Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy, a condition characterized by frequent periods of sleepiness during the day, strikes about 1 person in 1,000. Narcolepsy has four main symptoms, which are the following:
1). gradual or sudden attacks of sleepiness during the day.
2). Occasional cataplexy-an attach of muscle weakness while the person remains awake.
3). Sleep paralysis-an inability to movie while falling asleep or waking up.
4). Hypnagogic hallucinations- dreamlike experiences that the person has trouble distinguishing from reality

The cause of narcolepsy is the neurotransmitter orexin. People with narcolepsy lack the hypothalamic cells that produce and release orexin.  Orexin is important for staying awake. People with narcolepsy alternate between short waking periods and short sleepy periods, instead of staying awake throughout the day. As of now they only common treatment is stimulant drugs, but perhaps one day there will be drugs that can restore orexin.

The following video tell the story of a 21 years and his struggle with Narcolepsy.

Placebo Effect

A placebo is a non-medication, or inactive treatment that is used to satisfy a patient's psychological need for medicine. In other words, just the act of taking a pill may be enough to make some people feel better: the so-called placebo effect.A new study finds that the placebo effect actually alters brain activity.The study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry is the first of its kind to suggest that patients with major depression who receive placebos experience changes in brain function similar to changes caused by medication. After nine weeks, patients were classified as being medication responders, placebo responders, or non-responders to either medication or placebos.Placebo responders showed more activity in the prefrontal cortex while medication responders showed less activity. Additionally, the decrease in depression with the placebo was the same as the the improvement with medication.

The above clip is from a show that i used to watch when i was younger. As you will see, the character is given "sugar pills", but thinks that they are pills that make him study harder. Hope you enjoy the clip.

Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia. Symptoms of Alzheimer's, including early-onset Alzheimer's, include problems with memory, judgment, and thinking, which makes it hard to work or take part in day-to-day life. As the stages of Alzheimer's progress, memory loss and other signs of Alzheimer's become more apparent. Many people find help with Alzheimer's drugs, but there is no cure for this form of dementia.The most common form of dementia among older people is Alzheimer’s disease. About 4.5 million Americans suffer from this condition, which usually begins after age 60.Mental decline in Alzheimer’s disease shows up first as loss of memory function. Next to be affected are emotions and inhibitions. Brain lesions, called amyloid plaques and tangles, accumulate, causing a declining ability to cope with everyday life as brain cells die.

My grandfather was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier last year. It has been a tough road from him. My grandmother and uncle has to constantly watch him because he becomes unaware of where he is at at or at times sometimes he forgets the people around him.  I just want everyone to know that even though my grandfather has Alzheimer's, there is still treatment out there to help him. My only hope is that perhaps one day there will be some cure to help my grandfather and this terrible disease.