Malattia di Alzheimer: una storia antica in ottica moderna

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) involves impairment of the cognitive sphere, motor skills and higher functions, progressive deconstruction of the mind-body system and loss of autonomy. The brain with AD shows extracellular amyloid-β plaques, intraneuronal tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau, and inflammation. The article presents the pathogenesis, the possible prevention and treatment of AD according to the Pnei paradigm: modifiable and unchangeable risk factors are known. Among the formers, a preventive role is assigned to certain behaviors: a correct diet, regular physical activity, the maintenance of significant interpersonal bonds, the control of cardiovascular risk, protection from psychoemotional stress, early treatment of depression and abstention from alcohol and tobacco. The Pnei approach guarantees a systemic look at the clinical-metabolic manifestations of AD (disease), the patient’s experience of illness (illness) and the possibility of residual autonomy (sickness). At present, the study courses on AD created by multidisciplinary teams of professionals, integrated with each other, are increasingly valid.