I heard an interview with a woman named Jill Bolte Taylor today (it was actually 2 years old). She's written a book called "My Stroke of Insight" about her stroke at the age of 38 or thereabouts. It affected her left brain, and that left her with incredible euphoria. Apparently the right brain took over. Had it been reversed, she would have apparently been much more stressed and picky about the world as she encountered it after the stroke. She's now recovered apparently, certainly recovered her language completely after being mute at first. Still remembers the time after the stroke with great affection, feeling a "oneness with the universe."
But what was interesting was: we all describe very different ways our spouses react. Mine's mostly placid and happy, others very agitated much of the time. Yes, meds even them out on both sides, but I doubt mine would have been really antagonistic often, in any event. So I wonder: does this have to do with what part of the brain, more or less by accident, is affected by the plaques and tangles?
From the experience that we have with our youngest son who has traumatic brain damage from a car accident, his abilities and disabilities are affected by the area of the brain that is damaged. For instance, the part that dictates speech is affected so he has a speech problem. Same with smelling and being able to taste his food.
As divvi stated with my uneducated guess I don't know how it could be any other way. Even tho our son is not epileptic he has many of the same problems because of the brain damage in the areas that dictate seizures. Hopefully this makes sense.
Isn't that the reason that the disease affects everyone a little bit differently, and that AD is so difficult to diagnose and predict: the brain has so many areas and each patient is affected a little differently. You'd think that so many patients have had scans by now that the medical world would be able to put together a better picture, with better treatment and prognosis for each case, depending on the areas afflicted. I guess that would be in an ideal medical world.
My hb's CT scan and MRI only showed frontal lobe atrophy normal for his age. The diagnosis was made from what I said, family history and the neuropsych testing.