Decoding Darkness

Decoding Darkness PDF Author: Rudolph E Tanzi
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0465012337
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Working from the intriguing hypothesis that Alzheimer's dementia is the result of a renegade protein-beta amyloid-Tanzi and others set out to find the gene responsible for its production. Decoding Darkness takes us deep into the minds and far-flung labs of many a prominent researcher, offering an intimate view of the high stakes of molecular genetics, the revolution that propels it, the obstacles that threaten to derail it, and the families whose lives are so dependent upon it. Tanzi and Parson ultimately reveal that Alzheimer's, like heart disease, may be effectively treated-even prevented.

Decoding Darkness

Decoding Darkness PDF Author: Rudolph E Tanzi
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0465012337
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Working from the intriguing hypothesis that Alzheimer's dementia is the result of a renegade protein-beta amyloid-Tanzi and others set out to find the gene responsible for its production. Decoding Darkness takes us deep into the minds and far-flung labs of many a prominent researcher, offering an intimate view of the high stakes of molecular genetics, the revolution that propels it, the obstacles that threaten to derail it, and the families whose lives are so dependent upon it. Tanzi and Parson ultimately reveal that Alzheimer's, like heart disease, may be effectively treated-even prevented.

Conrad's Decentered Fiction

Conrad's Decentered Fiction PDF Author: Johan Adam Warodell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009079174
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
What are the fingerprints of Joseph Conrad's fiction? This richly illustrated book argues that Conrad's vibrant details set him apart as a writer and brings them from the margins to the center for study. With recently discovered primary sources - including drawings and maps in Conrad's own hand - this book travels widely across Conrad's fiction and explores its interest in marginal voices, characters and details. It produces a new picture of Conrad as a writer, and the first picture of Conrad as an amateur sketch artist. Introducing new critical vocabulary and applying new names from art history to Conrad studies, the book ranges across cartography, fashion, analytic philosophy, manuscript studies, and animal studies to discover Conrad as an artist operating across and between different media. Offered as a complement to the abstract approaches of much literary theory, this detail-driven and margin-focused monograph mirrors the characteristic granular nature of Conrad's fiction.

Mind Thief

Mind Thief PDF Author: Han Yu
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552769
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
Alzheimer’s disease, a haunting and harrowing ailment, is one of the world’s most common causes of death. Alzheimer’s lingers for years, with patients’ outward appearance unaffected while their cognitive functions fade away. Patients lose the ability to work and live independently, to remember and recognize. There is still no proven way to treat Alzheimer’s because its causes remain unknown. Mind Thief is a comprehensive and engaging history of Alzheimer’s that demystifies efforts to understand the disease. Beginning with the discovery of “presenile dementia” in the early twentieth century, Han Yu examines over a century of research and controversy. She presents the leading hypotheses for what causes Alzheimer’s; discusses each hypothesis’s tangled origins, merits, and gaps; and details their successes and failures. Yu synthesizes a vast amount of medical literature, historical studies, and media interviews, telling the gripping stories of researchers’ struggles while situating science in its historical, social, and cultural contexts. Her chronicling of the trajectory of Alzheimer’s research deftly balances rich scientific detail with attention to the wider implications. In narrating the attempts to find a treatment, Yu also offers a critical account of research and drug development and a consideration of the philosophy of aging. Wide-ranging and accessible, Mind Thief is an important book for all readers interested in the challenge of Alzheimer’s.

Better Than Prozac

Better Than Prozac PDF Author: Samuel H. Barondes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019517979X
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Every day millions of people take psychiatric drugs. In Better Than Prozac Samuel Barondes considers the benefits and limitations of Prozac, Ritalin, Valium, Risperdal, and other widely used medications and the ways that superior ones are being created. In tracing the early history of these drugs Barondes describes the accidental observations that led to their discovery and their great impact on our view of mental illness. He goes on to show how their unexpected therapeutic effects were attributed to their influence on neurotransmitters that carry signals in the brain and how this guided their improvement. But Barondes reminds us that, like the originals, current psychiatric drugs don't always work, and often have negative side effects. Furthermore, none were crafted as remedies for known brain abnormalities. In contrast, the design of the drugs of the future will be based on a different approach: an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that give rise to specific patterns of mental symptoms. Using colorful examples of contemporary research, he shows how it is gradually leading to a new generation of psychiatric medications. A lucid evaluation of psychopharmacology, Better Than Prozac offers a deep understanding of psychiatric drugs for people who take them, those who are considering them, and those who are just fascinated by the powerful effects of these simple chemicals on our thoughts and our feelings.

The Proteus Effect

The Proteus Effect PDF Author: Ann B. Parson
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press
ISBN: 0309089883
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Stem cells could be the key that unlocks cures to scores of diseases and illnesses. Their story is at once compelling, controversial, and remarkable. Part detective story, part medical history, The Proteus Effect recounts the events leading up to the discovery of stem cells and their incredible potential for the future of medicine. What exactly are these biological wonders â€" these things called stem cells? They may be tiny, but their impact is earth shaking, generating excitement among medical researchers â€" and outright turmoil in political circles. They are reported to be nothing short of miraculous. But they have also incited fear and mistrust in many. Indeed, recent research on stem cells raises important questions as rapidly as it generates new discoveries. The power of stem cells rests in their unspecialized but marvelously flexible nature. They are the clay of life waiting for the cellular signal that will coax them into taking on the shape of the beating cells of the heart muscle or the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. With a wave of our medical magic wand, it's possible that stem cells could be used to effectively treat (even cure) diseases such as Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and even baldness. But should scientists be allowed to pick apart four-day-old embryos in order to retrieve stem cells? And when stem cells whisper to us of immortality â€" they can divide and perpetuate new cells indefinitely â€" how do we respond? Stem cells are forcing us to not only reexamine how we define the beginning of life but how we come to terms with the end of life as well. Meticulously researched, artfully balanced, and engagingly told, Ann Parson chronicles a scientific discovery in progress, exploring the ethical debates, describing the current research, and hinting of a spectacular new era in medicine. The Proteus Effect is as timely as it is riveting.

New Hope for People with Alzheimer's and Their Caregivers

New Hope for People with Alzheimer's and Their Caregivers PDF Author: Porter Shimer
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0307809226
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
Discover New Ways to Cope with Alzheimer's Now all those impacted by Alzheimer's disease can improve their quality of life, starting today. This helpful book dispels the myths and clearly lays out the truth about Alzheimer's and offers practical solutions for not only those who have the disease, but also their families and their caregivers. Inside, you'll uncover a new world of hope and the latest information on: ·The signs, symptoms, and proper diagnosis of Alzheimer's ·Living with Alzheimer's and providing the best possible care ·Cutting-edge research, including advances in biotechnology and genetics ·The latest conventional drugs and effective natural treatments, such as Ginkgo biloba and huperzine-A ·And much, much more!

Good Calories, Bad Calories

Good Calories, Bad Calories PDF Author: Gary Taubes
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 0307267946
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 641

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Book Description
This groundbreaking book by award-winning science writer and bestselling author of Why We Get Fat and The Case for Keto shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong. For decades we have been taught that fat is bad for us, carbohydrates better, and that the key to a healthy weight is eating less and exercising more. Yet despite this advice, we have seen unprecedented epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Taubes argues that the problem lies in refined carbohydrates, like white flour, easily digested starches, and sugars, and that the key to good health is the kind of calories we take in, not the number. Called “a very important book,” by Andrew Weil and ”destined to change the way we think about food,” by Michael Pollan, this groundbreaking book by award-winning science writer Gary Taubes shows us that almost everything we believe about the nature of a healthy diet is wrong.

God's Design for the Highly Healthy Person

God's Design for the Highly Healthy Person PDF Author: Walt Larimore
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 9780310262794
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Considers health of the body, mind, and spirit, offering advice on how to make sense of contradictory media information, understand the link between mental and physical health, and recruit support during illness.

Emerging Technologies for Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease

Emerging Technologies for Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease PDF Author: Marianne Boenink
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137540974
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
This book explores international biomedical research and development on the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. It offers timely, multidisciplinary reflections on the social and ethical issues raised by promises of early diagnostics and asks under which conditions emerging diagnostic technologies can be considered a responsible innovation. The initial chapters in this edited volume provide an overview and a critical discussion of recent developments in biomedical research on Alzheimer's disease. Subsequent contributions explore the values at stake in current practices of dealing with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, both within and outside the biomedical domain. Novel diagnostic technologies for Alzheimer's disease emerge in a complex and shifting field, full of controversies. Innovating with care requires a precise mapping of how concepts, values and responsibilities are filled in through the confrontation of practices. In doing so, the volume offers a practice-based approach of responsible innovation that is also applicable to other fields of innovation.

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind

The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind PDF Author: Martina Zimmermann
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350121827
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by The Wellcome Trust. The Diseased Brain and the Failing Mind charts changing cultural understandings of dementia and alzheimer's disease in scientific and cultural texts across the 20th Century. Reading a range of texts from the US, UK, Europe and Japan, the book examines how the language of dementia – regarding the loss of identity, loss of agency, loss of self and life – is rooted in scientific discourse and expressed in popular and literary texts. Following changing scientific understandings of dementia, the book also demonstrates how cultural expressions of the experience and dementia have fed back into the way medical institutions have treated dementia patients. The book includes a glossary of scientific terms for non-specialist readers.