The Primary Cause Of Alzheimer's Disease

Despite awareness of Alzheimer’s disease growing in the past decades due to various celebrities and large names battling the disease such as Sugar Ray Robinson and Ronald Regan, Americans still sustain the widely shared belief that Alzheimer’s disease is instead normal aging. This unsound belief strongly reflects the statistic that among individuals diagnosed with the disease only thirty-three percent are aware they have it. In reality, it is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior.(alz.org). The disease remains a dark hole despite its number six rank in the leading causes of death. The symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease gradually worsen in three stages which are mild (early stage), moderate (middle-stage)

This area of the brain, which is the largest and highest portion, controls all our thought processes, movement, speech, and senses.The decline of brain cells starts in the area of the cortex that is associated with memory and then advances into other areas of the cortex, then into other areas of the brain that control bodily function. The death of the brain cells results in disruption of the electrochemical signals between neurons that are imperative to intellectual activity and bodily functioning. While it is still not yet fully understood by scientists what causes Alzheimer’s disease in a majority of people, scientists have established the root causes of the two forms of Alzheimer’s disease. Early- onset Alzheimer’s which occurs in people age thirty to sixty is caused by genetic mutation. Late-onset Alzheimer’s which usually develops after age 60 roots from an elaborate chain of brain change that transpire in decades. It's believed that lifestyle factors, environment factors and genetics play a strong role. The risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are older age and genetics. Aging is the primary risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Statistics show that the amount of individuals with Alzheimer’s doubles every five years beyond the age of sixty-five. Specific genetic factors enlarge the risk of

These treatments are Aricept, Razadyne, and Exelon which are known as Cholinesterase inhibitors. A cholinesterase inhibitor stops the malfunction of a chemical messenger in the brain imperative for gaining knowledge and memory. Aricept is approved to treat mild, moderate, and severe stages of alzheimer’s disease while Razadyne, and Exelon is used for individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. In addition, Memantine is also used to as a treatment for Alzheimer’s. Memantine works by controlling the movement of glutamate, which is an crucial neurotransmitter in the brain involved in learning and memory. Attachment of glutamate to the surface of the cell which is called NMDA receptors allows calcium to enter the cell. This procedure is significant to cell signaling, as well as learning and memory. With Alzheimer’s disease, however, surplus glutamate can be released from damaged cells, leading to chronic overexposure to calcium, which can speed up cell damage. Memantine helps put to a stop this damaging sequence of events by blocking the NMDA receptors to a limited