Can neurodegenerative ailments be detected in any of the 5 senses?

Can neurodegenerative ailments be detected in any of the 5 senses?

In the world, some of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases are strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis. The purpose why I wanted to see whether senses can indicate these diseases is that they go undetected. Once doctors diagnose patients with the illnesses, the damage has already been done. It’s too late.

Here are some of the details about each disease and how they can be detected through the senses:

Strokes:

A stroke is caused by a blocked or burst artery that prevents blood from flowing to the brain. If this happens, areas of the brain will shut down due to the lack of oxygen, impairing normal function. Stroke patients suffer from paralysis and brain disabilities. Strokes can be found by doing an eye test mainly consisting of three parts. The first part is to make the patient move their head quickly. The next is to make their eyes track their doctor’s finger. The doctors look for a dissimilarity in the eyes and discrepant eye movements. In some stroke patients, there are lesions in the eye, resulting in partial or total blindness.

A picture of a man unable to track both eyes in the same direction, indicative of a stroke.

Multiple Sclerosis:

Multiple Sclerosis is caused by the immune system attacking the myelin sheath (the coating around the axon). This disease induces communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body. Multiple Sclerosis can initially be detected as Optic Neuritis, which is the inflammation of the optic nerve. Optic Neuritis usually affects one eye and causes a decrease in visual acuity. For most people with Optic Neuritis, the condition returns to normal, but for others, it doesn’t.

Visual of an eye with Optic Neuritis.

Parkinson’s Disease:

Parkinson’s Disease is a motor disorder that is caused by degeneration of dopamine-producing brain cells. Patients with the disorder mention that they cannot track properly with both eyes, resulting in double vision. They also have trouble blinking, so their eyes remain dry and irritate them. Parkinson’s disease causes a loss of retinal cells that rely on dopamine. Patients cannot see color very well. Along with vision problems, Parkinson’s patients have trouble smelling. In a smell identification test, many patients cannot identify or smell the smells.

Alzheimer’s Disease:

Alzheimer’s Disease is a disorder that results in memory loss which is due to the degeneration of brain neurons. Patients with the disease complain of poor eyesight. Currently, this cause of poor eyesight is disputed. It is uncertain whether the eyesight is caused due to problems in the optic nerves or the inability of people to process and interpret visual information in the brain. Also, Alzheimer’s patients, cannot distinguish smells, comparable to Parkinson’s disease. A risk factor for Alzheimer’s patients is hearing. In older people who have a slight to somewhat major hearing loss are at risk for Alzheimer’s.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2274345/

https://www.healio.com/ophthalmology/neurosciences/news/print/ocular-surgery-news/%7B83ee5159-fea0-4b30-beb8-8595bbf23efe%7D/neurologic-disorders-have-varied-ocular-symptoms

https://www.clinicaladvisor.com/news/quick-eye-test-can-indicate-possible-stroke/article/159726/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smell-test-may-sniff-out-oncoming-parkinsons-and-alzheimers1/

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?ask-the-md-vision-and-parkinson-disease

https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/news-detail.php?ask-the-md-vision-and-parkinson-disease

https://www.beltone.com/hearing-health/alzheimers-and-hearing-loss

https://www.epainassist.com/eye-pain/optic-neuritis-or-retrobulbar-neuritis-epidemiology-causes-signs-treatment-tests

I seem to be poem

                  By Aditi Tarkar

 

I seem to be good at basketball,

But I really am a great homework doer,

I seem to be bossy,

But I am an employer,

You think I am a fourteen year old,

Really, I am an eleven year old,

You think that I want peace and happiness, Instead, I really do want it.

You think that I am brave,

But I am scared of a tornado wrecking my house, You think I am a witch,

I think I am a ghost.

 

I seem to be a smartie at school,

But I am a dummy at home,

I used to be a book,

But now I am the voice from your mouth.

 

I used to be a butterfly,

Apparently, now, I am the butter from it,

You think I am myself,

No, I think I am you,

You think I am a random kid,

But my name means, " mother of all gods and goddesses:"

 

A ballad

The poor penguin

          By Aditi Tarkar

 

One day up on the city building,

Lived a penguin, who loved to eat,

And also there lived a lion,

The lion ate meat,

 

And the penguin hungrily cried, “ Oh lion, how much I want your meat.”

The lion replied, “ No, I will not give you any.”

So the penguin cried and cried,

“ Oh mean lion, I will not give you a single penny.”

 

So one day, the lion became poor,

And started begging on the road,

The little penguin feeling pitiful said,

“ Oh lion remember how you treated me, you will have to stay in this homeless mode.”

 

“ No penguin, please spare me.”

“ Nope, you will just have to see how bad life is being homeless.”

The penguin left the lion alone, making him think about his mistakes,

In the night of that day, the lion was looking for a good place to sleep, but he found a bed which was foamless.

 

The lion one day was found on the streets,

And remembered what the penguin said,

As soon as he thought of an apology,

He was taken to a wild animal control center to be dead.

 

 

 A ballad is a poem that has 4 lines in each stanza.

 

In a regular poem, the stanza's rhymes would sound like this:

 

 

___________________________________________ A

___________________________________________ B

___________________________________________ A

___________________________________________ B

 

But in this poem the stanza's rhymes are as follows:

 

___________________________________________ A

___________________________________________ B

___________________________________________ C
___________________________________________ B

 

 

Cleopatra by ANT

Cleopatra was the destined last Macedonian queen of Egypt. She gained the throne in her late teens and married the two most powerful rulers of Rome: Caesar and Antony. She fought in the Battle of Actium with Antony and committed suicide after surrendering to Octavian

 

Science Olympiad

This year, I participated in a competition called Science Olympiad. It is a yearly competition with many build, and theory events. This year I took up 2 build events called Mystery Architecture and  Energy Box and I took up 1 theory event called Road Scholar. In build events, you have to build, in theory events, you are asked questions from your knowledge. In Mystery Architecture, there are instructors who give you items such as :
a plastic cup
straws
toothpicks
tape
golf ball

This year, my partner and I who took part in this were given the following materials and also were told to bring a ruler and a pair of scissors. The challenge was to hold the golf ball for at least 5 seconds and to build a freestanding tower using the materials given in 20 minutes.

The next event is called Energy Box. You are supposed to build an energy box. There are judges who will put hot water in a 120 mL beaker. After 20 minutes, they will open your energy box to see who's box contains the highest temperature and the lightest weight.

The last event that I participated is called Road Scholar. In Road Scholar, you are given maps to identify the different states, countries, highways (interstates),cities, and streets. Also, you will be asked the distances between two cities. They will ask you questions like :

1. Which states does highway 80 cross?
2. How far is San Jose from Santa Cruz?
3. Which country is north of India?


This year, I won 3rd place in Mystery Architecture.

Tech Challenge

This year, I participated in a competition called Tech Challenge. This event is an international competition and occurs every year. This year's challenge was about a person stranded on a bridge after an earthquake. The only parts of the bridge that was remaining was a plank and pieces of broken wire. We had met in the library to discuss about a suspension bridge, the engineering process, how to work together, different types of bridges, and what an NXT Robot is. In April, we had the competition. We made a forklift to pick up the person in less than 3 mins. Unfortunately, we did not win anything. We learned from our mistakes.

shrinivas's joshi's singing concert

In Milpitas, CA in Jain Temple, Shrinivas Joshi had a singing concert on Saturday. He sang very nicely, but he sang very different from his father Bhimsen Joshi. Bhimsen Joshi sings with his chest voice. When you use your chest voice in singing, the sound seems to sound lower and louder, however, Shrinivas Joshi sings with his head voice, which makes him sing higher and sharper. My favorite songs sung by Bhimsen Joshi are :
Ramache Bhajan Techi Majhe Dyan
Arambhi Vandhin Ayodhechya Raja
Paavlo Pandhari Vaikuntabhuvan 
Je Ka Ranjale Ganjale Tyasi
Vital Geethi Dhava
Savale Sundar Roop Manohar
Jata Pandharisi Sukh Vaat Jee

I always listen to Bhimsen Joshi's songs on my dad's iphone and in our car.

Here is some information that I know about Bhimsen Joshi:

Bhimsen Joshi was born in Gadag ,Karnataka on February 4th 1922. In a few years after his birth, his mother died, therefore he needed a stepmother. His father was a school teacher. As he grew up to 8 or 9 years old, he started developing a love for music.Then later at age 11, he left his house to search for a music teacher for three years. He went to Delhi, Kolkata, Gwalior, Lucknow and Rampur. Finally, his dad was able to track him and bring him home.In 1936, he found a good singing teacher. Then in later years, he started performing on stage. Thanks to him, we have a good singer.