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Page 1 of 3 Alzheimer’s Disease
It is a common degenerative brain disease that impairs mental and emotional functions in older adults from which there is no recovery, causing loss of memory and ability to care for themselves. Although there is extensive ongoing research, no cure has yet been found for Alzheimer’s.
Slowly, the disease attacks nerve cells in all parts of the cortex of the brain impairing a person’s abilities to recognize emotions, errors and patterns, coordinate movement, and remember. Eventually, an afflicted person loses all memory and mental functioning.
Causes Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Biological Factors In The Brain
- There is block in the activity of the flow of nutrients causing twisted nerve fibers in the neurons in the brain.
- There is a high concentration of plaques (sticky patches) of a protein known as beta amyloid, which forms patches called neuritic plaques. These plaques are found outside the nerve cells. High levels of beta amyloid are associated with reduced levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain. Acetylcholine is part of the cholinergic system, which is essential for memory and learning, and which is progressively destroyed in Alzheimer’s patients.
Inflammatory Response
The inflammatory response, is a situation in which the immune system overproduces factors normally intended to fight harmful agents. There is an excessive production of prostaglandins, substances which can actually injure the body's own cells which may in turn cause increased levels of glutamate, an amino acid that is a powerful nerve–cell killer.
Environmental And Other Factors
- There has been one study that has indicated that Chlamydia pneumonia, a bacterium causes respiratory infections in parts of the brain affected by the late–onset Alzheimer’s. The presence of the bacterium may have been the result of Alzheimer’s disease rather than its cause.
- Some people exposed to intense electromagnetic fields have reported a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s. Some researchers believe that magnetic fields may interfere with the concentration of calcium inside cells, and others believe that they may increase production of beta amyloid.
- Injury to the head can accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s in people who are already susceptible to it. Poor nutrition in childhood may render the brain more susceptible to mental impairments later in life, including Alzheimer’s disease. Other recent studies suggest an elevated homocysteine level may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. Homocysteine is a substance in the blood that increases with deficiencies of vitamins B12 and folate. No evidence exists that supplements of these vitamins offer any protection against Alzheimer’s disease.
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