Alzheimer´s Disease: Causes In An Alzheimer's Disease

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Recommended: INTRODUCTION TO alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s disease, also known as irreversible dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder which progresses slowly over the years and ultimately leads to death of the person. Its symptoms include cognitive decline, forgetfulness, inability to recognize family members or carry out normal activities, depression, mood swings, lack of a coordinated muscle movement .In the later stages inactivity combined with appetite loss and weak immune state makes the disease a fatal one. Earlier it was believed to be an age-related decline in brain function but Dr.Alois Alzheimer’s report in 1906 proved that it was much more than just an age-related disorder. He observed the presence of plaques and tangles and also the disappearance of many nerve cells from the brain tissues he had studied1. These were believed to be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. There are two types of Alzheimer’s disease: familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) which is a rare inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease and the more common, sporadic form of Alzheimer’s disease. FAD strikes a person at an earlier age but sporadic form shows up generally at the age of 65 or older. Summary: Changes taking place in an Alzheimer’s brain: 1) Formation of plaques: The plaques, observed by Dr.Alzheimer are actually made up of amyloid beta, in short Aβ protein which are derived from amyloid protein precursor (APP).Although Aβ and APP are present in healthy nerve cells, in Alzheimer’s brain it gets accumulated in humongous amounts which is due to either overproduction of Aβ or the failure of clearance mechanisms2. Also the blood vessels which picks up and removes A-beta proliferates and become leaky and hence cannot function properly3. But the real danger is not the individual A-beta molecules ... ... middle of paper ... ...asing the risk element. It also causes plaque and tangle formation and disrupts mitochondrial function and certain of the synaptic mechanisms involved in communication between nerve cells14. Hence the alternative could be to find more protective genes like ApoE2 and to always maintain a healthy lifestyle. 2) Other genetic variants acting as risk factors- i) People having FAD tend to have mutation in one of the three genes, namely the APP gene and two presenilin genes (PSEN-1 and PSEN-2).So it is highly likely that people who inherit these faulty genes will get the disease at an early age(30s or 40s)12. ii) A recently identified gene, GAB2 promotes the development of tangles15. iii) Four newly identified genes, CLU, PICALM, CR1, and BIN1 also acts as risk factors, probably by impairing the elimination of the excess Aβ protein, thus leading to its accumulation17.

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