Neuro Note on Alzheimer’s

-
TED talk by Lisa Genova

I chose to do my neuro note on Alzheimer’s because I wanted to learn more about it this neurological disease. Alzheimer’s occurs when amyloid betta accumulates in the brains synapses forming amyloid plaque. Once the plaque reaches a tipping point is when someone starts to experience the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
 Before I listened to the TED talk I thought that if a person had the Alzheimer’s gene they inevitably got the disease.  This is not 100% true. Having the gene is one small component of getting Alzheimer’s and even then, you are still not guaranteed to get this neurological disease. Lisa mentioned a few ways that a person can decreases their chance of getting Alzheimer’s, these include; getting adequate sleep, aerobic exercise, and decent cardiovascular health (diabetes, smoking, obesity, hypertension). However, Lisa’s main solution to preventing Alzheimer’s has to do with neuroplasticity.
In class I learned that neuroplasticity is the brains ability to create new neural connections throughout life. We create new pathways by learning something new or doing mentally stimulating activities. This is a preventative measure for Alzheimer’s because the brain is able to make the new connections, diverting from the synapse that is destroyed. In the TED talk Lisa mentioned a study done on a group of nuns. Many of the nuns had countless synapses that were destroyed by plaque, but they did not show any symptoms of Alzheimer’s. The researchers strongly agree that this is due to cognitive reserve, which means they had more functional synapses. In summary, we can be resilient to Alzheimer’s through recruitment of undamaged pathways. A person can create new pathways by, learning a new language, meeting new people, reading a book, and several other mentally stimulating activities. I thought this TED talk was extremely informative, and I will absolutely recommend it to my mom and grandmother. As occupational therapist, we can encourage our clients to do mentally stimulating activities, not only to prevent Alzheimer’s, but to improve their overall brain function.

Reference:

Genova, L. (2017, April). What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's. Retrieved April 05, 2018, from https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_genova_what_you_can_do_to_prevent_alzheimer_s#t-18260



https://www.ted.com/talks/lisa_genova_what_you_can_do_to_prevent_alzheimer_s#t-383617

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Lela Llorens

-
Dr. Lela Llorens caught my attention during era presentations. Dr. Llorens was the first person of color to be awarded the Slagle Leadership Award in 1969. The Slagle Leadership Award recognizes occupational therapist who have contributed to the growth of the body of knowledge through research, education and clinical practice. Receiving this award is an honor for any occupational therapist, but being a person of color to receive this award during the Civil rights movement is monumental. It is makes me proud that the career of occupational therapy saw the importance of equal rights and made the initiative to change. 
Read more

Do-Live-Well framework

-
The message of the Do-Live-Well framework is “what you do everyday matters”, and it is essential to one’s health and wellbeing. There are four sections in this framework: 1. dimensions of experience, 2. activity patterns, 3. health and wellbeing outcomes, and 4.   forces influencing activity engagement. This frame work is a guide a person uses to reflect on the time used in occupations. This helps identify disrupted dimensions of experience that interrupts a person’s well-being. An OT might use this framework to assess the time a client dedicates to occupation and compare it to their quality of life. This theory does clearly state what is function and what is not functional. However, I strongly believe functional would be classified as a client dedicating time to do meaningful activities and them being satisfied with their quality of life. Overall, this framework aims to empower people of all ages to reflect on their patterns of activity engagement, in order to promote health. ...
Read more

Knowledge check #14

-
What is universal design? The definition in the TED talk I feel explains it perfectly “it is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for or adaptation or special design” (Nesmith, 2016). I have never heard the term universal design or thought about how much planning goes into everyday environments. An example given in the TED talk is how door knobs are difficult for children or people with arthritis. To solve this problem the sliding door was invited and now no one struggles or feels left out. Universal design can be so simple, but creates a world of difference for everyone!   Honestly, I had never heard of Paralympics. I was amazed at the creativity of accommodations made so that people with disabilities can participate in events. For example, vision impaired athletes were able to compete in cross country skiing, by being led by a guide. I was stunned! I couldn’t imagine flying down...
Read more