The Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease

Many people have heard of and vaguely understand the psychological disorder known as Alzheimer’s disease. However, few understand exactly what happens in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient or why their loved one is experiencing a sudden memory loss and changes in their mood or behavior. Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that scientists are still trying to understand today. It is a horrible disease that causes irreversible changes to the brain. However, there are some medications approved to help or slow down the symptoms the disease causes, there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s. The characterizations of someone that is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s can be difficult for the patient and their loved ones. However, researchers are looking for a way

Neurons, which produce the brain chemical, acetylcholine, break connections with other nerve cells and ultimately die. “Two types of abnormal lesions clog the brains of patients with Alzheimer 's disease: Beta-amyloid plaques, sticky clumps of protein fragments and cellular material that form outside and around neurons, and neurofibrillary tangles, insoluble twisted fibers composed largely of the protein tau that build up inside nerve cells” (alzfdn.org). The cause for this is still unknown. Alzheimer’s disease is also the most common cause of dementia in people sixty-five years and older. Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging or dying, contrary to what some people may think. However, the developing of the disease can become fatal as more brain cells begin to die. There are three stages of Alzheimer’s: Early (mild), middle (moderate), and late (severe). In the early stage of Alzheimer’s, patients may forget words or misplace objects, forget something they just read, ask the same question over and over, have increasing trouble making plans or organizing, or not remember names when meeting new people. In the middle stage patients may experience: increased memory loss and confusion, problems recognizing family and friends, continuously repeat stories, favorite things, things that they want, or motions, decreased ability to perform complex tasks or handle personal finances, lack of concern for hygiene and appearance, or requiring assistance in choosing proper clothing to wear for day, season, or occasion. In the late stage, there is almost total memory loss, and patients may: recognize faces but forget names, mistake a person for someone else, experience delusions, such as thinking they need to go to work even though they no longer have a job,