Conquering Alzheimer's Disease

Conquering Alzheimer's: Unraveling a Mystery of the Brain

Imagine in 35 years living in a world where Alzheimer's disease is rampant among many of our beloved elderly family members and possibly ourselves. According to research journalist Linda Marsa, “This disease is expected to reach epidemic proportion as the nation's 76 million baby boomers move into old age. The number of Alzheimer's patients is expected to reach 100 million worldwide by 2050, including as many as 16 million in the United States.” Currently scientists and researches feel as if they are very close to finding the solutions to the many questions concerning Alzheimer's disease, which currently has claimed more than five million victims in America alone (2015, pg. 3). Many

( Marsa, 2015, pg. 1) Technology has improved since the first discovery of this disease. However, researchers are still unsure as to how the disease starts and takes hold of a person’s brain. Unlike dementia, memory loss is not the only result of this disease. Every case is different, but mostly all of them consist of delusions, confusion and trouble handling basic daily tasks (Stix, 2010, pg. 59). Symptoms result in suffering not only for the patient, but for those who care for these sick men and women. What researchers know for certain is that there is serious damage done to the brain once Alzheimer’s disease is clearly well underway. “The amyloid plaques and tau tangles became the twin hallmarks of the disease…,” notes Marsa. The amyloid plaques cause a disconnect between neurons singling each other. Furthermore, tau tangles are the main cause of dementia as they kill nerve cells and cause structural damage (2015, pg. 2-4). After this point, the damage is irreversible. Researchers and doctors now are more interested in centering on the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. They believe that somewhere within that cause lies the

Recently, through the search for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, many researchers are finding that DNA may be the answer. Time Magazine writer Alice Park states that “Alzheimers, like all other degenerative ills, is driven by genes, and in the past year, scientists have come up with a suite of relative ones” (Park, 2010, pg. 54). Understanding genetics to a greater degree is a key element of Alzheimer’s disease as scientists are finding ways to use this information to find a cure. Recently researchers have been very interested in an area in the country of Columbia where a large South American family has been highly affected by early-onset of the disease. Conducting experiments on this distantly related family might finally prove how this identity-destroying disease is genetically passed down through DNA and, more importantly, how to stop the continuation of Alzheimer’s disease (Laber-Warren, 2012, p. 38). The hope of these experiments is to link certain types of DNA to the cause of the disease and then work on a prevention plan for those with a higher risk. Currently, a handful of genetics such as the CD33 gene, ADAM10 gene, and APOE-4 gene, are found to be linked to Alzheimer's disease (Marsa, 2015, pg. 7-8). Those who have this gene are more likely to develop the disease. Prevention tests are starting to target people with these particular genetics in