Annotated Bibliography On Dementia

Anisha Saddy Saddy 1
Ms. Goodson
English III Hn/ 4th Period
December 13, 2013
Dementia: A Growing Health Concern Needing Further Resources Humphrey Ominisan once said, “You cannot have everything in life. Even the trees must lose their leaves.” He is absolutely correct. In our first two stages of life, childhood and adulthood, we are young and we are preparing for whatever it may be that life throws at us; trying to get into a good college, taking care of family, or even preparing financially for retirement. However, older age constitutes the last few decades of ones life and it is a period where one is entitled to enjoy
those years, and pass on peacefully and naturally when the time comes. Conversely, picture losing your ability to remember what day it is, the name of your best friend, or even the alphabet, as you get to your sixty-fifth birthday. This sounds absolutely unnatural, but more than five million Americans are living under this condition (Alzheimer’s Association)- dementia. Dementia is classified as a gradual loss in cognitive ability that occurs in people who do not necessarily have to be impaired previously. It is a non-specific syndrome that cannot be termed under one disease, and affects all aspects of problem-solving, memory, attention, and language abilities. Due to the fact that dementia is the sixth leading cause of death worldwide and these rates continue to increase rapidly, further research and funding are critical and should be directed in order to potentially find a cure for this illness. Dementia is a development of ability loss of the brain on many factors and affects all aspects of a person’s life and functioning. A cause that is prevalent globally in regards to the cognitive abilities of human beings worldwide, dementia is life-changing and harmful. In fact, it Saddy 2 is not uncommon for people with dementia to start using a less complex style of speech, which could mean using shorter sentences and/or a limited vocabulary, to initiate less conversation, become withdrawn and even to stop speaking altogether (Alzheimer Europe). A lack of communication, which is a foundation for relationships and expression, would pose many problems as well. Not being able to speak fluently would prevent many individuals from proper communication with their peers, family members and colleagues and thus eliminate most career opportunities and social interactions. According to Alzheimer Europe, dementia is not a single, specific disease- it is an umbrella term describing a syndrome associated with more than a hundred different diseases that are characterized by the impairment of brain functioning, including language, memory, perception, personality, and cognitive skills. A majority of cases occur in patients that are previously unimpaired, although dementia may also follow a brain injury. Clearly, this illness is beyond what is expected of normal aging, and it can occur around the age of sixty-five or even before that, which would be termed early-onset dementia. Compared to other diseases and disorders, minimal funding has been received in the study of this worldwide illness. Cancer, for example, has had eight times as much funding according to the Alzheimer Association. In fact, in 2011, the National Institute of Health (NIH) spent over six billion dollars on cancer research and less than four hundred eighty million dollars on any research towards Alzheimer’s (Department of Health and Aging). As the sixth leading cause of death in the world, dementia kills more Americans each year than breast and prostate cancer combined and the fact that it is not receiving the attention and research it deserves is unjust. Research EMedicine Health has compiled shows that the NIH spends three billion dollars a year on AIDS research. Alzheimer’s on the other hand, affects more than five times as many Saddy 3
Americans and receives just under five hundred million dollars a year. It is very wrong that something that does not affect the same percentage of the population is researched more in depth, as opposed to an use that has also been extremely prevalent and affects over five times as many. Given how serious dementia is, the fact that it is receiving fifths or eighths of funding as compared to other diseases is absolutely unfair. Not only does dementia stand as an illness of its own, but it has connections to other illnesses that are life-threatening as well. Most kinds of cancers are associated with a significantly decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study of three and a half million veterans reported at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2013 (Alzheimer’s Association). According to an AAIC (Alzheimer’s Association International Conference) press release, most cancer’s chemotherapy treatments are in fact associated with a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, it is linked to cancer but obviously further research and funding is required to ascertain factors that lower cases of dementias. In addition, the study suggested the chemotherapy treatment for almost all of those cancers conferred an additional decrease in Alzheimer’s risk (Alzheimer’s Association). This further supports the notion that there is a definite connection between the occurrences of cancer and Alzheimer’s. Therefore, an outline of symptoms and signs are already present, now further funding is imperative to further the possibilities of finding a cure to this and saving the lives of millions. Dementia is not a normal part of aging, although it is more common in older people and affects about one in four people over the age of eighty-five (Lloyd). Contrary to popular belief, dementia is not something that is common to just occur in old age. Rather, this Saddy 4 abnormal neurological condition may as well be caused by chemicals or materials consumed, such as in food coloring or oil in food. “Early onset dementia” actually occurs before the age of sixty-five, so that brings even more age groups into the category that this illness affects. According to the Department of Health and Aging, for people aged sixty-five and over, dementia was the second leading cause of burden of disease and the leading cause of disability burden. Since there is no straightforward route to cure dementia, this disease tends to linger and cause a burden on both the carriers and their families. Some people are not even ready to retire by this age, so not being able to work would put a financial burden on themselves as well, not to mention the emotional stress of not being able to enjoy the last few decades of life. With age comes graying of the hair, wearing of the skin, and possibly less energy, depending on the individual. However, dementia is not a natural process like these are. This is an abnormal disease that has become widespread, as well as one that deserves utmost attention.
Deaths from Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia have increased 68% from the year 2000 to 2010, according to a report that was released by the Alzheimer’s Association, an advocacy group. If cases have increased so dramatically by this high of a factor in this century alone, there has to be some underlying cause to this madness. Given our technology and healthcare advancements today, it would be foolish not to turn attention to an issue like this given such an outrageous statistic. Optometrist Julia Manning states that “one in five of us who make it beyond the age of eighty will suffer from dementia; a mental illness over which we have no control, and frailty and increasing dependency will come to us all.” One in three older adults dies with Alzheimer’s disease; a figure to much concern. Deaths from dementia have rapidly Saddy 5 increased, particularly in the last ten to fifteen years. Immediate action is required in order for longer, healthier lives. Sadly, not a sufficient amount of research has been performed in the study of dementia and how it can be prevented. According to Richard Caselli, M.D., most diseases that cause dementia are progressive, which means that people with the disease get worse over time. Unfortunately, no curative treatment for dementia is currently available. Some medications, however, can temporarily improve symptoms and functioning and may slow the progression of the basic disease process. The latest drugs that have been used are Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne, Cognex and Namenda, which only combat some of the cognitive impairments of dementia, such as thinking and reasoning (Alzheimer’s Association). Apparently, no new approaches are being developed in research and its focus is to slow how the disease progresses instead of working towards curing it. Rather than finding a direct cause as to why the dementia has occurred, there are simply “therapeutic interventions” to reduce behavioral changes. That is the hard truth with dementia- it is still a terminal illness with the average life expectancy after diagnosis being eight years (Manning). However, reversing symptoms should be possible. Toxic fluoride, in fact, may be linked to Alzheimer’s, which is added to water supplies. Sodium fluoride is lethal when taken in sizable doses, which would be about five to ten grams, according to the Fluoride Action Network. It is a known cause of other brain damage, osteoporosis, arthritis, and more, accumulating in brain tissue. However, simply addressing these issues will do nothing. Action must be taken to research this possibility further in depth. Due to dementia being a progressive illness, scientists have not taken as much action as they need to in order to ascertain some risk and prevention Saddy 6 factors for cases that are so numerous in scope. Source: CDC Dementia is a progressive illness that disrupts life dramatically and takes major forms. In order to improve lives all over the world and improve our healthcare even further than we already have over the years, it is crucial that larger amounts of funding are contributed to the research of this disease. As shown in figure 1 above, dementia is an extensive contributor to deaths, has affected larger numbers of people as the decade has progressed, and with a death incidence increasing by 38.7% in such a short frame of time, is clearly in no way a normal process of aging. Characterized by language, memory, attention, and problem-solving disabilities over time, this condition has received minimal attention as compared to various cancers and sexually transmitted diseases. Treatment as of now is only to slow the symptoms and modify disease progression, which has clearly not availed enough considering the death percentage has Saddy 7 increased a shocking sixty-eight percent over the past fifteen to twenty years (Alzheimer’s Association). However, there is a possibility that toxic fluoride has a link to dementia due to the fact that it pertains to many brain conditions that have been occurring, but what has been done now in research of this has been nothing in comparison to what should be done. Imagine waking up and not knowing the name of the person next to you. Imagine not being able to find a route home, even though you are a mere three blocks away from your residence. Looking through a photo album or attending a thanksgiving dinner, you need to constantly be reminded who is being identified or who is sitting beside you at the table. Dementia is a disease that not only affects the mental aspects of a person’s well-being, but their emotional as well. As opposed to the pitiful four hundred eighty million dollars that is used in the study of one of the highest causes of death worldwide annually, at least a couple billion dollars should be compiled towards dementia’s cause.

Works Cited
Caselli, Richard J., M.D. "Dementia Medication Overview." EMedicineHealth. Web MD, Inc., 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Communication Problems." - Memory and Communication. Alzheimer Europe, 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
"Dementia." Department of Health and Ageing -. Commonwealth of Australia, 31 July 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
Lloyd, Janice.
"One in Three Elderly Have Dementia When They Die." USA Today. Gannett, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

Manning, Julia. "Dementia Remains a Terminal Illness and It Is Right to Invest More in Research." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

Works Cited
Caselli, Richard J., M.D. "Dementia Medication Overview." EMedicineHealth. Web MD, Inc., 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Communication Problems." - Memory and Communication. Alzheimer Europe, 11 Sept. 2009. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
"Dementia." Department of Health and Ageing -. Commonwealth of Australia, 31 July 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
Lloyd, Janice. "One in Three Elderly Have Dementia When They Die." USA Today. Gannett, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
Manning, Julia. "Dementia Remains a Terminal Illness and It Is Right to Invest More in Research." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.

Anisha Saddy
English III Honors/ 4th Period
December 12, 2013

Contemporary Poetry Presentation
Reflection Overall, I believe the contemporary poetry presentation idea was great for me to get adequate feedback for what I need to improve for senior year’s boards. I think I did really well on acquiring a lot of information on my poet, Marianne Moore and on interpreting her poetry. However, even though I did not have a reason to be nervous while presenting, the fact that my flash drive would not open the power-point got me pretty anxious. In the future, I will definitely make sure to be extra prepared with a back up copy of my power point if I end up needing one. Although preparation for this presentation was different, I learned a lot from this experience and it really opened my eyes on what I can improve on. Next year, I will make sure to not procrastinate and keep the work ethic I did on completion of this project, and to just be confident and passionate about my topic, which will not be hard because I know for a fact that I am. I hope to improve and I am thankful for what this experience brought me!

Chapter 26: Tradition and Change in East Asia
Chapter Outline
I. The quest for political stability
A. The Ming dynasty
1. Ming government (1368-1644) drove the Mongols out of China
a. Centralized government control; faced new invasions from the Mongols
b. Rebuilt and repaired the Great Wall to prevent northern invasions
c. Restored Chinese cultural traditions and civil service examinations
2. Ming decline
a. Coastal cities and trade disrupted by pirates, 1520s--1560s
b. Government corruption and inefficiency caused by powerful eunuchs
c. Famines and peasant rebellions during the 1630s and 1640s
d. Manchu invaders with peasant support led to final Ming collapse, 1644
B. The Qing dynasty
1. The Manchus (1644-1911), invaders from Manchuria to the northeast
a. Overwhelmed the Chinese forces; proclaimed the Qing dynasty, 1644
b. Originally pastoral nomads, organized powerful military force
c. Captured Korea and Mongolia first, then China
d. Remained an ethnic elite; forbade intermarriage with Chinese
2. Kangxi (1661-1722) and his reign
a. Confucian scholar; effective, enlightened ruler
b. Conquered Taiwan; extended to Mongolia, central Asia, and Tibet
3. Qianlong (1736-1795) and his reign
a. A sophisticated and learned ruler, poet, and artist
b. Vietnam, Burma, and Nepal made vassal states of China
c. Under his rule, China was peaceful, prosperous, and powerful
C. The son of heaven and the scholar-bureaucrats
1. Emperor considered "the son of heaven"
a. Heavenly powers and an obligation to maintain order on the earth
b. Privileged life, awesome authority, and paramount power
2. Governance of the empire fell to civil servants, called scholar-bureaucrats
a. Schooled in Confucian texts, calligraphy
b. Had to pass rigorous examinations with strict quotas
3. The examination system and Chinese society
a. Civil service exam intensely competitive; few chosen for government positions
b. Others could become local teachers or tutors
c. System created a meritocracy with best students running the country
d. Wealthy families had some advantages over poor families
e. Confucian curriculum fostered common values

II. Economic and social changes
A. The patriarchal family
1. The basic unit of Chinese society was the family; the highest value, filial piety
a. Included duties of children to fathers, loyalty of subjects to the emperor
b. Important functions of clan
2. Gender relations: strict patriarchal control over all females
a. Parents preferred boys over girls; marriage was to continue male line
b. Female infanticide; widows encouraged to commit suicide
c. Foot binding of young girls increased
d. Lowest status person in family was a young bride
B. Population growth and economic development
1. Intense garden-style agriculture fed a large population
a. American food crops in seventeenth century: maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts
b. Available land reached maximum productivity by mid-seventeenth century
2. Population growth: 100 million in 1500, 225 million in 1750
3. Manufacturing and trade benefited from abundant, cheap labor
a. Exported large quantities of silk, porcelain, lacquerware, and tea
b. Compensated for the exports by importing silver bullion
4. Foreign trade brought wealth to the dynasty, but threatened scholar-bureaucrats
a. Kangxi began policy of strict control on foreign contact
b. Western merchants restricted to Macao and Quangzhou
5. Government and technology
a. Ming and Qing dynasties considered technological change disruptive
b. With abundant skilled labor, labor-saving technologies unnecessary
C. Gentry, commoners, soldiers, and mean people
1. Privileged classes
a. Scholar-bureaucrats and gentry occupied the most exalted positions
b. Directed local government and society
2. Peasants, the largest class, esteemed by Confucius for their honest labor
3. Artisans and other skilled workers, some economic status
4. Merchants often powerful and wealthy
5. Lower classes or "mean people": slaves, servants, entertainers, prostitutes

III. The Confucian tradition and new cultural influences
A. Neo-Confucianism and pulp fiction
1. Confucian education supported by Min and Qing emperors
a. Hanlin Academy in Beijing and provincial schools prepared students for civil service exams
b. Imperial cultural projects: encyclopedias and libraries
2. Popular culture expanded to include novels, romances, travel adventures
B. The return of Christianity to China
1. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), an Italian Jesuit in the Ming court
a. A learned man who mastered written and oral Chinese
b. Impressed Chinese with European science and mathematics
c. Popular mechanical devices: glass prisms, harpsichords, clocks
2. Confucianism and Christianity
a. Jesuits respectful of Chinese tradition, but won few converts
b. Chinese had problems with exclusivity of Christianity
3. End of the Jesuit mission
a. Rival Franciscan and Dominican missionaries criticized Jesuits ' tolerance
b. When the pope upheld critics, emperor Kangxi denounced Christianity
c. Jesuits had been an important bridge between Chinese and western cultures, introducing each to the achievements of the other.

IV. The unification of Japan
A. The Tokugawa shogunate
1. Tokugawa Ieyasu brought stability to Japan after 1600
a. Japan divided into warring feudal estates
b. As shogun, Ieyasu established a military government known as bakufu
2. First need to control the daimyo, powerful local lords
a. Each daimyo absolute lord within his domain
b. Tokugawa shoguns required daimyo to live alternative years at Edo
c. Bakufu controlled daimyo marriages, travel, expenditures
3. Control of foreign relations
a. The shoguns adopted policy of isolation from outside world, 1630s
b. Foreign trade was under tight restriction at the port of Nagasaki
c. Despite the policy, Japan was never completely isolated
B. Economic and social change
1. Population growth
a. Agricultural production doubled between 1600 and 1700
b. Population rose by a one-third from 1600 to 1700
c. Then slow growth due to infanticide, contraception, late marriage, abortion
2. Social change
a. Peace undermined the social and economic role of warrior elites
b. Merchants became prominent, and often wealthier than the ruling elites
C. Neo-Confucianism and floating worlds
1. Neo-Confucianism (loyalty, submission) became the official ideology of the Tokugawa
2. Scholars of "native learning" tried to establish distinctive Japanese identity
3. "Floating worlds"--centers of urban culture
a. Included teahouses, theaters, brothels, public baths
b. Ihara Saikaku, poet and novelist
c. Kabuki theaters and bunraku (puppet) very popular
D. Christianity and Dutch learning
1. Christian missions, under Jesuits, had significant success in sixteenth century
2. Anti-Christian campaign launched by Tokugawa shoguns
a. Feared any movement that might help daimyo
b. Buddhists and Confucians resented Christian exclusivity
c. After 1612, Christians banned from islands, thousands killed
3. Dutch learning was one limited connection to the outside world
a. Dutch merchants permitted to trade at Nagasaki
b. Japanese scholars were permitted to learn Dutch and, after 1720, to read Dutch books
c. Shoguns became enthusiastic proponents of Dutch learning by mid-eighteenth century
d. European art, medicine, and science began to influence Japanese scholars