Alzheimer's Disease
Terminology - Medical terms for Alzheimer's disease
treatment
Glossary of medical
terminology used in Alzheimer's disease (AD) treatment
Definitions of Alzheimer's disease terms
Abilities – Extent to which certain
activities can be performed.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) - Degenerative
neurological disease (dementia) that generally affects older
people resulting in memory loss and inability to learn due
to death of nerve cells in brain.
Ambulation – Performing regular functions
easily.
Amino acids – Proteins for growth and
functioning.
Amyloid plaque - Neurotic plaque. Beta
amyloid protein (found in cerebrospinal fluid) accumulated
in the brains of AD patients showing tissue degeneration.
Antibodies – Immune system proteins that
fight against foreign substances.
Anticholinesterase – Medicine used in
treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Anti-inflammatory drugs – Medicine such as
aspirin and ibuprofen.
Anxiety – Sense of fear, nervousness, and
continual stress.
Apathy - Lack of interest and emotion.
Aphasia – Difficulty in speaking and
understanding others mostly observed in Alzheimer’s disease
patients.
Apoptosis - Programmed cell death.
APP - Amyloid Precursor Protein.
Art therapy – Applied to patients to
express themselves through art activities like painting,
crafting, playing music, etc.
Assay – Toxicity testing.
Assessment – Evaluation of the extent of
illness.
Assisted living - Health care service
providing boarding and other facilities for Alzheimer
disease patients and others having similar cognitive
problems.
Atrophy - Shrinking of tissues of brain
mass and other organs.
Autonomy – Decision-making freely.
Autopsy – Medical examination upon death to
determine cause of death.
Axon – Part of a nerve cells that transmits
signals to other cells.
Behavioral symptom - State of anxiety,
depression, hostility, and similar emotional disturbances.
Beta-amyloid protein – Low level of this
protein in brain confirms Alzheimer’s disease in autopsy.
Binswanger’s disease – Dementia that occurs
after a stroke.
Blood-brain barrier – Mechanism that
regulates entry of blood into the brain.
Calcium channel blocker – Medicine used to
control the amount of calcium entering into cells.
Caregiver – Person assisting patient in
daily activities.
Case management – Planning of assistance to
be provided by different care providers.
Cell culture – Producing cells for
experimentation.
Cell membrane – Substance covering the
cell.
Central Nervous System (CNS) - Primary part
of our nervous system composed of brain and spinal cord.
Cerebral cortex - Nerve cells and other
tissues surrounding the brain that are subject to die in
Alzheimer's disease.
Cerebrospinal fluid – Fluid around the
brain.
Cholinergic system - Nerve system that
functions as neurotransmitter and is damaged due to
Alzheimer's disease.
Chromosome – Part of cell containing DNA
chromosomes.
Clinical trials – Trying medicine on humans
to see how effective and safe they are for future use.
Cognition - Basic function of brain such as
thinking, learning, remembering, etc.
Cognitive abilities – Status of being
mentally fit.
Cognitive symptoms – Losing cognitive
abilities as in the case of Alzheimer’s disease.
Combativeness – Feeling of animosity and
aggression.
Competence – Being skilled and intelligent.
Controls – Individuals who volunteer in
clinical trials.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) - A rare
case of loss of memory and change in attitude.
Cueing – Giving clues to improve recalling.
Deficit - Loss of cognitive abilities due
to dementia.
Delirium – Rapid but temporary
deterioration of cognitive functions.
Delusion – Worsening in mental functions
affecting conception of reality.
Dementia – Loss of mental (cognitive)
functions such as thinking, remembering, learning, etc.
adversely affecting daily routine activities.
Diagnosis - Detecting of disease.
Disorientation – Losing sense of direction,
time, and other abilities.
DNA – Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid
Double-blind – Clinical trial where
patients as well as researchers do not know whether the
medicine tested is real or placebo.
Down syndrome - Mental retardation that
turns into Alzheimer's disease in later age.
Early-onset Alzheimer's disease -
Occurrence of AD in early ages rather than typical after 65
years of age.
Enzyme – Protein creating chemical
reactions.
Estrogen – Woman hormone that needs to be
supplemented after menopause and helps reducing the symptoms
of Alzheimer’s disease.
Excitotoxicity – Cell damage due to
excessive activation.
Familial Alzheimer's disease - Hereditary
Alzheimer's disease that runs in the family.
Free radicals – Reactive toxic molecules
damaging the cells of brain and other organs.
Gait – Walking ability by lifting feet,
that deteriorates in Alzheimer’s disease.
Gene – Part of DNA unique to a person or
family.
Genetic susceptibility – Likelihood of
acquiring a hereditary disease.
Genome – Genes. |
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Glucose – Sugar element broken down in feed
to produce energy.
Hallucination – Experiencing things that do
not physically exist.
Hoarding – Keeping and hiding things
observed especially in Alzheimer’s disease.
Home care – Providing health services at
patient’s home rather than at a hospital or health
institution.
Huntington’s disease – Inherited
brain-damaging disease.
Immune system – Body’s defense mechanism
against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign substances.
Incontinence – Digestive malfunctioning in
discharging.
Late onset Alzheimer’s disease – Occurrence
of Alzheimer’s disease after 65 years of age.
Late stage – Phase of dementia where
patient has almost no control.
Lewy body dementia – Dementia that occurs
after accumulation of Lewy bodies.
Lumbar puncture - Collecting samples of
cerebrospinal fluid to detect Alzheimer's disease.
Medicaid – Health services provided for
low-income people.
Medicare – Federally-sponsored health
insurance for people over 65 and disabled.
Microglia cells – Immune cells in the
brain.
Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE) – Test to
diagnose mental status.
Mitochondria – Part of cells providing
energy.
Multi-Infarct Dementia (MID) – Type of
dementia resulting in loss of mental and motor functions of
patient.
Nerve cell – Neuron.
Nerve cell transplantation – Replacement of
damaged brain cells with healthy cells.
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) – Protein that
nourishes and protects nerve cells.
Neuritic plaque - Amyloid plaque.
Neurodegenerative disease – Degeneration of
nerve cells.
Neurofibrillary tangle – Protein that
accumulates in the brain of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Neurological disorder – Malfunctioning of
nervous system.
Neurologist – Doctor specializing in
treatment of neurological disorders.
Neuropathology – Changes in brain as a
result of disorder.
Neurotransmission – Relating signals
between cells via chemical changes.
Neurotransmitter – Agents of
neurotransmission.
Neurotrophic factor - Protein useful for
growth and protection of nerve cells.
Nucleus – Cell center having genetic
ingredients.
Onset – Phase, stage.
Pacing – Irrational activity due to
sickness.
Paranoia – Baseless suspicion of others.
Parkinson’s disease – Loss of nerve cells
in the brain affecting cognitive functions and resulting in
dementia.
Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - Part of
central nervous system related to vital organs.
Perseveration – Continually repeating
certain actions.
PET scan - Positron Emission Tomography
scan.
Pharmacology - Study of medication.
Pick’s disease – Certain kind of dementia
affecting behavior.
Placebo – Fake pill (typically a sugar
pill) given to controls in clinical trials to compare its
effects with real drug.
Presenilins – Proteins indicating early
stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Prevalence – Number of people who have a
certain disease at a certain time.
Prions – Parts of protein creating
infection and dementia.
Probable AD – Likelihood of having
Alzheimer’s disease.
Proteases – Enzymes that breakdown
proteins.
Protein metabolism – Conversion of proteins
into amino acids.
Proteins – Substances in the body
responsible for vital activities related to energy and
growth.
Psychometrics - Measurement of cognitive
function
Psychosis – Emotional disturbance.
Recall – Ability to remember.
Receptor agonist – Medicine used to recover
receptor functions lost during disease.
Receptors – Nerve cells that receive
messages from transmitters.
Registration – Acknowledgement of what is
heard to test short-term memory.
Reinforcement – Activities to sustain
patient’s memory and cognitive functions.
Reminiscence – Recollection of good
memories.
Repetitive behaviors – Unwarranted
activities of people suffering from dementia.
Respite – Time off.
Restraints – Monitoring and restricting
activities of patient for safety.
Risk factors – Factors (hereditary, aging,
eating habits, etc.) that increase the chances of having a
disease.
Rummaging – Irrational interest in
examining patient’s own or other’s belongings.
Safe Return – Finding lost people having
Alzheimer’s disease.
Senile plaque - Amyloid plaque.
Sequencing – Orderly and predictable
behavior.
Shadowing – Mimicking.
Side effect – Known but unpreventable
effects of a medicine.
SPECT scan – Scanning of brain to detect
Alzheimer’s disease.
Spinal cord – Parts of central nervous
system, excluding brain that carry signals between body and
brain.
Spinal tap - Lumbar puncture.
Sun downing – Change in behavior before
sunset.
Support group – Group of people composed of
patients and assisting people to discuss disease-related
issues for therapy.
Suspiciousness – Misconception in the form
of thinking that somebody has stolen patient’s belongings.
Synapse – Spot where a signal is
transmitted from one nerve cell to another.
Synaptic vesicles – Nerve cell axons having
neurotransmitters.
Tau protein – Type of protein that
maintains internal structure of nerve cells and that exists
in excessive amounts in cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer’s
disease patients.
Tissues – Cells coordinated for certain
activity.
Toxin – Substance causing injury and death.
Trigger – Factors that activate a certain
behavioral change.
Vesicle – Sac.
Vitamin E – Found in nuts and oils
preventing development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Wandering – Loss of directions due to
dementia. |
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