Diseases+that+affect+Short+Term+Memory



Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and Schizophrenia and three diseases which all alter brain chemistry. These diseases are treated with the Phenerine, Aricept and Exelon drugs in an attempt to re establish a working system within the brain by increasing the activities of the brain's neurotransmitters.

=__Alzheimer's__=

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Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia which, as shown in the above diagram, involves the rapid deterioration of areas of the brain concerned with memory and language. Alzheimer's can't be completely cured but it can be slowed down. This disease usually occurs in people who are 60+ years old and have a family history of the disease. Loss of short-term memory is one of the earlier symptoms of this disease and is subsequently slowed down with Phenserine, Aricept or exelon.

=**__Parkinson's Disease__**= Parkinson's disease occurs with old age and much like Alzheimer's involves the gradual decline in brain activity with no known cure yet developed. Parkinson's causes tremors and difficulty in tasks which require movement and/or coordination. It's not unusual for Parkinson's patients to develop problems with their short term memory as well as other learning tasks, because of this Parkinson's disease patients are also sometimes administered the Phenserine, Aricept or Exelon drugs to increase the interaction between the ACH (acetylchlorine) neurotransmitter and the brain.

=__Schizophrenia__= Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scans comparing a normal brain (left) with the brain of a schizophrenic (right). //(Reproduced by permission of// Photo Researchers, Inc.//)//  Schizophrenia is an illness that involved disorganization of the brain results in many abnormal effects such as hallucinations occurring within the patients. There is no cure for this disease with extensive research on how it develops within the brain currently underway.