Erratum to “Is Alzheimer’s Disease an Adaptability Disorder? What Role Does Happiness Have in Treatment, Management and Prevention” [World Journal of Neuroscience 5 (2015) 180-188]

John B. Myers

Wellspring’s Universal Environment P/L, Melbourne, Australia.

DOI: 10.4236/wjns.2015.54027                

Abstract

A case presentation indicating the importance of “happiness” in childhood causing memory block until the patent presented with probable mixed vascular and neurodegenerative memory loss at 60 years of age is presented to highlight the role of emotional factors in causing the disease. The question of whether Alzheimer’s disease is an adaptability disorder is raised, given the patient blocked out her memory of her childhood experience. The importance of “happiness” as a treatment goal raises issues of advocacy and Guardianship as well as capacity, which is addressed by actual case reference and court action in defence of the patient’s rights to have their wishes respected and observed. Functional mental capacity assessment, using the Functional Mental State Measure (FMSM) gives a greater indication of neuronal reserve than standard cognitive testing, as it helps to unravel the dilemma associated with pure cognitive assessment in Alzheimer’s Disease as well as vascular dementia patients and patients who, despite retained and intact functional capacity and ability to express their wishes, i.e. “best interest”, are “wrongly” placed under Guardianship. A General Systems approach, which recognises functional interaction as optimal and withdrawal or inadequate and/or inappropriate response as not, provides further understanding of the relationship between emotional factors, memory and neurodegenerative (Alzheimer’s) disease.

Keywords

Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular Dementia, “Happiness as a Goal, Cause and in Management”, Functional Mental Capacity, Memory, Advocacy, Behaviour, General Systems Theory

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Snowdon, D.A., Greiner, L.H. and Markesbery, W.R. (2000) Linguistic Ability in Early Life and the Neuropathology of Alzheimer’s Disease and Cerebrovascular Disease: Findings from the Nun Study. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 903, 34-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2000.tb06347.x
[2]	Danner, D., Snowdon, D. and Friesen, W. (2001) Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings from the Nun Study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 804-813. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804
[3]	MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study, Yip, A.G., Brayne, C. and Matthews, F.E. (2006) Risk Factors for Incident Dementia in England and Wale: The Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study. A Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study. Age Ageing, 35, 154-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afj030
[4]	Stern, Y. (2012) Cognitive Reserve in Ageing and Alzheimer’s Disease. Lancet Neurology, 11, 1006-1012. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(12)70191-6
[5]	Myers, J.B. (2009) “Capillary Band Width”, the “Nail (Band) Sign”: A Clinical Marker of Microvascular Integrity, Inflammation, Cognition and Age. A Personal Viewpoint and Hypothesis. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 283, 86-90. Elsevier Publications, New York. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2009.02.320
[6]	Ngandu, T., Lehtisalo, J., Solomon, A., Lev?lahti, E., Ahtiluoto, S., et al. (2015) A 2 Year Multidomain Intervention of Diet, Exercise, Cognitive Training, and Vascular Risk Monitoring versus Control to Prevent Cognitive Decline in At-Risk Elderly People (FINGER): A Randomised Controlled Trial. Lancet. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60461-5
[7]	Myers, J.B. (2014) PM358 the Eco-Society or Eco-Social? Environment and Heart Disease. A General Systems Approach. Global Heart, 9, e134. World Heart Federation’s World Congress of Cardiology, 4-7 May 2014, Melbourne.
[8]	Fraga, M.F. and Esteller, M. (2012) Epigenetics and Aging: The Targets and the Marks. Epigenetics, 8, 841-852.
[9]	Qiu, A., Anh, T.T., Li, Y.H., et al. (2015) Prenatal Maternal Depression Alters Amygdala Functional Connectivity in 6-Month-Old Infants. Open. Translational Psychiatry, 5, e508. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/tp.2015.3
[10]	Myers, J.B. (1982) Biochemical Response to Change in the Environment and the Nature of “Essential” Hypertension. Medical Hypotheses, 9, 241-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0306-9877(82)90154-2
[11]	Hochachka, P.W. and Somero, G.N. (1973) Strategies of Biochemical Adaptation. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 16.
[12]	Patki, G., Solanki, N., Atrooz, F., Allam, F. and Salim, S. (2013) Depression, Anxiety-Like Behavior and Memory Impairment Are Associated with Increased Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in a Rat Model of Social Stress. Brain Research, 20, 1539, 73-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2013.09.033
[13]	Myers, J.B. (2005) Infection, Periodontal Disease, Inflammation, Vascular (Capillary) Injury and Cognitive Decline with Ageing: An Hypothesis. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 236, 518, 1650.
[14]	Myers, J.B. (2015) Periodontal Disease—A Physician’s Viewpoint. In: Virdi, M.S., Ed., Emerging Trends in Oral Health Sciences and Dentistry, Chapter 29, Intech Publishers, 663-671. http://www.intechopen.com/books/emerging-trends-in-oral-health-sciences-and-dentistry/periodontal-disease-a-physician-s-viewpoint.
[15]	Fernandes, M. (2011) The Influence of Background Context on Memory in Older Adults. Abstracts of the International Conference on Aging & Cognition, Dortmund, 14-16 October 2010. Journal of Psychophysiology, 25, 6-46. www.ifado.de/AC2010/index.html.
[16]	Myers, J.B. (2009) Is Alzheimer’s Disease an Adaptability Disorder? Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Vascular Dementia, Barcelona, 19-22 November 2009, Abstract p83. www.Kenes.com/vascular
[17]	Myers, J.B. (2011) Microvascular Function and Cognition: Nail Changes and Memory Loss. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ageing and Cognition, Dortmund, 14-16 October 2010. Journal of Psychophysiology, 25, 1-5. www.ifado.de/AC2010/index.html
[18]	Portela, A. and Esteller, M. (2010) Epigenetic Modifications and Human Disease. Nature Biotechnology, 10, 1057-1068. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt.1685
[19]	Gilbert, E.R. and Liu, D. (2012) Epigenetics: The Missing Link to Understanding β-Cell Dysfunction in the Pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes. Epigenetics, 7, 841-852. http://dx.doi:10.4161/epi.21238
[20]	Epel, E.S., Blackburn, E.H., Lin, J., et al. (2004) Accelerated Telomere Shortening in Response to Life Stress. PNAS, 101, 17312-17315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407162101
[21]	Baraldi, T., Sch?we, N.M., Balthazar, J., et al. (2013) Cognitive Stimulation during Lifetime and in the Aged Phase Improved Spatial Memory, and Altered Neuroplasticity and Cholinergic Markers of Mice. Experimental Gerontology, 48, 831-838. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2013.05.055
[22]	Brown IV, C.H., Coresh, J., Alonso, A., et al. (2015) Association of Hospitalization with Long-Term Cognitive and Brain MRI Changes in the ARIC Cohort. Neurology, 84, 1443-1453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001439
[23]	Myers, J. (2014) Medical Ethics: Context Is the Key Word. International Journal of Clinical Medicine, 5, 1030-1045. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ijcm.2014.516134
[24]	Brummelman, E., Thomaes, S., Nelemans, S.A., Orobio de Castro, B., Overbeek, G. and Bushman, B.J. (2015) Origins of Narcissism in Children. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112, 3659-3662. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420870112
[25]	Myers, J.B. (2006) Ethics and Professional Medical Opinion and Guardianship and Administration Legislation. Internal Medicine Journal, 36, 540-541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2006.01111.x
[26]	Myers, J.B. (2007) “Duty to Care”, or, “Duty of Care” and the Goal of Medical Treatment. Internal Medicine Journal, 37, 211. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2006.01306.x
[27]	Myers, J.B. (2010) Ars Moriendi—Ars Vivendi—The Art of Living Life to The Full. Proceedings of the ANZSPM (Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine) Conference, Adelaide, 14-17 September 2010.
[28]	Shell, L. (2015) The Picture of Happiness in Alzheimer’s Disease: Living a Life Congruent with Personal Values. Geriatric Nursing, 36, S26-S32.
[29]	Myers, J.B. (2002) Dementia Diagnosis: Replacing a Conundrum with a Functional Mental Sate Measure (FMSM). 10th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine AFRM (RACP) in Association with CONROD—Centre of National Research on Disability & Rehabilitation Medicine, Brisbane, 7-10 May 2002.
[30]	Myers, J.B. (2007) The Functional Mental State Measure (FMSM1) for Capacity Assessment. Proceedings of the 40th National Conference of the Australian Association of Gerontology, Adelaide, 21-23 November 2007. Australian Journal of Ageing, 26, A49.
[31]	Myers, J.B. (2013) Cognitive Function or Functional Cognition? Use of the Functional Mental State Measure (FMSM) to Determine Capacity. Case Report. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Aging & Cognition, Dortmund, 25-27 April 2013. Journal of Psychophysiology, 55. www.ifado.de/AC2013/index.html.
[32]	Myers, J.B. (2010) Clinical Indicators: The Role of Patient in Goal Setting, Evaluation and Ethical Practice. Internal Medicine Journal, 40, 244-246. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2009.02151.x
[33]	Hamilton, B.B., Laughlin, J.A., Fiedler, R.C. and Granger, C.V. (1994) Inter-Rater Reliability of the 7-Level Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 26, 115-119.
[34]	Myers, J.B. (2010) Capacity and Cognition: Divergent or Convergent. Practical Significance: Respecting Function and Rights or Description and Abuse. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ageing and Cognition, Dortmund, 14-16 October 2010. www.ifado.de/AC2010/index.html.
[35]	Myers, J.B. (2013) Is the Future Direction in Health About Bureaucratic Self Interest or Creativity, Professionalism and Wellbeing? Rights and Responsibility Must Replace Quality And Safety in Health Care. Proceedings of the RACP Future Directions in Health Congress, Perth, 26-29 May 2013. Internal Medicine Journal, 43, 1-55.
[36]	Buchanan, J. and Nettle, J. (2005) Supreme Court of Appeal. Leave Application made 01 April 2005, Authenticated 14 April 2005. Myers vs Medical Practitioner’s Board of Victoria. VSCA No. 2005/7516-04-11.
[37]	Myers, J.B. (2011) Elder Abuse Encountered in Private Geriatric Practice. Where Does the Buck Stop? Proceedings of the 9th Asia/Oceania Regional Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Melbourne, 23-27 October 2011.
[38]	Myers, J.B. (2011) Geriatric Assessment. What Really Counts—Abstract Testing or What Is Retained in Context? Pro ceedings of the 9th Asia/Oceania Regional Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Melbourne, 23-27 October 2011.
[39]	Myers, J.B. (2012) A System of Evaluated Decisions. Capacity Assessment: Who Can Decide? Proceedings of the 45th Annual Australian Association of Gerontology National Conference, Brisbane. 21-23 November 2012.
[40]	EQuIP National (2013) Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.
[41]	MacKee, N. (2013) Make Advanced Care Directives Routine. MJA Insights.
[42]	Legislative Council Inquiry into Australian Health Profession Registration Agency (AHPRA) (2014) Vic.gov.au.
[43]	The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2015) Articles 6, 8, 10, 13.
[44]	Myers, J.B. (2010) Protecting the Rights of the Aged and Individuals Referred for Health Care. Proceedings of the ANZSPM (Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine) Conference, Adelaide, 14-17 September 2010.
[45]	Myers, J.B. (2007) Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Inquiry into Older People and the Law. LACA Reps., Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.
[46]	Office of Senior Victorians (2005) Elder Abuse Prevention. Consultation Paper. Vic.gov.au.