Health/ Disease Blog Entry Eleven
Azrealle McClain
Sociology 202-01
November 9th 2009
5:25pm
Summary:
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder and is the most common form or dementia. They most typical signs and symptoms of this disease are memory loss and confusion. According to s study in Gothenberg, Sweden, women between the ages of 38-60 are twice as likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease if they acquire high levels of amino acid homocysteine. Dr. Dimitri Zylberstein looked at simple blood tests to make a correlation between these hormones and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. He used data from the Prospective Population Study of Women in Gothenburg to support his theory. “Alzheimer's disease was more than twice as common among the women with the highest levels of homocysteine as among those with the lowest, and the risk for any kind of dementia was 70 percent higher," Zylberstein said in a statement. This is a significant number and more research is being done to further exemplify these findings.
Reactions:
How would you feel if your grandmother who you see all the time couldn’t remember who you were; to have a loved one forget your face and not know why? Although Alzheimer disease isn’t a major threat for our age group, it’s something to think about. As a public health education major, I am very interested in primary and secondary prevention. Primary prevention is when you use education to detour people from engaging in risky behaviors before they cause an unfavorable outcome. Secondary prevention focuses on screening for diseases that either you are worried about or at risk for. The fact that there could be a blood test that would alert me to this disease is major. Although it’s not preventable as of right now, I would most defiantly want to know if I’m at risk. Women especially are prone to this disease and it’s something that scares me. Knowing the signs could be a major step in combatants and prevention.
Web Link: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/11/09/Blood-test-may-detect-Alzheimers-early/UPI-51601257795761/
3 comments:
Wow! To have a test for Alzheimer's disease would be amazing. At least families and the loved one them self would have a chance for preventative measures and planning. It would give doctors more time to prepare for it as well, with their patient. What an awesome medical advance that would be for the generation of our parents and grandparents going into that age group!
Alzheimer's disease is very sad and hard to watch someone go through. I think a test would be a fantastic idea because preventative measures could be taken and but if it does still happen, the process may be a little slower.
A test for Alzheimer's disease would be a huge medical advancement. Not only that but it would a peace of mind to families who are caring for a loved one who may have this disease.
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