Essay Example on Single Injury Leads to Decades of Tau Pathology, Dementia

Dementia is a disorder that arises from abnormal aging activities. The article 'Tau Pathology Present Decades after a Single Injury' in The Scientist delves into the causes of dementia and what really happens from the time the disease starts to develop in the brain up to the time that the first symptoms begin to manifest. This information is based especially on the upcoming issues among researchers and scholars on the subject of dementia. From this article, it is obvious that dementia is a joint word which is usually used to describe different indicators of mental problems such as poor memory, absentmindedness, thinking and communication problems and insensibleness (Williams, 2019). The condition exists in different forms or types including mixed dementia which may involve two or more forms, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's disease with tangles and plaques in the brain, Parkinson's disease with Lewy bodies and Huntington's disease with specific uncontrolled movements (Williams, 2019).

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Its main cause has been noted to be the death of brain cells either through a head injury or a neurodegenerative disease (Williams, 2019). This makes all activities or situations that can result into either of these causes to be a risk factor of getting dementia. In the case of a brain injury, The Scientist reports that there may develop tau proteins which usually form crusts in the brain, leading to the death of the cells in those particular reasons. Tau is an essential protein in the brain which is used as a structural compound in combination with the brain cells (Williams, 2019). However, when an injury occurs, then the tau protein in the injured area accrue together to form jumbled residues which are toxic in nature. Research studies that were conducted on different people who had experienced single head injuries or several injuries such as boxers revealed the presence of tau deposits even many years after the injury (Williams, 2019).

An experimental design was laid using a number of people who had previously suffered from head injuries. Using results obtained from a vivo brain analysis, the article reveals that the pathology of tau proteins tend to persist even years after the occurrence of the injury and does not show any signs or symptoms in the beginning (Williams, 2019). During the period, the cells of the brain continue to die so that by the time the problem is diagnosed, it is too late to reverse the condition. This could be a very good reason on why most victims of dementia are usually old people. Similarly, it was also revealed that the levels of tau proteins in the injured people was quite higher as compared to that in healthy people. The bad part is that as the levels of tau continue to increase in the brain, the capacity or volume of the brain shrinked; which explains why the dementia patients lose their memories (Williams, 2019).

Basing on this information, it is clear that dementia is commonly caused by injuries in the brain or even neurodegenerative conditions which tend to cause the death of the brain cells (Williams, 2019). During the time of the injury, the tau proteins get activated and begin to multiply in greater numbers as compared to that in normal people. As they accumulate, they form deposits in the brain which cause the continual death in the brain cells thus, interfering with the cognitive functions in the person (Williams, 2019). Although the study which was conducted was too small to give reliable information, it is clear that this study was just the beginning of greater studies in the field of dementia (Williams, 2019). Such developments are highly anticipated in order to help reduce suffering and also save money often used for its treatment. It is also clear from the article that the management of the disease can be facilitated only when the right diagnosis are done and at the right time.

It is also evident that dementia is not a normal aging process and although most people who are affected by it are the old, it has many other factors that lead to its development. Most past studies never put into consideration factors such as the pathology of the tau proteins in the brain years after the occurrence of an injury. This not only leads to dementia but is also a risk factor that can lead to other conditions such as Alzheimer's disease; which can in turn spiral to dementia. It is also obvious that the rate of dementia is increasing, which calls for better ways of treating it, including a multi-disciplinary approach to help deal with the condition from different viewpoints. This approach will enable the caregivers to give the required care to the patients basing on the time of head injury and the prevalent type of dementia.

References

William, R. (2019). Tau Pathology Present Decades after a Single Injury In The Scientist.