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Kaylie Green
Dr. Padgett
English 102
March 24, 2016
Annotated Bibliography
Inquiry: Since Alzheimers disease is becoming more prevalent in todays society, what
prevention methods are successful?
Proposed Thesis: The increasing death rates from Alzheimers disease leads to the founding of
prevention methods that could slow down the diseases growth.

"Alzheimer's Statistics." Alzheimers.net. N.p., 2015. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.

<http://www.alz.org/facts/overview.asp>
Alzheimers.net includes an entire section on their website devoted to 2015 Alzheimers
Statistics. Its central claim starts with Alzheimers worldwide, then transfers into the
United States. The website shares there are nearly 44 million people who have
Alzheimers or related dementia. Among these 44 million, Alzheimers is most common
in Western Europe, North America following close behind. A subtitle named
Alzheimers in the United States includes the fact, 5.3 million Americans are living
with Alzheimers. Also stated within this subheading is, Alzheimers disease is the 6th
leading cause of death in America. If North America is the second most prevalent place
with the disease and the top 10 causes of death, what is the disease ranked in Western
Europe? The timing is very appropriate since the information was collected just last year.

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Alzheimers.net provides a different perspective on the question, expanding the statistics
of the disease to international countries and not just within the United States.
Ellyson, Tyler. "Alzheimers Becoming More Common, More Known." Columbus Telegram.
N.p., 30 June 2011. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/alzheimer-s-becoming-more-common-moreknown/article_0cca39f2-a31d-11e0-bc66-001cc4c002e0.html>
Tyler Ellyson, the author of this article claims that, while the medial world works
toward a way to stop the disease, the only certainty is that the number of cases is going to
rise. Adam Lassen, the director and consultant of memory support at Meridian Gardens
Assisted Living and Support in Columbus, Nebraska, was interviewed by Ellyson. Lassen
states that there are medications that we can use to slow the progression of the disease;
however, there still is no cure. Ellyson also writes about early warning signs to be
cautious of when you believe someone may have Alzheimers. It is recommended to take
immediate action when you see any signs of the disease so the progression can be slowed
down as best as possible. This article is credible due to the author interviewing and
including quotes from someone who works directly with Alzheimers and dementia
patients. The relevance of this article admits that since there is no true cure to the disease
yet, doctors can only try and alleviate its progression.

Smith, Stephanie. "We May Be Able to Reverse Early Alzheimer's Disease." CNN. Cable News
Network, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/08/health/alzheimers-reversal/>
Smiths title for her article, We May Be Able to Reverse Early Alzheimers Disease, is
no lie. A small study put on by UCLA involved 10 patients that have early signs of

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Alzheimers, such as memory loss. Dr. Bredesen, the author of this study and director of
Alzheimers Disease Research for UCLA, shares the results of his study with Smith.
Peter, one of the participants, admits to his memory loss diminishing after the study had
concluded and states, I think I am about as good as I have ever been. Smith writes that
the specific changes that Peter had to make that caused these results were, eliminating
processed foods, taking probiotics and coconut oil, exercising, and sleeping as close to
eight hours as he could. This article leans more towards the optimistic side of the
argument, that Alzheimers disease could be solved and non-existent one day. I included
this source in my paper because it is against my inquiry question, which just shows new
information and a different side of the argument.

"About Alzheimer's Disease: Causes." National Institute on Aging. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016.
<https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/topics/causes>
The National Institute on Aging includes a page titled About Alzheimers Diseases:
Causes. Since there is no known cause for Alzheimers, this websites central claim is
what scientists believe could be why people get diagnosed with the disease. The three riks
are age-related changes in the brain, genetics, and health, environmental, and lifestyle
factors. As we get older, so do our brains. Scientists find it very believable that old age
does play a huge role in getting Alzheimers. Also, a gene mutation that someone could
be born with could cause the diagnosis of the disease. The website states this does not
mean that a person will definitely develop Alzheimers disease, and people without the
gene mutation may also develop the disease. A persons health, weight, and diet can all
contribute to Alzheimers as well. The relevance of this website is to make people aware

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of simple aspects that may cause the disease. Someone cannot help it if they are born
with the gene mutation linked to Alzheimers; however, a person does have control of
their diet and weight.
Seegert, Liz. "Incidence of Alzheimer's Disease Continues to Rise as Boomers Age." Association
of Health Care Journalists. N.p., 19 May 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <
http://healthjournalism.org/blog/2014/05/incidence-of-alzheimers-disease-continues-torise-as-boomers-age/>
Seegert writes her article based on a report that was posted by the Alzheimers
Association titled 2014 Alzheimers disease facts and figures. The articles states that
between 2000 and 2010, the proportion of deaths from Alzheimers increased by 68%.
This is a clear indication that the disease is increasing quite quickly. Seegert also includes
that this is two to three times greater than deaths from heart disease. The report also
highlights that age is the biggest risk factor when it comes to Alzheimers and that
women are at a greater risk than men. The article does not mention anything about cures
or ways to stop the disease from attacking peoples brains. Although these statistics were
reported two years ago, they are still appropriate due to the matching results I have found
from articles only a year old. The relevance of this report shows that Alzheimers should
be taken seriously and that death is evitable.
"Current Treatments, Alzheimer's & Dementia | Research Center | Alzheimer's Association."
Alzheimer's Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2016. <
http://www.alz.org/research/science/alzheimers_disease_treatments.asp>
The Alzheimers Association posts a page underneath their website that titles What We
Know Today About Alzheimers Disease. The website states that researchers are
looking for new ways to treat Alzheimers. This disease has been studied for many,

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many years and scientists are not stopping until they find a cure. Alzheimers Association
also says, Current drugs help mask the symptoms of Alzheimers, but do not treat the
underlying disease or delay its progressive. Medications that are believed to help
alleviate Alzheimers are known as Donepezil, Galantamine, Memantine, and
Rivastigmine. As stated on the website, these medications are not a cure to the disease,
but have been studied to help the human brain. The year this information was published is
unknown; however, I still believe this is a credible source due to the websites title
Alzheimers Association, a real life organization with its purpose to study and find out
more on the disease.

Kaylie,
You have a terrific topic here and one that is certainly worthwhile. One of the challenges
with this kind of topic, is that the question you seem to want to answer (how do we
prevent Alzheimers) is one that not even the most expert of people really have clear
answers to. So Im wonder how else you might try to engage this conversation. So, the
article on diet sounded interesting, and I wonder if you could pivot in that direction. What
kinds of regular everyday things can we to do prevent the common (arguable inevitable
diseases)? You could certainly look more closely at diet and make a compelling argument
there. Otherwise, youll simply be compiling a list of possible preventative measures
that no one can really argue for or against, and so you wont really have an argument.
Does that make sense? So, I would suggest pivoting to something a bit more arguable.
Maybe suggestions of lifestyle change could be one. Consider the articles weve read on
diet and obesity. You could do an Alzheimers version of those arguments. So: diet and

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Alzheimers. Or lifestyle and Alzheimers. Is there research that highlights what parts of
the world Alzheimers is least prevalent? If so, is there an explanation? Looking forward
to this one.