Alzheimer's Disease was first discovered in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer's. This disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. It effects individuals by killing brain cells which leads to memory loss, thinking, and behavioral processes. Alzheimer's is just one of a number of forms of dementia, which is the general term used for memory loss and the loss of other abilities that effects everyday life. Alzheimer's can occur in conjunction with another form of dementia known as vascular dementia. Vascular dementia destroys the brain by constricting blood flow ultimately leading to cell death. There is sadly no cure for dementia but there are numberous treatments available to alleviate the symptoms and improve the quality of life for those effected with this disease.
For more information on Alzheimer's Disease please visit www.alz.org
(all information provided above was from this website as well)
Inflammablog 2 is the second Blog made specially to be shared by two courses at two schools: PSIO 495 at University of Arizona in Tucson, and IMMU 7630 at University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. PSIO is a colloquium on inflammation and IMMU is a lecture course on immunology for graduate students. You can visit the Original Inflammablog.
Inflammablog 2 is the place to post short reviews about selected subjects in immunology, inflammation, and infection, and have them commented on (and possibly even improved) by friends and colleagues. It is managed by John Cohen in Denver, and Zoë Cohen in Tucson. We invite students in either course to comment on the postings by their classmates and by the students in the other course.
We particularly want this to be a place to practice clear, friendly communication to people who have a background in science, but are not experts in this particular area. Sort of the Café Scientifique crowd.
Inflammablog 2 is the place to post short reviews about selected subjects in immunology, inflammation, and infection, and have them commented on (and possibly even improved) by friends and colleagues. It is managed by John Cohen in Denver, and Zoë Cohen in Tucson. We invite students in either course to comment on the postings by their classmates and by the students in the other course.
We particularly want this to be a place to practice clear, friendly communication to people who have a background in science, but are not experts in this particular area. Sort of the Café Scientifique crowd.
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8 comments:
I was wondering if you found out anything about a link between Alzheimer's Disease and the use of marijuana. This was mentioned in my Bio 181 lab by my TA, awhile back. I was just wondering if there is any truth to that statement he made in class?
Cannabinoids have been found to affect immune cells. Because it’s lipophilic, cannabinoids are able to get pass the blood brain barrier and bind to cannabinoid receptors, particularly CB1 which are found in abundance in the nervous system. Studies have shown that cannabinoids can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease by contributing or altering the pathophysiology of the disease.
Interestingly, cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, are also found on cells of the immune system. It is known that cannabinoids effects cytokine function and secretion, affecting Th1 or Th2 repsonse and inflammatory responses; however, a clear role/mechanism of cannabinoids on the immune system is not well understood.
It is suggested that cannabinoids can be use to not only treat Alzheimer’s disease but also multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and HIV encephalitis.
Source:
Endocr Metab Immune Disord Drug Targets. 2008 Sep;8(3):159-72.
The Journal of Neuroscience, February 23, 2005, 25(8):1904-1913
British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 655–662
Journal of Neuroimmunology , Volume 166 , Issue 1 - 2 , Pages 3 - 18
I found the cannabinoid receptor very interesting. CB1 was being studied as a possible target for parmaceutical weight loss. Drugs such as Rimonabont(Acomplia) are anti-obesity drugs that act as inverse agonists to CB1 causing reduce appetite.
Because the drug has the opposite effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, one of the substances found in marijuana), which is neuroprotective against excitotoxicity, it can be theorized that Rimonabant promotes the development of neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease in persons who are susceptible. The FDA voted to approve the drug in 2006 but against it in 2007. However, you can buy it in Europe.
We learned that obese people have increased inflammation and with that comes many potential problems. Now here's a drug that can possibly reduce your weight, but you might get MS, ALS, Parkinson', etc... and the circle continues......scary.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/353/20/2121
What are the causes or mechanisms of Rimonabont that makes people more susceptible to neurological diseases?
Is there any way of figuring out if the patient has a certain kind of dementia, like Alzheimer's or Vascular dementia?
Also is there a difference in treatment for individuals with Alzheimer's as opposed to those with Vascular dementia?
That's really interesting. I had no idea that Alzheimer's can actually cause death. I just thought it affected memory.
There are currently no cures for Alzheimer's disease. Doctors often treat the two main symptoms, which are cognitive and behavioral. Cholinesterases and memantine are prescribed for cognitive problems. For behavioral issues non-drug treatments are preferred, but if those don't work then anti-depressants,anti-anxiety, and anti-psychotics may help. Sorry for the late response.
Thanks so much for the response!
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