Peer Responses:
In your response to your peers, include an example of a clinical situation involving their diagnoses.
Length: A minimum of 150 words per post, not including references
Citations: At least one high-level scholarly reference in APA per post from within the last 5 years
Citations need to be within 5 (Five) years
Context: Nursing in the USA
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T6 W4 D1 R1
Alzheimers disease (AD) is a type of dementia and although the risk of acquiring it increases with age, it is not part of normal aging. The exact etiology of AD is still being studied and currently there is no cure (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). What is commonly found however, is that in AD there tends to be an overproduction and/or decreased clearance of beta amyloid peptides (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Additionally, three other pathologic characteristics, contributing to the atrophy and shrinking of the brain, for which occurs in AD, involving amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuronal death (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Amyloid plaques found in AD are made up of fragments of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide, mixed with other proteins, neuron remnants, and other nerve cell pieces (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Neurofibrillary tangles, found inside neurons, also form in AD and are abnormal collections of clumps of a protein called tau (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). These clumps result in ineffective neurons, which fail and eventually die. A third AD finding involves a loss of connections amongst the neurons responsible for memory and learning; as a result to this lost, neurons cannot survive and also die (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Thus, in diagnostic imaging studies, significant brain atrophy is found.
Furthermore, AD progresses slowly over a coarse of around 10-20 years, and can takeover a persons entire life; impairing their memory, reason, the ability to learn and even imagine, to various degrees in severity (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Medications often prescribed in AD settings also do not cure or slow the progression of disease, but are helpful in managing symptoms and maximizing ones functionality (Dlugasch & Story, 2021). Common medications prescribed include cholinesterase inhibitors to improve neurotransmitter levels in the brain,
Memantine (Namenda) which blocks NMDA acid receptors or glutamate receptors, b-complex vitamins, ginkgo, and huperzine (Dlugasch & Story, 2021).
Reference
Dlugasch, L., & Story, L. (2021). Applied pathophysiology for the advanced practice nurse. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
