The Pathology Of Alzheimer s Disease - 1224 Words

A neurodegenerative disease is when the central nervous system progressively deteriorates thus causing nervous system dysfunction. Neurodegenerative conditions are characterised by the change in the neurone function within the brain cells. Alzheimers disease(AD) can be classified as a neurodegenerative disorder, (Griffin W.S.T 2006). The pathology of alzheimer’s disease has been described as a person having neural plaques within the brain, they are made up of high levels of protein ÃŽ ²-amyloid, and this causes neurofibrillary tangles and cholinergic nerve degeneration. Early onset of AD presents symptoms of forgetfulness and anxiety which can in later years produce a total dependency on ones carer and lead to having no awareness on the†¦show more content†¦Julien, Advokat, Comaty (2011) states that patients with AD have much lower levels of acetylcholine in the brain (60-85% lower). In order to increase cholinergic functioning in the brain, the enzyme AChE has been researched so as to increase levels of acetylcholine in the brain. This has led to drug companies creating drugs that will increase the level of acecetylcholine. Four cholinesterase inhibitor medications have been approved by the FDA which are Tacrine, donepezil, rivastigmine and galantamine. The areas of the brain that are opulent in cholinergic neurons are vital areas for memory and learning (Hippocampus), attention and motivation (anterior cingulate), and the control of behaviours (hypothalamus). Most drugs that are used to treat AD are cholinesterase inhibitors. Cholinesterase inhibitors act by inhibiting the job of cholinesterase, they also work as an enzyme thus metabolising acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft, leading to more activity in the cholinergic synapses. Therefore the justification of using of these types of drugs is to decrease the shortage of cholinergic in synaptic diffusion thus restoring cholinergic operations or at the very least slow down the deterioration, (Parrott A, Morinan, A, Moss, M, Scholey, A. Wiley 2004). In 1993 the first