Tangled Up

The only comprehensive guide to the history and science of Alzheimer’s disease. This book will help you understand how the disease was discovered, why it is affecting our memory, what actually happens in the brain and how we can reduce our risk for Alzheimer’s disease. With vivid examples, Professor Michael Hornberger takes you on a whistle-stop tour of every aspect of the most common form of dementia, from its origins to modern diagnosis and treatment. You can discover scientifically proven Alzheimer’s disease prevention strategies and lifestyle changes. You can understand why people with the disease are often ‘living in the last’ and get disoriented as to where they are. And you can learn more about the rare forms of Alzheimer’s disease that are often mistaken for other conditions. Written for the general public, this book deals with: What causes Alzheimer’s disease? Why Alzheimer’s often affects our memory first The role of genetics in raising and lowering risk for the disease What new treatments are emerging The chances you will inherit Alzheimer’s from your parents The practical steps you can take to reduce your future risk for Alzheimer’s disease One in 14 people over 65 will get dementia and Alzheimer’s disease accounts for around 70% of all people with dementia. Professor Michael Hornberger, a neuroscientist who has been researching people with Alzheimer’s for decades, has the key answers to help you and your family to understand the disease and reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s disease. He starts by looking at the very first patient who was diagnosed with ‘Alzheimer’s’ disease - Auguste Deter. A German doctor, Alois Alzheimer, not only described her symptoms in meticulous detail but also reported after her death specific changes which are now the hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease – so called tangles. Tangled Up recounts Alzheimer’s intriguing interviews with Auguste Deter and the subsequent discovery of what was happening in the newly-named Alzheimer’s disease. In essence, Alzheimer’s disease emerges when two proteins, amyloid and tau, build up in our brains. Once the proteins start accumulating, they start becoming toxic to the nerve cells which eventually start dying. The loss of those nerve cells affect people’s memory and spatial orientation in the early stages of the disease, since those memory regions seem to be most vulnerable to the accumulation of the proteins. It can cause people with the disease to be ‘living in the past’, as their old memories remain intact while newer memories are increasingly difficult to create. However, the disease has many variants and Professor Hornberger goes into the symptoms of lesser-known ones, such as Posterior Cortical Atrophy, which do not affect memory early on. He also explains the role that inherited genes play in transmitting the disease, including the difference between risk genes, which only increase or decrease our risk, and familial Alzheimer’s disease genes, which make the development of the disease a near certainty. Finally, the book looks at new ‘biomarkers’ and blood tests to detect, diagnose and monitor Alzheimer’s, and which new medications are emerging to treat the disease. In the absence of a cure, prevention becomes ever more important. Making modest lifestyle changes can make a big difference and the book gives realistic tips on looking after your heart, blood sugar and body mass. While other popularly touted techniques, Professor Hornberger explains, may not be worth your time or money. About the author Michael Hornberger is Professor of Applied Dementia Research at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia in the UK. He regularly meets patients with Alzheimer’s disease as part of his research aimed at improving diagnosis, disease tracking and symptom management. Michael is originally from Germany and studied at the universities of Osnabruck and Vienna. He gravitated to England where he did his PhD at University College London before working at Cambridge University. He spent six years in Sydney, Australia, before returning to Cambridge. He finally arrived at UEA in November 2015. Introduction This is not a book about dementia. This is a book about Alzheimer’s disease. What’s the difference, you might ask? The difference is that dementia is an umbrella term for all types of dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form. Why would one need a book on Alzheimer’s disease and not a book on dementia?