions, thoughts and processes in our
bodies. This is going to be useful in my third year as we will be having placement in Neurology
department. Its been hectic as I am studying Radiography and am in my second year and have had to
manage my time and still meet deadlines. I admit I have missed a few and it has been a pleasure and a
privilege to have been part of this class with Professor Peggy Mason. The teaching was phenomenal
because of the structure through video learning, it feels like the Professor is there with me. I thank all of
you fellow Neuromoocers for being you and a huge thank you to all the staff that have made this
experience enjoyable.
I hope you will enjoy my presentation on powerpoint, I have close experience with patients with
Alzhemeirs and they struggle to remember where they are. I have also looked after a lady who had
suffered from Alzheimers but she passed away last year and we became very close. This is a big discussion
for the National Health Service in the UK, staff working with patients with Alzheimers are encouraged to
learn more about this topic. I felt that this was a topic close to my heart and I wanted to share with all of
you.

3. ALZHEIMERS FACTS
 IT IS A DEGENARATIVE DISEASE THAT AFFECTS THE BRAIN
 AFFECTS PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 6O YEARS OF AGE
 IT IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF DIMENTIA IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (NHS
CHOICES,2015)
 AFFECTS WOMEN MORE THAN MEN
 THERE IS NO CURE FOR ALZHEIMERS, IMPLICIT MEMORY (RIDING A BIKE), SOMANTIC
AND LONG TERM MEMORY REMAIN INTACT. DECLINE HAPPENS AS DISEASE DEVELOPS.
 IN ADVANCED STAGES BRAIN FUNCTION IS SEVERLY IMPAIRED AND BRAIN TISSUE IS
REDUCED.
 LOSS OF CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CELLS IN THE BRAIN CAUSING THE CELLS TO DIE IN THE
OUTER CORTEX CAUSING THE BRAINS TO SHRINK.

4. DAMAGE TO NERVE CELLS
(Ps Amyloid are protein fragments that the body produces naturally and they break down into fragments
in a healthy brain)
 AMYLOID PLAQUES ACCCUMULATE AND FORM HARD AND INSOLUBLE PLAQUES BETWEEN
NEURONS IN THE BRAIN
 TAU PROTEIN, A PART OF MICROTUBULES WHICH HELPS WITH TRANSPORTATION OF
NUTRIENTS AND SUBSTANCES NEEDED IN THE BRAIN, BECOMES ABNORMAL AND THE
MICROTUBULES COLLAPSE IN ALZHEIMERS DISEASE.
 COLLAPSE OF MICROTUBULES LEAVE THE CELLS WITH NO NUTRIENTS AND IMPORTANT
SUBSTANCES.

5. REGIONAL PARTS OF THE BRAIN AFFECTED
AMYGDALA
Section of the brain responsible for
managing emotions such as fear and
anger.
 Damage can cause instability
 Episodes of paranoia in a person occurs
BRAINSTEM
Regulates heart rate, breathing, sleeping
and eating. Consists of medulla
oblongata, pons and midbrain.
 Early stages person experiences erratic
sleep patterns
 Vision and hearing affected as disease
progresses
 Further damage to the brain causes
difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia)
 Breathing , erratic blood pressure and
arrhythmia develop

6. REGIONAL PARTS OF THE BRAIN AFFECTED
HIPPOCAMPUS
Responsible for short term memory. Early
stage development of Alzheimer's destroys
the hippocampus resulting in:
 Diminished short term memory and slight
disorientation
 Degeneration of hippocampus severely
impaired as the disease progresses.
PARIETAL LOBE
Responsible for integrating and processing
sensory information. Reading, writing,
mathematics and spatial navigation are
processed in the parietal lobe.
 Throughout the disease’s progression
loss of reading and writing skills
 Inability to locate objects properly
within a 3 dimension space or gauging
of distance as progression and severity
occurs.

7. REGIONAL PARTS OF THE BRAIN AFFECTED
TEMPORAL LOBE
Involved in sensory processing , long term memory and language skills and damage caused
by Alzheimer’s results in:
 Increasing inability to articulate ideas
 Inability to retain complex ideas and impaired language skills
 Vivid visual and auditory hallucinations may occur
 The person is unable to recognise familiar places, objects and people (even family
members)
 Recalling of personal information is diminished as progression continues.

8. REFERENCES
NHS choices(2015) Alzheimer’s disease. Available from: www.nhs.uk/conditions/Alzheimers. NHS
Choices. [Accessed 17 May 2015].
Pritchard, J. (2011) Parts of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s. Available from: www.livestrong.com
Livestrong.com [Accessed on 18 May 2015].
UCSF(2013) Alzheimer’s disease. Available from: memory.ucsf.edu/education. UCSF [Accessed on 17
May,2015].
WebMD (2015) Areas of the brain affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Available from:
www.webmd.com/alzheimers. WebMD [Accessed on 18 May].
LOOK AFTER YOUR BRAIN