Alzheimer's disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alzheimer's disease - Research Paper Example As of 2006, there were 26.6 million Alzheimer’s sufferers in the world; it is predicted that roughly one in every eighty-five people will suffer from Alzheimer’s by the year 2050 (â€Å"Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet†). There is no definite cause of Alzheimer’s. Many scientists believe that the disease can be caused by genetics, environment, and lifestyle, though even these have not been definitely pinpointed. It is believed that whatever it is that does cause Alzheimer’s gradually happens over a long period of time, especially if the aforementioned factors are part of the cause of the disease. However, the effect that the disease has on the brain tissue, the starting point of the catalyst for the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, is very clear. The disease damages and kills brain cells and the brain tissue deteriorates. Since doctors and scientists have been unable to determine the exact cause of the disease, they instead focus on what happens before and after a person has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. There are two types of neuron damage that have been seen most in people with Alzheimer’s: plaques and tangles. Plaques are masses of a normally harmless protein known as beta-amyloid that has the ability to interfere with communication between brain cells (Feng et al). The abnormal processing of this protein has shown to effect functions of the brain. Tangles involve the protein known as tau. This protein is important for the brain to function properly, but when they undergo alterations they become twisted. During the twisting, the neurons become damaged, causing them to die. When these two proteins react the way they do, they slow down or completely destroy vital components of the brain, thus negatively effecting the functioning of the brain and the memory. Another possible cause of Alzheimer’s is a breakdown of myelin in the brain, an event that usually takes place as a person gets older. When myelin breaks down, there

Identify the one event introduced in the post-Civil War era that you Essay

Identify the one event introduced in the post-Civil War era that you feel best represents Twain's imagery of the Gilded Age and explain your reasoning for this selection - Essay Example ndals had become more common to the extent that similar events were being referred to as â€Å"Grantism,† a term that effectively captured greed and dishonesty of leaders of the time. The then citizens thought that funds from these investments were eventually used to bankroll Republican Party operations (Elder, 2002). This is especially true considering that the dealings led to the creation of the Liberal Republican Party. Regardless, the actual loophole for these corrupt Gilded Age deals was the then prevailing spoils system, in which better-endowed people used their influence to reward their relatives, friends and corrupt business allies with lucrative government tenders (Gerrard, & Newell, 2006). As Gerrard and Newell (2006) said, an ever-growing citizenry, however, began to acknowledge the fact that the civil service needed urgent reform. The Dawes Act of 1887 for example, was a major piece of legislation which mandated the president to oversee the granting of land and citizenship to Indians (Gerrard, & Newell, 2006). The Act arguably set the pace for more accountability by state officers as evidenced in the Manifest Destiny, when it comes to the allocation of national resources. Manifest Destiny sought to correct acts of greed and dishonesty that were synonymous with the Gilded Age and build a better society where every community had a