Do you remember what you ate for dinner

Do you remember what you ate for dinner two days ago?

How to Turn the Clock on Your Mind: Reducing the Risk of Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Christine Lee G/T Independent Research Howard High school Dr. Celise Elliott and Dr. Samir Sauma, NIA

Objective • Gain understanding of the Alzheimer’s disease �Causes and Symptoms �Statistics • Explore the various preventive methods of Alzheimer’s and the ways they can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s • Explore how to incorporate the methods into your lifestyle

Alzheimer’s Statistics � 6 th leading cause of death in the U. S. �the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s will triple by 2050 �Dementia (including Alzheimer's) is the most expensive disease in the nation- caring expenses costs the nation billions annually � 2/3 people diagnosed with the disease are women �Every 67 seconds someone in US develops the disease

What is Alzheimer’s Disease? �discovered by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1960 �neurological disease that affects memory, behavior, and emotions due to the degeneration of the brain �characterized by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain tissue �mental symptoms: unpredictable behavior and memory loss �often mistaken for dementia which is a broader category of cognitive decline characterized by loss of memory and mental abilities due to physical deterioration of the brain �cure for AD is yet to be discovered

Risk Factors of Alzheimer's �Neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques- damage in the neurons that inhibit neural signals �Common pathology in Alzheimer's patients �Inheritance of apolipoprotein gene- gene commonly found in Alzheimer's patients �Brain atrophy- decrease in the mass of the brain due to the degeneration of neurons �Vascular diseases- vascular dementia is the result of the lack of blood flow to the brain �Mild Cognitive Impairment- slight decline in cognitive abilities such as memory and thinking skills

PET Scan of Decline in Brain Activity

Preventive Methods �Mediterranean diet �Physical exercises �Cognitive activities

Mediterranean diet �fish, vegetable, fruits, whole grains, legume (beans) moderate amounts of alcohol, unsaturated fat �Low consumption of saturated fats and meat �Some omega-3 fatty acids in fish have the ability to reduce beta-amyloid plaques �Mostly supported by studies- continuing research

Physical exercises �Increase the amount of blood supply carried to the brain �Carries oxygen and other nutrients �Washes away metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein �Increase number of connections between nerve cells- stimulates various parts of the brain �Able to maintain old network connections while making new ones

Cognitive activities �solving puzzles, playing mentally challenging games, reading, planning, etc. �Studies reveal relationships between greater performance of cognitive activities and lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease �Can possibly increase the number of brain networks and brain plasticity

Your Turn! Lock ----Piano Ship ---- Card Tree ---- Car School ---- Eye Pillow ---- Court River ---- Money Bed ---- Paper Army ---- Water Tennis ---- Noise Key Deck Trunk Pupil Case Bank Sheet Tank Racket

Research Process �Analyzed primary documents of studies on the various factors that contribute to the development of the Alzheimer’s �Organized the information in a graphic organizer �Compared the relationship of the preventive methods and the risk factors of Alzheimer’s disease �Analyzed patterns revealed in the relationships

Recap �Alzheimer’s is one of the nation’s most common and most expensive illnesses today �There are various risk factors of Alzheimer’s that can indicate or predict the development of Alzheimer’s �There are preventive methods that can be utilized in order to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by reducing the presence of risk factors of Alzheimer’s

Conclusion �Educate others about Alzheimer’s �Let other’s around you know about how they can take part in preventing the disease �Adults can reduce the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s by incorporating the Mediterranean diet, physical exercises, and cognitive exercises �Early diagnosis is an important process of the treatment of the disease

Questions?

Work Cited � http: //washu. spoonuniversity. com/wpcontent/uploads/sites/12/2014/04/Question-Mark-made-of-Food_Borders 2. jpg � http: //sharpbrains. com/blog/2008/02/09/brain-teaser-words-in-your-brainlearn-as-you-exercise/ � http: //www. womensheart. org/content/nutrition/mediterranean. asp � http: //www. analyticsvidhya. com/blog/2014/01/train-mind-analyticalthinking/ � http: //www. nia. nih. gov/alzheimers/publication/preventing-alzheimersdisease/search-alzheimers-prevention-strategies � http: //washu. spoonuniversity. com/food-thought/5 -foods-with-freaky-origins/ � https: //dribbble. com/krislamchin � http: //www. berkeley. edu/news/media/releases/2009/07/14_alzheimers. shtml � http: //www. noonlife. com/7 -not-so-obvious-benefits-of-physical-exercise/