{"id":4745,"date":"2019-06-24T14:42:31","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T14:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/acchumanbio\/chapter\/10-1-case-study-the-control-center-of-your-body-3\/"},"modified":"2023-11-30T18:49:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T18:49:52","slug":"10-1-case-study-the-control-center-of-your-body-3","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ccconline.org\/acchumanbio\/chapter\/10-1-case-study-the-control-center-of-your-body-3\/","title":{"raw":"8.1\u00a0Case Study: The Control Centre of Your Body","rendered":"8.1\u00a0Case Study: The Control Centre of Your Body"},"content":{"raw":" \r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2998\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"\" Figure 8.1.1 Sticky notes may help us remember. <\/em>[\/caption]\r\n

Case Study: Fading Memory<\/h1>\r\n<\/div>\r\nEach of these brightly-coloured sticky notes (Figure 8.1.1) represents a piece of information that someone doesn\u2019t want to forget. Although we are all forgetful sometimes, most people do not have trouble remembering things that are important or routine to them, such as a friend\u2019s name or how to get to class. Our [pb_glossary id=\"5915\"]brain[\/pb_glossary] \u2014 the control centre of the [pb_glossary id=\"2908\"]nervous system[\/pb_glossary] and the rest of the body \u2014 normally allows us to retain and recall information. If, however, the brain is damaged, a person may need to rely excessively on external reminders \u2014 like this wall of sticky notes \u2014 rather than their own memory... if they can remember to write things down in the first place.\r\n\r\nOne person having trouble with\u00a0her\u00a0memory is 68-year-old Rosa. Rosa has been\u00a0struggling to remember\u00a0where she has set down objects in her house, and\u00a0she forgot\u00a0about a few doctor\u2019s appointments and lunches she planned with friends. Her family began to notice that she would sometimes\u00a0fail to\u00a0recall recent conversations, requiring them to repeat things to her. Rosa would also sometimes struggle to find the right word in a conversation, and would put objects in unusual places, such as the milk in a cabinet instead of the refrigerator. While most people do things like this occasionally, it seemed to Rosa and her family that it was happening to her more\u00a0regularly.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2999\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"254\"]\"\" Figure 8.1.2 Rosa's difficulty remembering things was impacting her relationships and her ability to live independently.<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nRosa\u00a0also had other symptoms that were impacting her life, such as having trouble paying her bills on time and managing her budget, which she had previously done well.\u00a0She\u00a0ascribed these lapses in memory and mental functioning to the normal effects of aging, but her family was concerned. They noticed that she was also more irritable than usual and would sometimes verbally lash out at them, which was not like her. When she became disoriented on a walk around her neighborhood and a neighbor had to escort her home, her family convinced her to see a doctor.\r\n\r\nBesides a complete physical exam and lab tests, Rosa\u2019s doctor interviewed Rosa and her family about her memory, ability to carry out daily tasks, and mood changes. He also administered a variety of tests to assess her memory and cognitive functioning, such as her ability to solve problems and use numbers and language correctly. Finally, he ordered a scan of her brain to investigate whether a tumor or some other observable cause was\u00a0leading to\u00a0changes in the functioning of her brain.\r\n\r\nBased on the results of these tests, Rosa\u2019s doctor\u00a0concluded\u00a0that she most likely has mild Alzheimer\u2019s disease<\/a> (AD). AD results from abnormal changes in the [pb_glossary id=\"5779\"]molecules[\/pb_glossary] and [pb_glossary id=\"5665\"]cells[\/pb_glossary] of the brain, characterized by clumps of [pb_glossary id=\"5813\"]proteins[\/pb_glossary] (called amyloid plaques) between brain cells and tangled bundles of protein fibres (called neurofibrillary tangles) within certain brain cells. The affected brain cells stop functioning properly, lose their connections to other brain cells, and will eventually die. Figure 8.1.3 shows part of a cross-section of a brain from a patient who had severe AD, compared to a similar cross-section of a healthy brain. You can see how severely shrunken the brain with AD is, due to the death of many brain cells.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3000\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"500\"]\"Healthy Figure 8.1.3 Alzheimer's Disease ultimately results in loss of brain cells due to abnormal changes in the molecules and cells of the brain.<\/em>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAD is a progressive disease, which means the damage and associated symptoms get worse over time. Clinicians have categorized the progression into three main stages \u2014 mild, moderate, and severe AD. Typically, AD cannot be definitively diagnosed until after death, when the brain tissue can be directly examined for plaques and tangles. Based on Rosa\u2019s symptoms and the results of her tests, though, her doctor thinks she most likely has mild AD. At this stage, the brain has started changing, but resulting symptoms are not yet severe.\r\n\r\nAlthough there is currently no cure for AD and Rosa\u00a0will<\/em>\u00a0eventually get worse, her doctor says that medications and behavioral therapies may improve and prolong her functioning and quality of life over the next few years. He prescribes a medication that improves communication between brain cells, which has been shown to help some people with AD.\r\n\r\nAs you read this chapter, you will learn more about how the brain and the rest of the nervous system work,\u00a0along with\u00a0the multitude of functions they control in the body. By the end of the chapter, you will have enough knowledge about the nervous system to learn more about why AD causes the symptoms that it does, how Rosa\u2019s medication works, and some promising new approaches that may help physicians diagnose and treat AD patients at earlier stages.\r\n
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Chapter Overview: Nervous System<\/span><\/h1>\r\n<\/header>\r\n
\r\n\r\nIn this chapter you will learn about the human nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Specifically you will learn about:\r\n