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References: The Aging Brain and Neurodegeneration

  1. What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer's Disease? - National Institute on Aging (NIH) - A clear walk through amyloid plaques, tau tangles, inflammation, and brain shrinkage. It's the best single page for picturing what goes wrong inside the Alzheimer's brain.

  2. Memory Problems, Forgetfulness, and Aging - National Institute on Aging (NIH) - Compares normal age-related forgetfulness with warning signs of dementia and lists treatable causes of memory problems. Useful if someone in your family is having memory changes.

  3. How Is Alzheimer's Disease Treated? - National Institute on Aging (NIH) - Summarizes symptom medicines and the anti-amyloid antibodies lecanemab and donanemab, including ARIA and MRI monitoring. Good for understanding what treatment really offers.

  4. FDA Converts Novel Alzheimer's Disease Treatment to Traditional Approval - U.S. Food and Drug Administration - The FDA's July 2023 announcement for lecanemab, with the trial result and a plain explanation of ARIA and the boxed warning. Shows how a drug moves from accelerated to traditional approval.

  5. FDA approves treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis associated with a mutation in the SOD1 gene - U.S. Food and Drug Administration - The FDA's April 2023 notice for tofersen, explaining its antisense mechanism and why the accelerated approval rested on neurofilament light. A real example of a biomarker shaping a drug decision.

  6. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) - Covers symptoms, genetics, diagnosis, and current treatments for ALS in accessible language.

  7. Huntington's Disease - National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) - Explains the CAG repeat, the 50 percent inheritance risk, symptoms, and symptom treatments. Pairs well with this chapter's genetics section.

  8. 18.1 Memory is Classified Based on Time Course and Type of Information Stored - OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) - A free, open textbook section that connects memory systems to Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. A good bridge between Chapter 9 and this chapter.

  9. Hypothetical model of dynamic biomarkers of the Alzheimer's pathological cascade - Jack CR Jr and colleagues, Lancet Neurology, 2010 (free full text on PubMed Central) - The widely cited paper behind this chapter's MicroSim, proposing that amyloid becomes abnormal years before neurodegeneration and symptoms. Challenging, but the figures are worth studying.

  10. Cognitive reserve in ageing and Alzheimer's disease - Yaakov Stern, Lancet Neurology, 2012 (free full text on PubMed Central) - A review explaining brain reserve and cognitive reserve and why some people with Alzheimer's brain changes stay sharp longer. Recommended for advanced readers.