Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Study

As the body ages the brain follows and can start to loose normal functioning. This may be in the form of affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities. When these impairments become severe enough to interfere with daily functioning they are diagnosable as a form of dementia. The Center of Disease Control defines dementia as “an umbrella term for a group of cognitive disorders typically characterized by memory impairment, as well as marked difficulty in the domains of language, motor activity, object recognition, and disturbance of executive function” [6]. The umbrella term dementia encases many variations of the above definition. The most prevalent and serious of the progressive dementia brain disorders is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia and currently there is no cure [6]. However, it may be possible to prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by reducing environmental or lifestyle risks. Education has been proposed as a protective factor that can reduce the risk of developing dementia [1]. Of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (who are between the ages of 74 and 84 years of age) 10.9% are White, 19.9% are Black, and 27.9% are Hispanic [6]. The U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey of 2014 reports the statistics of education at or above a bachelor’s degree; White or non-Hispanic: 68%, Black: 22%, Hispanic: 15% [7]. Based on these statistics it is reasonable to believe more research is needed to study the effect education has on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of

Epidemiological studies consistently report that a high level of education is associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease [5]. The hypothesis mainly focuses on the idea of cognitive reserve and brain reserve. Cognitive reserve referrers to our brains ability to adjust to different stimuli such as education. Brain reserve is thought to be the structural change of the brain, usually linked to increased cognitive reserve [2]. Individuals who had more education or other cognitive activities throughout their life were at a reduced risk of dementia by increasing their cognitive reserve [5]. Recent studies investigating protective factors against neurodegenerative disorders referred to the concept of cognitive reserve as a preventative for disorders such as Alzheimer's disease [4]. Cognitive reserve acts as a protective and preventative factor against Alzheimer's disease by increasing the brain reserve. Individuals with more education, and therefor greater cognitive reserve, had larger regional cortical thickness within their brains. The larger cortical thickness of the brain increases its capacity to cope with brain pathology and minimize symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. In post mortem examinations of the brain, high rates of Alzheimer’s disease were seen in some individuals who while living showed no