Causes Of Alzheimer's Disease

When it comes to Alzheimer’s, I know firsthand how it affects individuals and their families. My great grandfather had Alzheimer’s for many years before his passing late last year, at age 92. Alzheimer’s is a disease that many individuals suffer with each year, but yet with all the advancements in modern medicine we still have no cure for it. There are different ways to conquer this disease, understanding the causes, knowing effects, and researching possible treatments.

Alzheimer’s disease is the 6th leading cause of death in America. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. Alzheimer’s accounts for 70-80% of dementia cases. By the age of 65, 1 in 9 people are diagnosed and by the age of 85, 1 in 3 people will have the disease. According to the Alzheimer Association, 5 million people in American have Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s starts to form 20 years prior to being diagnosed. Learning about Alzheimer’s can help families understand how Alzheimer’s is more than just memory loss, it is an incurable mental disease.

Alzheimer’s is a systemic disease, meaning that it affects more than one part of the body. There are three major systems that are affected by Alzheimer’s. The first involves the Central Nervous System. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord, allowing the nervous system to make the spinal cord and brain function. The Central Nervous System is affected because specific brain proteins begin to malfunction and brain cells die. The loss of brain cells is the reason for memory loss and

“There is one thing Alzheimer 's cannot take away, and that is love. Love is not a memory - it 's a feeling that resides in your heart and soul.” (Fade to Blank). The human brain is a remarkably complex organ that processes, stores, and recalls information. “Alzheimer 's disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception. Many scientists believe that Alzheimer 's disease results from an increase in the production or accumulation of a specific protein (beta-amyloid protein) in the brain that leads to nerve cell death.” (Crystal). It is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases, and currently has no cure. (# 3) Research continues to be done to develop better ways to care for those affected with the disease, as well as to find support for family members, friends, and caregivers. Alzheimer’s is a devastating illness that is not a normal part of aging. In order to find a cure, awareness needs to increase to improve understanding, develop effective treatments, and to essentially prevent the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that is seen in the elderly. It is the most common form of dementia, which is a general term for memory loss and other intellectual abilities serious enough to interfere with daily life (Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia). Alzheimer’s is one of the leading causes of death in America. Dementia and Alzheimer’s have been around for centuries, but Alzheimer’s disease wasn’t first described until 1906 by Dr. Aloysius Alzheimer. In the past, there was a stigma for elderly people with the disease and people with dementia and Alzheimer’s were seen as a burden on society. Society has only recently accepted and cared for people with the disorder. There are now treatments and research being done for dementia and Alzheimer’s, but no cure remains and many individuals still suffer from the disease. Future treatments for the disease include taking aim at significant aspects of the disease like fighting beta-amyloid plaques, recruiting the immune system, reducing brain cell inflammation, and studying the heart-head connection (Alzheimer’s Treatments: What’s on the Horizon?). There are other ways to possibly treat the disease in the future as well. Hopefully from looking at the history of the disease, how the disease affects the brain and body, and future treatments, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia will be a thing of the past.

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease of the brain. This disease deteriorates parts of the brain and causes memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease is thought to be a disease that only older individuals develop. Forgetting can be a terrifying event in a person’s life, not to mention the life of an older individual who probably already has other health issues to worry about. This disease is not curable; however, it can be treated to a certain extent. Basically, all the treatment does is try to delay the deteriorating process from occurring so fast. Certain imagery devices are used to diagnose a person with Alzheimer’s disease. So far, the best way to prevent someone from developing this disease is to keep his or her mind stimulated and to exercise regularly.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to Shan (2013), “is the most common form of dementia. It is a degenerative, incurable, and terminal disease.” (p. 32). AD is a disease in which the brain essentially deteriorates, is vastly progressive, and complex. Because there is no cure for this disease, scientists and researchers should continue seeking effective prevention measures. Alzheimer’s disease accounts for hundreds of thousands of geriatric deaths each year, and affects not only the patient, but the caregivers and loved ones as well.

As I stated before Alzheimer’s diseases have different stages, early stages are memory loss. Just like our bodies, our brains age also, we tend to think at a slower pace and occasionally become forgetful about certain things. When it comes to Alzheimer’s the brain cells are failing, chronic memory loss, confusion, and other serious mental issues that become more noticeable. Patients tend to lose memory of new information because Alzheimer’s start to stop the brain from learning anything. As the diseases move through the brain it also causes disorientation, mood and behavior changes, confusion about events, time and place, becomes suspicious of family and friends. Some cases have been found of serious memory loss, behavior changes, unable of speaking, swallowing and walking. The brain has over 100 million nerve cells or how scientists refer as neurons, each nerve cells connects to one another to create a form of communication, and each of the nerve cells have a special job. These groups of nerve cells have the job of thinking, learning, or

Although at this age it effects only about 1 in every 1,000 individuals, by the age of 80, this statistic drastically elevates to 1 in every 5. It is still unclear what causes this deterioration of the brain, and why its decline correlates so strongly to age. However, many different theories have been developed such as the ‘Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis.’ Alzheimer’s disease is currently irreversible, and causes visible differences in brain tissue. The brain contains a protein called tau; it congregates in both the white and grey matter of the brain, forming tau tangles. Irregular protein called plaques are also found in the brain; these emerge when different protein gets sliced up by an enzyme in the fatty membrane surrounding nerve cells, resulting in clumped beta-amyloid proteins forming plaques. These impede cell-cell signalling between neighbouring neurons. The result of this is a loss of function including the synthesis and processing of vital neurotransmitters, for example dopamine. Plaques and neurofibrillary tangles work together to deform the brains structure, block signalling and communication between cells, and trigger immune reactions

Alzheimer’s Disease, a disease that affects over 5 million americans nationwide. Causing them to lose their memory and motor skills. These 5 million people taken victim by this disease also have a scary fact to face, there are no ways to completely prevent this disease. There are medicines and mental exercise one can do/take to try to slow the progression of this neuro deterioration, but unfortunately there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s can affect anyone from any background, however, you are more likely to get Alzheimer’s if someone in your family also suffers from it.1 Families of victims taken by Alzheimer’s have begun to prepare themselves for the disease, because while there is no cure, you might as well prepare for what might

Alzheimer’s is a disease that affect the brain and it is a form of dementia. It causes problems with cognition such as memory, thinking, visual perception and behavior. It is a progressive disease, in other words, it worsens over time. The exact cause of this disease is unknown, however, studies have shown that certain conditions may predispose a person to Alzheimer, such as smoking, depression, diabetes and midlife high blood pressure, to name a few (McCane, Huerther, 2015)

Currently, in the world, there are about 47.5 million people living with the neurological disorder known as Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease was discovered by a German scientist known as Alois Alzheimer’s in the 21st century. Alzheimer’s is a disease which develops in many people around mid-adulthood. Alzheimer’s disease is when an individual’s brain starts to degenerate because of neuronal loss and also when the neurotransmitters decline their function. Alzheimer’s is when an individual is losing their memories because of their neurons touching each other and their messages are going everywhere because there is no synaptic gap. This is a serious problem.

Alzheimer’s disease is a very slowly progressive disease that occurs inside the brain in which is characterized by damage of memory. Also this type of disease can lead into interruption in language, problem solving, planning and perception. The chance of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease increases enormously after the age of 70 (Crystal, 2009). Also people who are over the age of 85 have over a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This type of disease is not at all normal in the aging process and is also not something that happens out of no where in a person’s life.

Alzheimer’s disease is not something we can control. The disease is a progressive, permanent, and overwhelming brain illness that causes cognitive decline, including memory, language and thinking problems. After many decades of trying to find a cure, there still isn’t one, although researchers continue to make progress. “It is unknown what causes Alzheimer’s disease but older age and family history appear to play a role” (Shu, 2011). Not only do age and family history play a factor in Alzheimer’s disease, changes to the immune system can also play a part. This could play a large role in why we do not have a cure, because we do not know, with certainty, what causes it.

Unlike a syndrome, which exists only as a collection of symptoms, a disease is a condition that has a specific pathological origin that is worsened by risk factors. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease, the pathological cause is buildup of protein in the brain which eventually forms plaques and tangles. [3] The chemical changes in a special kind of protein, tau, found in neurons, followed by pairing of threads of tau which becomes tangled together is known as neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). [5] The presence of the tangles results in the inability of neurons to maintain its cytoskeleton which plays an important role in supporting the complex branching shape of its numerous processes. These tangles are usually found near the hippocampus which processes experiences prior to storage as permanent memories. [1] On the other hand, production and accumulation of a protein known as beta amyloid around the nerve cells in the brain leads to formation of plaques.