A Few Things About
Myself...
" My Favorite
Thing About College - Unlike at home, you get some extra freedoms in
college, although there are added responsibilities that come with being
a college student away from home.
" My Favorite Food - I eat almost anything, as long as it does
not smell funny or look really odd. My main preferences are Oriental
and Italian foods. However, rather than eat them frozen, or from a normal
restaurant, I prefer to cook those kinds of meals on my own.
" My Favorite Band/Artist - I am tolerant of most types of music,
as long as they sound decent or better. It isn't that hard to satisfy
that requirement. I don't have any favorites in particular, and the
music I listen to depends largely on the mood or situation that I am
in. Nothing like classical music to relax the nerves, or some rock music
when I'm feeling pretty hyper at the time. Just don't go around blaring
polka music, and we'll get along great…
" What I Am Most Proud Of - There's actually a lot to say about
this…I'm pretty proud of mostly my academic success throughout
high school, and it seems to be no different in college so far. I'm
also proud of the little things that make me unique, although you won't
discover them all unless you were to sit down and get to know me pretty
well. I'm also proud of being one of the first in my generation to finally
attend college in my family. I'm a pretty good cook to boot.
" Where I Would Like To Be In Ten Years - I have ambitions. Hopefully
I'll be able to get through college, med school, and then finally find
a successful job as a practicing physician. I would like to be financially
stable, with none of those dreaded student loans from college/med school
bothering me (too bad we can't have everything now). The possibility
of me being married or having a significant other would be nice as well.
" My Favorite Quotation - There's plenty of little sayings that
we've all heard of. Some make sense, others I could care less about.
However, the saying I like most is: "A witty saying proves nothing"-Voltaire.
It makes perfect sense to me-people can say things to make themselves
smart, but when it comes time to show what they really have, what is
there in some cases?
" What I Think Needs Changing In Our World - Plenty of problems,
plenty of possible solutions. If there was one thing that really bothers
me in the current world, it's the whole mess going on in the Middle
East. The whole set of problems going on there has been around before
I was here, and its still going on after 20 odd years, with no signs
of stopping. Sooner or later, the peoples there will hopefully realize
that all of the war and conflict gets nowhere except for mindless bloodshed.
During an average lifetime,
one can expect to have at least occasional memory lapses from time to
time. Usually it's something as simple as forgetting what you just did
a few minutes ago, forgetting if you turned the stove off, or if you
left your keys on the table or in the bathroom counter. Such lapses
are relatively normal, but when they become a recurring theme, it's
a more serious problem.
As people age, it is natural for them to experience a mild degree of
memory loss. However, some cases can be much more severe, and can have
a variety of causes. When loss of memory and other mental functions
becomes more severe, the condition is known as dementia. Dementia is
caused by a variety of disorders, but Alzheimer's dementia, or Alzheimer's
Disease, accounts for many of the cases, particularly in elderly patients.
Around age 65, a small percentage of people already are affected by
Alzheimer's, and by the age of 85, over half of all people are affected
(Hensrud 1).
Alzheimer's disease causes shrinking of brain tissue, as well as formation
of amyloid plaques in affected brain tissue, which has been linked to
memory loss in patients (Hensrud 1). The memory loss caused by Alzheimer's
is irreversible, and only worsens over time.
During the onset of the disease, symptoms are usually non-existant,
and progress slowly over the course of many years, often going unnoticed
until they become more severe. Alzheimer's is somewhat difficult to
diagnose, but there are some common symptoms to all patients. Memory
loss occurs in all patients. The person may have trouble remembering
small things such as phone numbers, or where he/she put the keys. Eventually,
short term memory is lost, and only memories in the far past are able
to be recalled. People with Alzheimer's can become disoriented and can
get lost easily when out on their own. Mood changes also occur, and
the person can be easily irritated or agitated by seemingly insignificant
things. Cognitive deterioration also occurs, with the person losing
the ability to understand spoken language or recall the meanings of
different words (Grayson, "Recognizing Alzheimer's" 1). Despite
these common symptoms, making a diagnosis is difficult since Alzheimer's
patientscan display the same symptoms as a head injury or depression.
There are also people with various factors that increase the risk of
a person becoming affected by the disease. Age plays a large role in
acquiring the disease. Since the disease is largely found in elderly
people, the general age for onset is around age 65. After that, the
number of people affected continues to increase with age. Another risk
factor is having a condition known as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).
People affected by MCI are much more likely to get Alzheimer's disease
(Hensrud 1). Genetics also recently has been found to have a link to
a person's risk for getting the disease. Genes on chromosomes 14, 19,
and 21 have been linked to Alzheimer's. Chromosome 21 is of special
interest, since it is the chromosome that is involved with Down's Syndrome
(Grayson, "Genes and Alzheimer's" 1).
There is no cure for Alzheimer's, and since the exact cause is still
unknown, finding preventative measures proves difficult. Three medications
used for treatment include Tacrine, Donepezil, and Rivastigmine. All
three drugs work by slowing breakdown of acetycholine, which is a neurotransmitter.
However, there are undesirable side effects which include vomiting,
diarrhea, insomnia, and anorexia; none of these drugs cure the disease,
but instead slow its progression. Research for an Alzheimer's vaccine
is also in progress (Grayson, "Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment Overview"
1).
Works Cited
Hensrud, Donald D. "Alzheimer's
Unease". Fortune. Oct. 28, 2002, vol. 146, issue 8, p. 226.
Grayson, Charlotte E. "Recognizing Alzheimer's Disease." May
2001.
<http://my.webmd.com/condition_center_content/alz/article/1626.50837?z
=1626_50804_6510_00_03>.
---. "Genes and Alzheimer's Disease." May 2001.
<http://my.webmd.com/condition_center_content/alz/article/1626.50830?z=1626_50804_6510_00_10>.
---. "Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment Overview". May 2001.
<http://my.webmd.com/condition_center_content/alz/article/1626.50825?z=1626_50804_6510_00_15>.