Trying to match the pieces of a puzzle we start from the most vivid and the main part of the picture, as it is usually the easiest to find. Later on, when the key object is done we proceed with searching and matching the details of the puzzle to finish the overall picture and finally observe the results.
The work of the researchers and scholars, who investigate health disorders, is much more complicated, as it is usually either the results (consequences of the disease) or the details (symptoms) that they are given; and they have to do their job, let’s say, backwards, as their task is to find the very first element the whole picture started to appear with.
All the above mentioned is so true about the Alzheimer’s disease – the condition we know the consequences of and which symptoms we can observe. Moreover, due to the efforts and work of the leading scientists, we now even know how this disease progresses and what processes take place in the brain of a sufferer. Namely, we are aware of the plaques and tangles forming in and around the brain cells, disrupting their communication and making them shrink. Still, the key question WHY this happens remains the real enigma for the modern science.
Here is a short analysis of the main theories on the causes of the Alzheimer’s disease and factors that increase the risk of a person to develop this condition.
Genetic predisposition due to the inherited from parents susceptibility to develop the disorder is among the most probable causes of the Alzheimer’s. Scientists suggest that several genes may be responsible for the occurrence of the condition; still, only some of them have already been investigated and researched to some extent.
1. The recent studies results report of the discovery of the specific gene called apolipoprotein E-e4 (APOE-e4), which may be one of the possible causes of the condition. If a person inherits one copy of this gene, he/she may develop Alzheimer’s. If one inherits two copies risks increase; however, still not all the people with APOE-e4 start suffering from the disease.
2. There is also data on the so-called deterministic genes, which, being inherited, inevitably cause Alzheimer’s disease. These genes usually run in families leading to the condition in more than one family member. In this case familial Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed.
3. It was also found out that many people who suffer from Down syndrome develop Alzheimer’s symptoms at some point of life as well. They usually have two copies of the chromosome 21 gene.
One more possible cause of the Alzheimer’s disease is said to be the impaired metabolism of glucose in the body.
To sum it up, the mentioned theories are named the possible causes of the Alzheimer’s disease. Still, not all the people who have the mentioned predisposition and the said genes acquire the disorder. On the other hand, there is a large number of Alzheimer’s sufferers without those genes. Thus, these suggestions may also be called the risk factors for the condition development. Other risk factors include:
- age: Alzheimer’s most often targets people above 65 and the risks double with every five years, reaching 50% in those older than 80;
- head injuries, acquired earlier in life, were statistically reported in many sufferers of the condition;
- certain health disorders, as hypertension, high cholesterol, folic acid deficiency (especially its part called folate), obesity, clinical depression, chronic inflammatory conditions (as arthritis) and diabetes;
- low education level and lack of mental activity are also associated with Alzheimer’s development;
- being a female increases the risks to develop this condition as well, since the majority of the sufferers are postmenopausal women.
Recently scholars have discovered that 90% of Alzheimer’s sufferers had herpes simplex virus type1 in their plaques samples. This virus causes sold sores and is usually treated with acyclovir. Thus, it may also be possible that herpes is another risk factor for the Alzheimer’s disease. The good news about this finding is that the same drug may be used to treat or slow down the progression of this form of dementia.
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