Abstract

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE CAUSES AND MANGEMNT

Hanaa H.Ahmed and Hanan F. Aly

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It's the most common cause of dementia, a group of brain disorders that results in the loss of intellectual and social skills. These changes are severe enough to interfere with day-to-day life. In Alzheimer's disease, the connections between brain cells and the brain cells themselves degenerate and die, causing a steady decline in memory and mental function. Scientists are still trying to fully understand the cause or causes of Alzheimer’s disease. In the meantime, it’s helpful to understand the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles as well as the risk factors that affect a person’s likelihood of developing the disease. Scientists are still studying how plaques and tangles are related to Alzheimer’s disease. One theory is that they block nerve cells’ ability to communicate with each other, making it difficult for the cells to survive. Autopsies have shown that most people develop some plaques and tangles as they age, but people with Alzheimer’s develop far more than those who do not develop the disease. Scientists still don’t know why some people develop so many compared to others. However, several risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease have been uncovered. Age, advancing age is the number one risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease. One out of eight people over the age of 65 has Alzheimer’s disease, and almost one out of every two people over the age of 85 has Alzheimer’s. The probability of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s nearly doubles every five years after age 65. Family history, people who have a parent or sibling that developed Alzheimer’s disease are two to three times more likely to develop the disease than those with no family history of Alzheimer’s. If more than one close relative has been affected, the risk increases even more.

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