Project by: Ana Ziebarth (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Daniel Li
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Frank
Description of the Project:
For my honors project, I wanted to continue studying neuroscience after taking a class about it. I chose to focus on Alzheimer’s because I was interested in learning more about dementia and its symptoms. Throughout this project, I studied symptoms of Alzheimer’s and possible causes, treatments, what it is like to have Alzheimer’s, and caregiving. I used scientific papers, interviews, and information put forth by Alzheimer’s organizations to conduct my research. This poster is a glimpse into what I’ve learned. I decided to include some main aspects of Alzheimer’s so not all of the material I’ve learned is reflected in this poster. However, if you are curious, I suggest that you visit my blog page and scan the QR code below to learn more.
Final Product (e.g., documents, images, video, audio, poster, display, etc.):
Final Reflection on Learning:
Overall, I enjoyed doing this honors project. Somethings I enjoyed doing was studying treatments, reading an interview, and learning about caretaking. A challenge I faced was trying to comprehend some complicated passages in papers but I was able to understand them with the help of Daniel. I am really glad that I had the opportunity to learn more outside of the classroom and that I had someone there to help guide me through it. Alongside Daniel, I was able to have access to rich sources, learn more about Alzheimer’s, and have a great experience.
Update on Progress from Weeks 1-3 (include any photos or video if relevant):
The brain on the left reflects a healthy brain, and the brain in the middle reflects someone’s brain with advanced Alzheimer’s. Lastly, the image on the far right is a comparison between the two brains.
In the first 3 weeks, I’ve studied what parts of the brain are involved with Alzheimer’s. Overall, Alzheimer’s leads to nerve cell death and tissue loss throughout the brain. Over time, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting its functions. Some causes of nerve cell death and tissue loss in the brain are tangles and plaques in the brain. However, scientists don’t know if tangles and plaques are a cause of Alzheimer’s or are a symptom of it.
Plaques and Tangles
In people with Alzheimer’s, there are what we call plaques and tangles in different regions of their brains. Plaques are formed when pieces of protein known as beta-amyloid clump together. The small clumps of beta-amyloid can block cells from sending messages to each other. Overall, tangles destroy an important cell transport system. In healthy neurons, there are microtubules (which are involved with transporting important materials and nutrients within the cell) that are kept straight and parallel by a protein called Tau. In people with Alzheimer’s, abnormal chemical changes cause Tau to detach from microtubules and form clumps with other Tau proteins. This leads to nerve cell death because the nutrients will no longer be transported within the cell since the microtubules will no longer be able to hold themselves in position without Tau. The importance of nerve cell death is that neurons will no longer be able to send messages to each other.
Progression of Alzheimer’s:
In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, before symptoms can be detected with current tests, plaques and tangles begin to form in areas of the brain involved with learning and memory, and thinking and planning. In mild to moderate stages, the areas of the brain involved with learning and memory, and thinking and planning develop more plaques and tangles that were present in the early stages. As a result, those with Alzheimer’s develop problems with memory and thinking serious enough to the point in which it affects their work or social life. In advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, most of the cortex is damaged and the brain dramatically shrinks.
This image represents plaques and tangles throughout the brain in different stages. The image on the left represents the earliest stage and then a mild to moderate stage and finally a more severe stage.
10 Early Signs and Symptoms:
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- Memory loss that disrupts daily life
- Challenges in planning and solving problems
- Difficulty in completing tasks
- Confusion with time or place
- Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships
- New problems with words in speaking or writing
- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
- Decreased or poor judgment
- Withdrawal from work or social activities
- Changes in mood or personality
It was interesting to learn more about the biology behind Alzheimer’s. I’m excited to learn more about the different kinds of treatments for Alzheimer’s in the following weeks.
*The sources I used:
-https://www.alz.org/
-https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324425 (goes a little further into tangles)
-https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443904001619 (a more advanced look into tangles)
Update on Progress from Weeks 4-6 (include any photos or video if relevant):
From weeks 4-6, I studied treatments for Alzheimer’s. I looked into the main treatments that help improve cognitive symptoms (like memory loss and confusion), ones that target beta-amyloid from aggregating (forming into clusters). and other ones too. It was interesting to research them because I am across different types of potential treatments.
The main medications that help with cognitive symptoms are cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine. These medications treat cognitive symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, and problems with thinking and reasoning as a result of Alzheimer’s.
Another important treatment is antibodies because they help prevent beta-amyloid from clumping together. In general, antibodies identify bacteria and viruses. In this treatment, the antibody binds to the amino terminus of the beta-amyloid. Then, an immune cell attaches to the antibody and destroys the beta-amyloid.
One potential treatment that I found interesting is epigenetics. Epigenetics involves biological mechanisms that can turn genes in a cell on or off. Researchers have been exploring ways to use epigenetic drugs that cause chemical changes in a cell, either activating or deactivating genes to help improve Alzheimer’s symptoms. A biopharmaceutical company has been working on a drug that inhibits the enzyme lysine-specific histone demethylase 1 (LSD1). By inhibiting this enzyme, the drug known as vafidemstat (ORY-2001), promotes the survival of neurons and may restore deficits and cognitive function. I think this is interesting because the drug is interacting with genes and turning them off or on.
Treatment is still be researched and explored today. I wonder what kinds of treatments will work in the future and how effective they will be.
Update on Progress from Weeks 7-9 (include any photos or video if relevant):
In these final weeks, I researched caregiving and read an interview about a man with Alzheimer’s and his experience. When studying caregiving I studied different topics like strategies for dealing when an individual with Alzheimer’s wanders, the early stage of caregiving, residential care, and tips to be a healthy caregiver. When planning the different topics that I wanted to study, I didn’t initially think of looking into caregiving. It wasn’t until the week before I studied it that I gave it much thought. This topic was suggested to me by my project mentor Daniel and it sounded interesting to me. I am glad that I ended up researching caregiving because I learned all of the work and planning that goes into caring for an individual with Alzheimer’s.
The interview I read was about Richard Taylor, a psychology professor and advocate for the humane care of those with Alzheimer’s. Taylor was diagnosed with dementia at 58. Since then he has written a book and has gone on to advocate for those with Alzheimer’s. Through reading his interview, I was able to get a small glimpse of what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s and how it changes one’s life. He wrote about different aspects of his life like his relationships, memory, the ability to express emotions, and feelings about his experience with Alzheimer’s. A line that I think is worth noting is, “When people ask me what it’s like living with Alzheimer’s, I always say it’s a feeling like sitting in my grandmother’s living room. I can see the world outside through her lace curtains. But there are large knots in the curtains and I cannot see through them. From time to time, a gentle wind blows the curtains and I can see a little more, and then the curtain swings back and I’m cut off from my memories again.” I thought this was a beautiful way of describing what it’s like living with Alzheimer’s. His interview allowed me to learn more about the humane aspect and the personal experiences of having Alzheimer’s.
I am delighted to have the chance to study a topic that I am passionate about and receive recognition through honors project. I had a great experience!
If you would like to read the interview, you can find it here:
https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-alzheimer-sufferer-you-turn-into-a-person-you-don-t-know-anymore-a-688049.html
