TED Talk: Alzheimer's is Not Normal Aging — and We Can Cure It

The TED Talk I watched was about Alzheimer's disease and how 

 in the future there's a possibility it can be 

cured.

I posted the video below, but here is a link in case it doesn't work.

The speaker in the video is a scientist named Samuel Cohen who is

studying neurodegenerative disorders at the University of Cambridge with other scientists. 

Their main goal is to find a cure to Alzheimer's, a disease in which 

40 million people 

in the world are currently suffering from, and will lose their life to. This is due to a lack of funding and research for the disease.

This speech was given in June of 2015 during a TED conference in London. 

In his speech, Cohen gave some background about Alzheimer's disease, talked about some of the research he's been doing, and then talked about the possibility of Alzheimer's being cured.

The audience seemed to be very intrigued with everything Cohen was saying. At some points, some people were even taking notes.

It can be assumed that the members in the audience already know and fully understand the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, it can also be assumed that probably not very many people know exactly what Alzheimer's disease is caused from. Almost everyone has heard of Alzheimer's disease and how it causes people to lose their memory. Cohen showed something that many people may not know, and this is how much brain mass Alzheimer's causes patients to lose. 

Alzheimer's disease is caused by proteins that do not fold correctly, causing the protein to essentially poke holes into the brain. This can be seen in the image used by Cohen below. Overtime, these holes will reduce the size of the brain. This will eventually lead to death.

Cohen did a great job of explaining exactly what causes Alzheimer's in the brain and how Alzheimer's can affect brain mass. He made it complex enough for his audience to stay interested, but he made it simple enough so he wouldn't lose any confused audience member.

What really got the audience's attention was when Cohen talked about the advancement of research that him and his team are doing at the University of Cambridge.

This is only a screenshot of a clip in his presentation, so it's difficult to see exactly what is going on. The healthy worms are simply that, healthy. They are shown squirming around and moving like a normal worm would. The Alzheimer's worms in the middle show worms that have the same physical problems in the brain as patients with Alzheimer's do. These worms are barely moving at all. It is very clear that they are sick. The last picture shows these worms with Alzheimer's that have been given a drug that Cohen and his team have been testing. These worms appear as healthy as the original worms.

This is all evidence that shows the possibility of Alzheimer's being cured in the future.

Cohen's speech was very well planned out, and it was genius. 

He used the history of Alzheimer's disease to show that as of now, a person with Alzheimer's disease isn't able to get any more help than the first ever patient diagnosed in 1901. He then described exactly what causes Alzheimer's in the brain. He finishes strong by showing results from his research. 

One way that Cohen could improve would be through body movements. He is slightly awkward throughout the speech. He stands still with his arms at his side almost the entire speech. By walking around a little bit or making slight hand motions, the entire speech would seem less rehearsed. 

- Mollie :)

Service Reflection: Music and Memory

Yesterday, I was able to pay a visit to Best Friends.  We had a busy couple of hours and completed a lot of fun activities!  Our time consisted of: 

• Trivia games involving riddles, inventors, and various inventions
• Exercise time! 
• Ice cream cones (this is quickly becoming a weekly tradition I could get used to!) and great conversation 
• Finally, we concluded the day with some great singing and of course some dancing too! 

We sang a plethora of songs with our friends while there.  They enjoy various spiritual hymns (“Amazing Grace” is a favorite!), patriotic tunes (“America, the Beautiful” and the “Star-Spangled Banner” are big hits), and classics like “Love Me Tender” or “My Old Kentucky Home.”  

I thought this quote beautifully encapsulated my thoughts! 

We’ve sung every single time I’ve visited Best Friends, and the more I observe the friends while we sing, the more I realize that they know these songs by heart.  Most of them have trouble seeing the words in the song books we pass out, but they sing anyway.  I experienced this same thing with my great grandmother, who passed away from Alzheimer’s disease a few years ago.  She couldn’t remember who she was or where she was, and she had long stopped recognizing us, her family.  However, she would always be able to recall the words of a familiar tune.  Grandma might not have been able to recall anything about her life, but she could always sing “Amazing Grace.”  

Although we aren't allowed to photograph our friends, I found this picture
 (and the one below and to the right) online
and thought it accurately depicted our afternoons of song and dance!
Found at: http://www.solvangfriendshiphouse.com/donate-now/ 

The friends I have met at Best Friends Day Center are the same way.  They don’t always remember the jobs they’ve had, the names of their children, or even who is coming to pick them up that day, but they always remember the words to their favorite songs.  It amazes me how music can remain a part of someone even when their mental faculties fail them.  It’s truly beautiful to watch them sing and dance to these songs — music

                                                                              brings them such happiness and can

                                                                           provide overwhelming peace to

    Why does the music remain?                              even the most distraught.    

       I have always wondered why music seemed to be the last part of our memory to fade, so I decided to do some research.  I found that a part of the brain called the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC) is one of the very last portions of the brain impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.  Dr. Janata, a psychologist at the University of California-Davis, organized a study that concluded the mPFC portion of the brain is responsible for processing music and connecting it with our memories and emotions (Janata, 2009).  

Hence, those who are affected by Alzheimer’s are able to remember and enjoy music much longer than any other memories they may have.  I will link Dr. Janata’s research here.  

Dr. Janata's research is summarized in the photo above.
 Found at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704538404574540163096944766 

I am learning so much by volunteering at Best Friends Day Center and cannot wait for more visits in the future.  Continue following our blog for more posts and updates.  Thank you so much for reading! 

- Madalyn 

Reference: 

Janata, P. (2009). The neural architecture of music-evoked autobiographical memories. Cerebral Cortex,

           19(11), 2579-2594. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhp008

"How I'm Preparing To Get Alzheimer's" - TED Talk Analysis

I chose to complete my analysis on a TED Talk entitled “How I’m Preparing To Get Alzheimer’s” that was presented by Alanna Shaikh.

You can watch the speech here.

Shaikh, a global health expert and TED Fellow, delivered her speech at the official TED conference held in Edinburgh, Scotland in June of 2012. The object of her speech was to heighten awareness of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia as a whole; however, I also think it was extremely therapeutic for her to be able to share her story with others. She encourages her audience to not run from the disease. Instead, she urges her audience to be prepared. 

“If the monster wants you, the monster’s [going to] to get you.”
As viewers, we are not given much information on the audience of this particular speech, so I had to make some inferences.  * The audience seems extremely engaged throughout the entire speech.  When the camera cuts to them, everyone in the frame appears to be enthralled with what Shaikh is saying.  * Everyone seems connected on an emotional level.  It is almost as if some of them have experienced this with someone they love and can relate to Shaikh’s story. 
* There appears to be people of ALL backgrounds in the audience, and each one seems engaged.  This further instills the point that dementia does not care who you are – the color of your skin, your religion, how wealthy or successful you have been in life.  If it wants you, it will come for you anyway. 

The audience also laughs at the appropriate times and is solemn when necessary.  These are all strong indicators that they are being respectful and genuinely care about what Shaikh has to say.  They don't hesitate at all to give Shaikh a standing ovation at the end of her speech.  

The crowd gives Shaikh a standing ovation.

You could tell Shaikh was a little nervous in the beginning (most likely due to the highly emotional and personal content of the speech), but the audience’s reactions and interactions put her to ease.  It’s almost as if the audience was taken aback by the emotional direction the speech took.  It wasn’t as scientific or analytical as other TED talks might be -- it was RAW, it was TOUCHING, it was POIGNANT.

The audience gives Shaikh their full attention.

Shaikh makes eye contact with her audience the entire time.  However, she stands very still throughout the entire speech.  Her feet remain in the same position at the end as they did at the beginning.  As the speech continues, she does begin to move her hands, gesturing at certain things.  I think she would have looked more relaxed on stage if she had moved around a little bit.  Standing in one place for the entire speech gave me the impression that she was uncomfortable.  I think bringing along a photo or some type of media component might have made her speech even more personal and reinforced a connection with the audience.  Being able to put a face to a story always RESONATES with an audience. 

Shaikh maintains eye contact with the audience throughout her speech. 

Shaikh employs humor to lighten the somewhat deep mood.  Shaikh had no visual aids or props ... she simply talked to her audience as if they were her friends. Additionally, she uses more personal experience to back up her assertions than actual research and fact.  However, I think that this firsthand knowledge is just as valuable. 

 

The speech was organized traditionally and flowed nicely. Shaikh manages to complete the following:   

o   Introduces her connection with Alzheimer’s by discussing her father’s disease.

   o   Brings in statistics about Alzheimer’s in general and how the disease affects the world.

o   Makes her assertion – She is choosing to prepare for Alzheimer’s instead of running from it.

o   Lists the three points she plans to make throughout the speech and begins to discuss each one.

1. Doing more hands-on, fun activities (drawing, origami, knitting) … Hands will oftentimes remember even when the brain can’t.

2. Building physical strength -- yoga, tai chi, weight-bearing exercise

3. Working on becoming a better person (which Shaikh describes is the hardest of them all)

o   Shaikh ends with the concluding statement that she wants a cure for the disease, but that she will be ready just in case the cure doesn't come in her lifetime. 

“I need a heart so pure that if it’s stripped bare by dementia, it will survive.”  

             Overall, I thought Shaikh delivered a strong and inspiring speech, while providing a new perspective on how to deal with the looming potential of Alzheimer’s.   

- Madalyn 

What Does Volunteering Mean To Me?

In this video, I discuss what volunteering means to me and how my experience has been at Best Friends thus far.  I hope this helps give you a little insight into what spending time with our friends is like.  

Thanks for watching!   

- Madalyn