Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 07:49, 23 March 2005

Suggestion: I'd like to see more discussion of the human side of Alzheimer's in this entry. It's good from a clinical point of view, but I'd be interested in reading descriptions and/or anecdotes of what Alzheimer's patients are like in person, and how the disease feels to them and their relatives. Anyone up for this? --Shibboleth 21:26, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Research into the disease may, I'm afraid, be limited due to the fact that the disease impacts people primarily after their prime income generating/tax paying days are over. -- Coasting

False. Impact has been well-documented to extend well beyond the individual with the ailment for the majority of cases (Prigerson, H. G. (2003) N. Engl. J. Med. 349, 1891-1892). Likewise, unlike many other age-associated disorders, there are no effective treatments that simply cost a lot of money. Rich people are as likely as poor people to get the disease, and the treatments available to rich people are no better than those available to poor people.Dogface 15:22, 18 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Costs to society due to Alzheimer's. Research into this disease is ongoing and should be ongoing. In fact this disease is costly to society. Alzheimer's disease is quite common and nursing homes are filled with people who have Alzheimer's, are unable to take care of themselves, and need supervision. Also, many Alzheimer's patients live at home and full time caretakers need to be hired to look after them. As the disease progresses, it becomes very debilitating, requiring caretakers to help victims with toilet activities, feeding, and bathing. In the end constant supervision is needed. Long-term care insurance policies are now becoming common because of Alzheimer's as well as other infirmities of old age. H Padleckas 09:48, 1 Oct 2004 (UTC)

On the other hand, they're the most politically active age group -- they've more leisure time. There's a reason politicians in the US and elsewhere don't dare touch pensions, for example.

The article incorrectly stated that Alzheimer first identified the symptoms of the disease and therefore (citing the authoritative reference from the historian of the institute where they worked) I took the liberty of making this correction: The symptoms of the disease as a distinct nosologic entity were first identified by Emil Kraepelin, and the characteristic neuropathology was first observed by Alois Alzheimer in 1906. In this sense, the disease was co-discovered by Kraepelin and Alzheimer, who worked in Kraepelin's laboratory. Because of the overwhelming importance Kraepelin attached to finding the neuropathological basis of psychiatric disorders, Kraepelin made the generous decision that the disease would bear the name of Alzheimer (J. Psychiat. Res, 1997, Vol 31, No. 6, pp. 635-643).

What's a "nosologic entity"? Is there a simpler alternative term that would do the job? --Robert Merkel

The wikitionary doesn't have it, but Merriam-Webster Online has an entry right here --24.76.141.132 05:13, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

References

This article contains many scientific references in footnote or external link format. IMHO, this is not the best way to cite these studies. I have converted a recently added link (about anticholinesterase treatment) into a reference, and I would strongly suggest that this format is employed in the rest of the article as well. Until the developers develop a good footnote function, I would suggest that the name of the first author and the year of publication are sufficient for linking to a list of references at the bottom of the article, as I've done now. JFW | T@lk 19:59, 5 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Question

is alzihimers non-communicabel just wondering

It is not. Alzheimer's is a degenerative disease caused by a genetic predisposition and amplified by various other factors, such as inflammation and vascular dysfunction. Why, are you looking for an excuse not to visit your grandmother? JFW | T@lk 11:01, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Request for expansion

I would like to see some recent research included in this aricle, especially about the stress hormone cortisol.

Cortisol is not a major issue. You are free to include material you see fit; I do not have access to the required resources. Misplaced Pages can be a learning experience if you include material that you have found on your quest, as long as it's verifiable and relevant. JFW | T@lk 09:05, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

question

I was informed about stem-cell therapy related to AD. Does anyone have information about it, or any name I could contact about this new research?

No, this concerns Parkinson's, not Alzheimer's. There is no proof that stem ells would work in AD. JFW | T@lk 03:33, 23 Jan 2005 (UTC)

I recently read something (a heading, yes, no time to read the article) on Google News that would disagree. It's recent, within a day or two, and says something about Brain Stemcells being used to combat Alzheimer's. --24.76.141.132 05:15, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

That's experimental, like most unproven theories mentioned in this article. Shall we concentrate on the present management? Stem cells are only used in bone marrow disorders, and the rest is all daydreaming out of therapeutic embarassment. JFW | T@lk 07:49, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Cleanup!!

This article in its present form suffers from blog syndrome. It was once a stub, and then people started inserting radical new findings in mouse models. What is thoroughly lacking is a systematic outline of what AD is all about. Who was Alois Alzheimer anyway?

As with many similar articles on the Wiki, much new research is presented verbatim from the BBC news press releases. I cannot emphasize enough how unbalanced this makes the article. We end up with a hodgepodge of unrelated scientific terms that nobody really understands.

If cleanup is not possible, I would argue that we rewrite this article, with the systematic review from Ann Intern Med 2003 (PMID 12614093) as a starting point. JFW | T@lk 17:26, 20 Mar 2005 (UTC)