BBC Focus Magazine

[williamsc]

Is Alzeimer's normal aging?...

Would you say it is or isnt? Could you give views on either side of the arguement?

[Jay]

Hmm, i just can't remember right now.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Having watched a close relative and a good friend succumb to Alzheimer's long before they might be considered 'old' by anyone over thirty I think I can safely say that their is precious little about it that you might consider normal.

Tragic it most certainly is, normal no.

[Nails]

No, because Alzheimer' is associated with physical brain changes such as plaques and loss of or reduced function of the temporal lobes.



Comparison of a normal aged brain (left) and an Alzheimer's patient's brain (right). Differential characteristics are pointed out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease

Sorry to hear of your loss MPL - it must be quite painful to watch.

[M Paul Lloyd]

Hello Nails I see you finally got in , excellent post by the way.

[Nails]

Hello Nails I see you finally got in , excellent post by the way.

Yup, I posted yesterday (or was it the day before?) quite discretely.
Finding this new forum a little fiddly though.... won't take me long!
Thanks, I always try my best!

And thanks again for the help logging in MPL.

[Bio v2.0]

Although I don't know much about Alzheimer's, I wouldn't consider it to be part of the normal ageing process.

It's is a neurodegenerative disease which is similar in many ways to prion diseases such as CJD. As with prion diseases, Alzheimer's is thought to be caused by misfolded proteins which bind together in the spaces between nerve cells in the brain to form large clumps called amyloid plaques which damage and kill the cells. Also, a protein called Tau which normally makes up the microfibrils in neurons is thought to play a part in Alzheimer's because if they become hyperphosphorylated then they tend to bind together and form what are known as neurofibrillary tangles inside neurons which again causes cell death.

I can see where you are coming from with this question though, as I have read that some proteins do tend to misfold from time to time and that is thought to be due to the normal process of ageing. However, I wouldn't consider Alzheimer's to be normal.

[M Paul Lloyd]

And thanks again for the help logging in MPL.

All part of the service Nails.

[The Beige Avenger]

It's not 'normal'. Essentially it is 'over heating' portions of the brain causing them to 'burn out'.

The name should give it away really.. "Disease"...

[Nails]

It's not 'normal'. Essentially it is 'over heating' portions of the brain causing them to 'burn out'.

The name should give it away really.. "Disease"...

/sarcasm

Sometimes I wonder if such posts are justa test, to see how knowledgable or serious about science we are, especially when posted by a newbie.

please accept my apologies if this is not the case.....

[M Paul Lloyd]

A test?
Possibly Nails, but I am inclined to give the benefit of the doubt in such cases, after all some highly qualified (yet distinctly deluded) academic at Durham University has made it his life's mission to suggest that Dyslexia is down to 'laziness'!!

[The Beige Avenger]

It's not 'normal'. Essentially it is 'over heating' portions of the brain causing them to 'burn out'.

The name should give it away really.. "Disease"...

/sarcasm

Sometimes I wonder if such posts are justa test, to see how knowledgable or serious about science we are, especially when posted by a newbie.

please accept my apologies if this is not the case.....

I think we have to take almost 100% of forum posts with a pinch of salt. Usually they are written rather quickly but with genuine motives behind them, sometimes they are written poorly, sometimes written with the precise intent of starting arguments.

This particular one... well, I can see where it's coming from.

Like, arthritis, deteriorating vision / hearing... they're so common in the elderly that they could probably be considered as 'normal' ageing. Which in a way it is - wear and tear... but it's not 'normal' per se as these conditions can be minimised by having a healthy life and they are not in all the elderly people.

[nemisis39]

I always though alzeimers was a disease, but i can see were people would think that it's just part of the ageing process, by that i mean as you get older your body parts deteorate so bringing about disfunctions in some areas, but like its has been said younger people suffer from alzeimers so by definiion it has to be a disease to affect young and old alike.